A versatile top-down strategy has been shown to produce amorphous oxides through amorphization of corresponding hydroxides. This approach was used to generate various unitary, binary and ternary amorphous oxides for electrocatalytic oxygen evolution.
Amorphous materials have attracted increasing attention in diverse fields due to their unique properties, yet their controllable fabrications still remain great challenges. Here, we demonstrate a top-down strategy for the fabrications of amorphous oxides through the amorphization of hydroxides. The versatility of this strategy has been validated by the amorphizations of unitary, binary and ternary hydroxides. Detailed characterizations indicate that the amorphization process is realized by the variation of coordination environment during thermal treatment, where the M-OH octahedral structure in hydroxides evolves to M-O tetrahedral structure in amorphous oxides with the disappearance of the M-M coordination. The optimal amorphous oxide (FeCoSn(OH)(6)-300) exhibits superior oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activity in alkaline media, where the turnover frequency (TOF) value is 39.4 times higher than that of FeCoSn(OH)(6). Moreover, the enhanced OER performance and the amorphization process are investigated with density functional theory (DFT) and molecule dynamics (MD) simulations. The reported top-down fabrication strategy for fabricating amorphous oxides, may further promote fundamental research into and practical applications of amorphous materials for catalysis.
- A top-down strategy for amorphization of hydroxyl compounds for electrocatalytic oxygen evolution
- Shangheng Liu - Xiamen UniversityShize Geng - Soochow UniversityLing Li - Soochow UniversityYing Zhang - Xiamen UniversityGuomian Ren - Guangdong University of TechnologyBolong Huang - Hong Kong Polytechnic UniversityZhiwei Hu - Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of SolidsJyh-Fu Lee - Natl Synchrotron Radiat Res Ctr, 101 Hsin Ann Rd, Hsinchu 30076, TaiwanYu-Hong Lai - Natl Yang Ming Chiao Tung Univ, Dept Mat Sci & Engn, Hsinchu 30010, TaiwanYing-Hao Chu - National Tsing Hua University, College of Semiconductor ResearchYong Xu - Guangdong University of TechnologyQi Shao - Soochow UniversityXiaoqing Huang - Xiamen University
- NATURE PORTFOLIO
- 10
- 2020YFB1505802 / National Key R&D Program of China; National Key Technology R&D Program; National Key Research & Development Program of China 2017YFA0208200; 2016YFA0204100 / Ministry of Science and Technology of China; Ministry of Science and Technology, China 2018B030322001 / Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Energy Materials for Electric Power 20195010002 / Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Low Dimensional Materials and Energy Storage Devices Max Planck-POSTECH-Hsinchu Center for Complex Phase Materials SZS201708 / project of scientific and technologic infrastructure of Suzhou Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD); Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions 22025108; 2212100020; 21905188; 51802206 / National Natural Science Foundation of China; National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) 2021B1515020081 / Guangdong Provincial Natural Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars
- Journal article
- 04/03/2022
- Nature communications, Vol.13, 1187
- English