Continuous Tuning of Fe‐O Covalency via Bioengineering for Facilitating Overall Water Splitting

Abstract The applications of Fe‐based electrocatalysts in oxygen evolution reactions (OER) and hydrogen evolution reactions (HER) are hindered due to poor stability and catalytic activity originating from rapid Fe leaching and the intrinsic electronic structure of FeOOH. Here, the study presents a strategy to precisely and continuously tune the morphology of FeOOH and the covalent characteristics of Fe–O bonds by controlling the coverage of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) on the FeOOH surface. Operando spectroscopy and theoretical calculations reveal that regulating Fe–O covalency induces changes in intermediate adsorption strength and metal leaching, leading to a volcano‐shaped trend in durability and activity as a function of Fe–O covalency. Notably, in HER, negatively charged sites of EPS exhibit superior *H adsorption compared to bare FeOOH. In particular, EPS 2 @FeOOH exhibits excellent catalytic performance for both OER (η 10 = 240 mV) and HER (η 10 = 52 mV), with outstanding stability over 200 hours at 100 mA cm⁻ 2 . The current density also reaches 10 mA cm⁻ 2 at merely 1.51 V in a two‐electrode configuration, significantly surpassing other bifunctional electrocatalysts. This approach will provide a promising pathway to enhance the stability and activity of water electrolysis through precise modulation of EPS coverage.

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Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Advanced Functional Materials
Published
2024-12-30
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202423330
Citations
9
Primary Topic
Iron oxide chemistry and applications
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.92

Funders

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article

Continuous Tuning of Fe‐O Covalency via Bioengineering for Facilitating Overall Water Splitting

W.-J. Li, Zhuangzhuang Bi, Ge Lin, Qing Qu et al.
9 citations
Advanced Functional Materials
Iron oxide chemistry and applications
0.92
article

Continuous Tuning of Fe‐O Covalency via Bioengineering for Facilitating Overall Water Splitting

W.-J. Li, Zhuangzhuang Bi, Ge Lin, Qing Qu, Lei Li, Jiajie Wu, Yuxi Chen, Shengqi Zhang, Bo Wu, Guang Li
article en
9 citations

Abstract

Abstract The applications of Fe‐based electrocatalysts in oxygen evolution reactions (OER) and hydrogen evolution reactions (HER) are hindered due to poor stability and catalytic activity originating from rapid Fe leaching and the intrinsic electronic structure of FeOOH. Here, the study presents a strategy to precisely and continuously tune the morphology of FeOOH and the covalent characteristics of Fe–O bonds by controlling the coverage of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) on the FeOOH surface. Operando spectroscopy and theoretical calculations reveal that regulating Fe–O covalency induces changes in intermediate adsorption strength and metal leaching, leading to a volcano‐shaped trend in durability and activity as a function of Fe–O covalency. Notably, in HER, negatively charged sites of EPS exhibit superior *H adsorption compared to bare FeOOH. In particular, EPS 2 @FeOOH exhibits excellent catalytic performance for both OER (η 10 = 240 mV) and HER (η 10 = 52 mV), with outstanding stability over 200 hours at 100 mA cm⁻ 2 . The current density also reaches 10 mA cm⁻ 2 at merely 1.51 V in a two‐electrode configuration, significantly surpassing other bifunctional electrocatalysts. This approach will provide a promising pathway to enhance the stability and activity of water electrolysis through precise modulation of EPS coverage.

Advanced Functional MaterialsVol. 35(19)
Yunnan University (CN), Harbin Institute of Technology (CN), Guizhou Institute of Technology (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China
Clean water and sanitation
Openalex Percentile: Top 29%
Iron oxide chemistry and applications
0.92
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