Crystalline Cobalt Oxide Films for Sustained Electrocatalytic Oxygen Evolution under Strongly Acidic Conditions
By Mondschein, Jared S.; Callejas, Juan F.; Read, Carlos G.; Chen, Jamie Y. C.; Holder, Cameron F.; Badding, Catherine K.; Schaak, Raymond E.
Published in Chemistry of Materials
Abstract
Earth-abundant materials capable of catalyzing the electrochemical decomposition of water into molecular hydrogen and oxygen are necessary components of many affordable water-splitting technologies. However, water oxidation catalysts that facilitate sustained oxygen evolution at device-relevant current densities in strongly acidic electrolytes have been limited almost exclusively to precious metal oxides. Here, we show that nanostructured films of cobalt oxide (Co3O4) on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrates, made by first depositing Co onto FTO and heating in air at 400