Strontium‐Induced Lattice Oxygen Activation in Pr‐Based Perovskites for High‐Efficiency Water Oxidation
The development of low-cost and high-performance noble-metal-free catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is central to advancing alkaline water electrolysis. This work introduces a novel "composition-thermal history" design strategy, synergistically combining controlled A-site Sr<sup>2+</sup> doping with optimized high-temperature sintering (950°C) in Pr-based perovskite. The resulting Pr<sub>0.75</sub>Sr<sub>0.25</sub>Ni<sub>0.7</sub>Co<sub>0.3</sub>O<sub>3</sub> (PSNC-25) exhibits unprecedented nanostructuring and a maximized concentration of oxygen vacancies, unlocking efficient OER via lattice oxygen-mediated mechanism. Sr-induced lattice distortion drastically reduces oxygen vacancy formation energy from 2.06 to 1.14 eV, promoting facile lattice oxygen participation. Thermal engineering stabilizes high-valence Co<sup>4+</sup>/Ni<sup>3+</sup> states and enhances M─O covalency. Electrochemically, PSNC-25 achieves exceptional activity in 1 M KOH: a low overpotential of 389 mV at 10 mA cm<sup>-2</sup> and a Tafel slope of 83 mV dec<sup>-1</sup>, significantly surpassing undoped PrNi<sub>0.7</sub>Co<sub>0.3</sub>O<sub>3</sub> (η<sub>10</sub> ＞ 570 mV). It also exhibits robust durability, by > 120 h chronopotentiometry at 10 mA cm<sup>-2</sup> with only ∼45 mV potential drift. This work establishes a rational framework for activating LOM in cost-effective perovskites through dopant-induced electronic modulation and nano-structural control, advancing scalable green hydrogen production.
Authors
- Taoda Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-9768-1456)
- Weiqiang Lv
- Yinghua Niu
- Tao Wenyan
- Xi Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4638-3997)
- Sheng Ma
- Mengjun Tang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-2042-3438)
- Xinze Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-8575-4045)
- Xiaoling He
- Zhen Zhang
- Waqas Muhammad
- Ke Yuan
- Tian Ouyang
Institutions
- Tianjin University of Technology (CN)
- University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (CN)
- Tianjin University (CN)
- South China Normal University (CN)
- Nankai University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Small Methods
- Published
- 2026-02-05
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/smtd.202502223
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 9.79
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- China Postdoctoral Science Foundation
- South China Normal University
- University of Electronic Science and Technology of China
- Natural Science Foundation of Sichuan Province