Be Aware of Transient Dissolution Processes in Co3O4 Acidic Oxygen Evolution Reaction Electrocatalysts

Priamushko T, Franz E, Logar A, Bijelić L, Guggenberger P, Escalera-López D, Zlatar M, Libuda J, Kleitz F, Hodnik N, Brummel O, Cherevko S (2025)

Publication Language: English

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2025

Journal

Journal of the American Chemical Society American Chemical Society

Book Volume: 147

Pages Range: 3517-3528

Journal Issue: 4

DOI: 10.1021/jacs.4c14952

Abstract

Recently, cobalt-based oxides have received considerable attention as an alternative to expensive and scarce iridium for catalyzing the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) under acidic conditions. Although the reported materials demonstrate promising durability, they are not entirely intact, calling for fundamental research efforts to understand the processes governing the degradation of such catalysts. To this end, this work studies the dissolution mechanism of a model Co3O4 porous catalyst under different electrochemical conditions using online inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (online ICP-MS), identical location scanning transmission electron microscopy (IL-STEM), and differential electrochemical mass spectrometry (DEMS). Despite the high thermodynamics tendency reflected in the Pourbaix diagram, it is shown that the cobalt dissolution kinetics is sluggish and can be lowered further by modifying the electrochemical protocol. For the latter, identified in this study, several (electro)chemical reaction pathways that lead to the dissolution of Co3O4 must be considered. Hence, this work uncovers the transient character of cobalt dissolution and provides valuable insights that can help to understand the promising stability of cobalt-based materials in already published works and facilitate the knowledge-driven design of novel, stable, abundant catalysts toward the OER in an acidic environment.

Authors with CRIS profile

Evanie Franz Lehrstuhl für Katalytische Grenzflächenforschung Jörg Libuda Lehrstuhl für Katalytische Grenzflächenforschung Olaf Brummel Lehrstuhl für Katalytische Grenzflächenforschung

Involved external institutions

Universität Wien / University of Vienna AT Austria (AT) National Institute of Chemistry / Kemijski Inštitut SI Slovenia (SI) Forschungszentrum Jülich / Research Centre Jülich (FZJ) DE Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Priamushko, T., Franz, E., Logar, A., Bijelić, L., Guggenberger, P., Escalera-López, D.,... Cherevko, S. (2025). Be Aware of Transient Dissolution Processes in Co3O4 Acidic Oxygen Evolution Reaction Electrocatalysts. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 147(4), 3517-3528. https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.4c14952

MLA:

Priamushko, Tatiana, et al. "Be Aware of Transient Dissolution Processes in Co3O4 Acidic Oxygen Evolution Reaction Electrocatalysts." Journal of the American Chemical Society 147.4 (2025): 3517-3528.

BibTeX: Download