Citation: Qianqing Xu, Qu Jiang, Haoyue Zhang, Fang Song. Deciphering the active species of anodically activated carbon-based electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction[J]. Chinese Chemical Letters, ;2025, 36(11): 111417. doi: 10.1016/j.cclet.2025.111417 shu

Deciphering the active species of anodically activated carbon-based electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction

State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China

jiangqu@sjtu.edu.cn

songfang@sjtu.edu.cn

Received Date: 18 February 2025
Revised Date: 29 May 2025
Accepted Date: 6 June 2025
Available Online: 6 June 2025

Figures(4)

Metal-free electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) are gaining attention for their low cost, high conductivity, and moderate catalytic performance. While trace metal interference in as-synthesized catalysts has been ruled out, the impact of trace metal contamination during electrochemical activation remains unexplored. This study demonstrates that anodic pretreatment in alkaline electrolytes enhances the catalytic performance of carbon cloth. Specifically, carbon cloth activated in 8 mol/L NaOH achieves a current density of 10 mA/cm² with an overpotential of only 338 mV, comparable to metal-based OER catalysts. Electrochemical and spectroscopic analyses show the deposition of FeNiO_xH_y oxyhydroxides (0.19 ± 0.06 µg/cm²) on specific sites of the carbon substrate during activation. These nanoparticles contribute significantly to the catalytic activity, with a synergistic effect between FeNiO_xH_y and the carbon substrate. The turnover frequency (TOF) for Fe correlates with the amount of C=O groups on the carbon substrate, providing evidence for an interfacial synergistic effect. This work emphasizes the importance of considering trace metal effects in metal-free catalyst evaluation and offers insights for the design of more efficient carbon-based hybrid OER catalysts.
- Metal-free electrocatalysts,
- Anodic activation,
- Electrocatalysis,
- Synergistic effect,
- Oxygen evolution reaction,
- Oxygen-containing groups
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