Tuning complex transition metal hydroxide nanostructures as active catalysts for water oxidation by a laser-chemical route

Kai-Yang Niu; Feng Lin; Suho Jung; Liang Fang; Dennis Nordlund; Charles C L McCrory; Tsu-Chien Weng; Peter Ercius; Marca M Doeff; Haimei Zheng

doi:10.1021/acs.nanolett.5b00026

Tuning complex transition metal hydroxide nanostructures as active catalysts for water oxidation by a laser-chemical route

Nano Lett. 2015 Apr 8;15(4):2498-503. doi: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.5b00026. Epub 2015 Mar 3.

Authors

Kai-Yang Niu, Feng Lin, Suho Jung¹, Liang Fang², Dennis Nordlund³, Charles C L McCrory¹, Tsu-Chien Weng³, Peter Ercius, Marca M Doeff, Haimei Zheng⁴

Affiliations

¹ ⊥Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, United States.
² ¶State Key Laboratory of Mechanical Transmission, College of Physics, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, People's Republic of China.
³ ∥Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California 94025, United States.
⁴ #Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, United States.

PMID: 25723892
DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.5b00026

Abstract

Diverse transition metal hydroxide nanostructures were synthesized by laser-induced hydrolysis in a liquid precursor solution for alkaline oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Several active OER catalysts with fine control of composition, structure, and valence state were obtained including (Lix)[Ni0.66Mn0.34(OH)2](NO3)(CO3) · mH2O, Lix[Ni0.67Co0.33(OH)2](NO3)0.25(ORO)0.35 · mH2O, etc. An operate overpotential less than 0.34 V at current density of 10 mA cm(-2) was achieved. Such a controllable laser-chemical route for assessing complex nanostructures in liquids opens many opportunities to design novel functional materials for advanced applications.

Keywords: Transition metal hydroxides; electrocatalysis; laser chemistry; three-dimensional catalyst; volume activity; water oxidation.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.