Enhancing Electrocatalytic Activity of Perovskite Oxides by Tuning Cation Deficiency for Oxygen Reduction and Evolution Reactions

Development of cost-effective and efficient electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is of prime importance to emerging renewable energy technologies. Here, we report a simple and effective strategy for enhancing ORR and OER electrocatalytic activity i...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Zhu, Y., Zhou, W., Yu, J., Chen, Y., Liu, M., Shao, Zongping
Format: Journal Article
Published: American Chemical Society 2016
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/35470
Description
Summary:Development of cost-effective and efficient electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is of prime importance to emerging renewable energy technologies. Here, we report a simple and effective strategy for enhancing ORR and OER electrocatalytic activity in alkaline solution by introducing A-site cation deficiency in LaFeO3 perovskite; the enhancement effect is more pronounced for the OER than the ORR. Among the A-site cation deficient perovskites studied, La0.95FeO3-δ (L0.95F) demonstrates the highest ORR and OER activity and, hence, the best bifunctionality. The dramatic enhancement is attributed to the creation of surface oxygen vacancies and a small amount of Fe4+ species. This work highlights the importance of tuning cation deficiency in perovskites as an effective strategy for enhancing ORR and OER activity for applications in various oxygen-based energy storage and conversion processes.