A rational method to kinetically control the rate-determining step to explore efficient electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction

Nam Hee Kwon, Minho Kim, Xiaoyan Jin, Joohyun Lim, In Young Kim, Nam Suk Lee, Hyungjun Kim, Seong Ju Hwang

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

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Abstract

A novel, rational, and efficient way to explore high-performance electrocatalysts was developed by controlling the reaction kinetics of the rate-determining step (RDS). Density functional theory (DFT) calculations demonstrate that the RDS for the oxygen evolution reaction driven by transition metal hydroxides/oxides, i.e., surface adsorption of OH/OOH species, can be significantly promoted by increasing the electrophilicity of electrocatalysts via hybridization with electron-withdrawing inorganic nanosheets. As predicted by DFT calculation, the hybridization of Ni–Fe-layered double hydroxide (LDH)/Ni–Co-LDH, with RuO2 nanosheets (1.0 wt%) leads to significant lowering of the overpotentials to 207/276 mV at 10 mA cm−2, i.e., one of the smallest overpotentials for LDH-based materials, with the increase in the current density. The necessity of a very small amount of RuO2 nanosheets (1.0 wt%) to optimize the electrocatalyst activity highlights the remarkably high efficiency of the RuO2 addition. The present study underscores the importance of kinetic control of the RDS via hybridization with electron-withdrawing species for exploring novel efficient electrocatalysts.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)659-669
Number of pages11
JournalNPG Asia Materials
Volume10
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jul 2018

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© 2018, The Author(s).

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