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Vol. 12 (2020)

Nanoparticle-Decorated Ultrathin La2O3 Nanosheets as an Efficient Electrocatalysis for Oxygen Evolution Reactions

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-020-0387-5
Guangyuan Yan
Department of Material Sciences and Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
Yizhan Wang
Department of Material Sciences and Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
Ziyi Zhang
Department of Material Sciences and Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
Yutao Dong
Department of Material Sciences and Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
Jingyu Wang
Department of Material Sciences and Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
Corey Carlos
Department of Material Sciences and Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA
Pu Zhang
MOE Key Laboratory of Materials Physics, School of Physics, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, People’s Republic of China
Zhiqiang Cao
Key Laboratory of Solidification Control and Digital Preparation Technology (Liaoning Province), School of Materials Science and Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, People’s Republic of China
Yanchao Mao
MOE Key Laboratory of Materials Physics, School of Physics, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, People’s Republic of China
Xudong Wang
Department of Material Sciences and Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA

Corresponding Author: Xudong Wang

xudong.wang@wisc.edu

Nano-Micro Letters, Vol. 12 (2020), Article Number: 49

Abstract

Electrochemical catalysts for oxygen evolution reaction are a critical component for many renewable energy applications. To improve their catalytic kinetics and mass activity are essential for sustainable industrial applications. Here, we report a rare-earth metal-based oxide electrocatalyst comprised of ultrathin amorphous La2O3 nanosheets hybridized with uniform La2O3 nanoparticles (La2O3@NP-NS). Significantly improved OER performance is observed from the nanosheets with a nanometer-scale thickness. The as-synthesized 2.27-nm La2O3@NP-NS exhibits excellent catalytic kinetics with an overpotential of 310 mV at 10 mA cm−2, a small Tafel slope of 43.1 mV dec−1, and electrochemical impedance of 38 Ω. More importantly, due to the ultrasmall thickness, its mass activity, and turnover frequency reach as high as 6666.7 A g−1 and 5.79 s−1, respectively, at an overpotential of 310 mV. Such a high mass activity is more than three orders of magnitude higher than benchmark OER electrocatalysts, such as IrO2 and RuO2. This work presents a sustainable approach toward the development of highly efficient electrocatalysts with largely reduced mass loading of precious elements.


Highlights:


1 The 2.27-nm-thick hybridized quasi-2D structure of La2O3 crystalline nanoparticles embedded in La2O3 amorphous nanosheets (La2O3@NP-NS) exhibited a low overpotential of 310 mV at 10 mA cm−2.
2 The mass activity of La2O3@NP-NS reached as high as 6666.7 A g−1 at overpotential of 310 mV. Such a high mass activity was more than three orders of magnitude higher than that of benchmark IrO2 (4.4 A g−1) and RuO2 (2.05 A g−1) and five orders of magnitude higher than that of commercial La2O3 (0.048 A g−1).

Keywords

Oxygen evolution reaction Multiphase hybrid Two-dimensional nanomaterials Rare-earth oxides Ionic layer epitaxy
Yan, Guangyuan, Yizhan Wang, Ziyi Zhang, Yutao Dong, Jingyu Wang, Corey Carlos, Pu Zhang, Zhiqiang Cao, Yanchao Mao, and Xudong Wang. 2020. “Nanoparticle-Decorated Ultrathin La2O3 Nanosheets As an Efficient Electrocatalysis for Oxygen Evolution Reactions”. Nano-Micro Letters 12 (February):49. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-020-0387-5.
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