Metalorganics and Inorganic Materials, Department of Chemistry, Technische Universität Berlin , Straße des 17 Juni 135, Sekr. C2, 10623 Berlin, Germany.
J Am Chem Soc. 2014 Dec 17;136(50):17530-6. doi: 10.1021/ja509348t. Epub 2014 Dec 3.
Catalytic water splitting to hydrogen and oxygen is considered as one of the convenient routes for the sustainable energy conversion. Bifunctional catalysts for the electrocatalytic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) are pivotal for the energy conversion and storage, and alternatively, the photochemical water oxidation in biomimetic fashion is also considered as the most useful way to convert solar energy into chemical energy. Here we present a facile solvothermal route to control the synthesis of amorphous and crystalline cobalt iron oxides by controlling the crystallinity of the materials with changing solvent and reaction time and further utilize these materials as multifunctional catalysts for the unification of photochemical and electrochemical water oxidation as well as for the oxygen reduction reaction. Notably, the amorphous cobalt iron oxide produces superior catalytic activity over the crystalline one under photochemical and electrochemical water oxidation and oxygen reduction conditions.
水的催化分解为氢气和氧气被认为是可持续能源转化的一种便捷途径。对于能量转化和存储来说，用于电催化氧气还原反应（ORR）和氧气析出反应（OER）的双功能催化剂是至关重要的，而仿生光化学水氧化也被认为是将太阳能转化为化学能的最有效途径。在这里，我们提出了一种简便的溶剂热路线，可以通过控制溶剂和反应时间来控制非晶态和晶态钴铁氧化物的合成，并进一步利用这些材料作为光化学和电化学水氧化以及氧气还原反应统一的多功能催化剂。值得注意的是，在光化学和电化学水氧化以及氧气还原条件下，非晶态钴铁氧化物的催化活性优于晶态钴铁氧化物。
