Breaking the activity-stability trade-off via dual-mechanism induced by rare earths for lasting seawater electrolysis.
basic_science · Level V
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- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 42660876.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-026-75978-7.
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Abstract
Triggering the adsorbate evolution and lattice oxygen mechanisms coupled path holds promise for overcoming the activity-stability trade-off of oxygen evolution reaction (OER). However, achieving precise regulation and activation of multiple OER pathways via 3d-metal modification strategy remains challenging due to the external effects of crystal fields and coordination environments. Herein, we propose an atomic-dispersed rare earth substitution strategy to construct a spatially partitioned reaction mechanism, and achieve dual activation between adsorbate evolution and lattice oxygen mechanisms. The strong shielding effect of 5 s/5p electrons in RE significantly reduces the influence of the external environment on the 4 f orbitals, thereby enhancing the controllability of the reaction pathway. The optimized Sm-NiMoO<sub>4</sub> exhibits favorable OER performance. At an industrial temperature of 70 °C, the OER in simulated seawater exhibits an overpotential of only 214 mV at 0.5 A cm<sup>-2</sup>, while maintaining stability for 1500 h. Preliminary techno-economic analysis reveals that the cost of hydrogen produced from the Sm-NiMoO<sub>4</sub> is US$2.56 kg<sup>-1</sup>. This synthetic strategy and mechanism analysis represent a valuable contribution towards achieving industrial-scale seawater hydrogen production.