Rong Chengli, Sun Qian, Zhu Jiexin, Arandiyan Hamidreza, Shao Zongping, Wang Yuan, Chen Yuan
School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The University of Sydney, Darlington, New South Wales, 2006, Australia.
Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3G8, Canada.
Adv Sci (Weinh). 2025 Jul 28:e09415. doi: 10.1002/advs.202509415.
Oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is pivotal to sustainable energy storage and conversion technologies. Yet, its sluggish kinetics in acidic media and reliance on expensive noble metal catalysts limit its efficiency in these applications. Spinel cobalt(II, III) oxide (CoO)-based catalysts are cost-effective alternatives with high theoretical catalytic activity. However, their practical deployment is hindered by their poor stability in acidic electrolytes. This review critically examines recent advances in enhancing the stability of spinel CoO-based catalysts for acidic OER. The fundamental reaction mechanisms of acidic OER are first analyzed to illustrate how different catalyst design strategies can be used to improve their stability. Next, five key catalyst design strategies reported in recent studies are summarized: 1) constructing protective surface layers, 2) modulating reaction pathways, 3) controlling cobalt redox dynamics, 4) tuning cobalt-oxygen covalency, and 5) stabilizing lattice oxygen. Further, recent research progress in understanding the structure-activity-stability relationship of spinel CoO-based catalysts is summarized, with a focus on identifying their catalytically active sites, tracking surface reconstruction, and elucidating degradation mechanisms. This review ends with a discussion of future research directions for addressing key challenges in realizing durable, high-performance CoO-based catalysts for acidic OER applications.
析氧反应（OER）对于可持续储能和转换技术至关重要。然而，其在酸性介质中的缓慢动力学以及对昂贵贵金属催化剂的依赖限制了其在这些应用中的效率。基于尖晶石钴（II，III）氧化物（CoO）的催化剂是具有高理论催化活性的经济高效替代品。然而，它们在酸性电解质中的稳定性较差阻碍了其实际应用。本文综述了近年来提高基于尖晶石CoO的催化剂在酸性OER中稳定性的研究进展。首先分析了酸性OER的基本反应机理，以说明如何使用不同的催化剂设计策略来提高其稳定性。接下来，总结了近期研究报道的五种关键催化剂设计策略：1）构建保护表面层，2）调节反应途径，3）控制钴的氧化还原动力学，4）调整钴 - 氧共价性，5）稳定晶格氧。此外，总结了近期在理解基于尖晶石CoO的催化剂的结构 - 活性 - 稳定性关系方面的研究进展，重点是确定其催化活性位点、跟踪表面重构以及阐明降解机制。本文综述最后讨论了未来的研究方向，以应对在实现用于酸性OER应用的耐用、高性能CoO基催化剂方面的关键挑战。
