Field-Free Improvement of Oxygen Evolution Reaction in Magnetic Two-Dimensional Heterostructures.

Xiong, Ziren; Hu, Ce; Luo, Xingfang; Zhou, Wenda; Jiang, Zhenzhen; Yang, Yong; Yu, Ting; Lei, Wen et al. · Nano Lett · 2021

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Ferromagnetic (FM) electrocatalysts have been demonstrated to reduce the kinetic barrier of oxygen evolution reaction (OER) by spin-dependent kinetics and thus enhance the efficiency fundamentally. Accordingly, FM two-dimensional (2D) materials with unique physicochemical properties are expected to be promising oxygen-evolution catalysts; however, related research is yet to be reported due to their air-instabilities and low Curie temperatures (<i>T</i><sub>C</sub>). Here, based on the synthesis of 2D air-stable FM Cr<sub>2</sub>Te<sub>3</sub> nanosheets with a low <i>T</i><sub>C</sub> around 200 K, room-temperature ferromagnetism is achieved in Cr<sub>2</sub>Te<sub>3</sub> by proximity to an antiferromagnetic (AFM) CrOOH, demonstrating the accomplishment of long-ranged FM ordering in Cr<sub>2</sub>Te<sub>3</sub> because the magnetic proximity effect stems from paramagnetic (PM)/AFM heterostructure. Therefore, the OER performance can be permanently promoted (without applied magnetic field due to nonvolatile nature of spin) after magnetization. This work demonstrates that a representative PM/AFM 2D heterostructure, Cr<sub>2</sub>Te<sub>3</sub>/CrOOH, is expected to be a high-efficient magnetic heterostructure catalysts for oxygen-evolution.