Epitaxial growth of oriented prussian blue analogue derived well-aligned CoFe2O4 thin film for efficient oxygen evolution reaction

• Published in: Applied catalysis. B, Environmental Vol. 245; pp. 1 - 9
• Main Authors: Lei, Song, Li, Qiao-Hong, Kang, Yao, Gu, Zhi-Gang, Zhang, Jian
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 15.05.2019; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Alignment; Aqueous solutions; Catalysis; Charge transfer; Cobalt ferrites; CoFe2O4 thin film; Electrocatalysts; Electrochemistry; Electrodes; Electron transfer; Epitaxial growth; Evolution; Liquid phase epitaxial growth; Liquid phases; Noble metals; Oxygen; Oxygen evolution reaction; Oxygen evolution reactions; Photovoltaic cells; Pigments; Prussian blue analogous; Pyrolysis; Renewable energy; Substrates; Thin films; Water splitting; Liquid phase epitaxial growth; Oxygen evolution reaction; CoFe2O4 thin film; Prussian blue analogous
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apcatb.2018.12.036
• ISSN: 0926-3373

We first developed a well-aligned mesoporous CoFe2O4 thin film from surface epitaxial growth of oriented CoFe-based prussian blue analogue thin film (CoFe-PBA thin film) for efficient electrocatalytic OER. CoFe-PBA thin film with preferred [100] orientation is first prepared on the substrate surface by employing liquid-phase epitaxial method without any structure-directing surfactants. After thermal pyrolysis, such CoFe-PBA thin film was transformed into well-aligned mesoporous CoFe2O4 thin film with remarkable catalytic performance and durable stability. This study provides an effective paradigm for preparing binder-free, self-support and low-cost spinel oxide electrocatalyst for efficient OER derived from surface epitaxial growth of oriented PBA thin film. [Display omitted] •Epitaxial growth of oriented prussian blue analogue derived a bimetallic oxide film.•Obtained CoFe2O4 film has higher electrocatalytic OER than commercial RuO2.•Homogeneous and continuous bimetallic oxide film increased the OER performance.•Synergistic effect of Co and Fe promote the low-cost and high-efficient OER. The development of cost-effective, high-efficiency, and non-noble metal based electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is considered to be the most pivotal portion for electrochemical water splitting to generate renewable energy. Herein, well-aligned mesoporous CoFe2O4 thin film is first developed from surface epitaxial growth of oriented CoFe-based prussian blue analogue thin film (CoFe-PBA thin film) for efficient electrocatalytic OER. CoFe-PBA thin film with preferred [100] orientation is first prepared on the substrate surface by employing liquid phase epitaxial method without any structure-directing surfactants. After thermal pyrolysis, such CoFe-PBA thin film was transformed into well-aligned mesoporous CoFe2O4 thin film. Interestingly, the self-support CoFe2O4 thin film electrode with the mass loading of 1.6 mg cm−2 delivers an oxygen evolution current density of 10 mA cm−2 at an overpotential of 266 mV and exhibits durable stability in 1 M KOH aqueous solution. The remarkable and stable catalytic performance of the CoFe2O4 thin film can be mainly owing to the mesoporous structure of CoFe2O4, efficient charge/electron transfer, the numerous exposed active sites, and the well-structured configuration of the electrode. Hence, this work provides an effective paradigm for preparing binder-free, self-support, and low-cost spinel oxide electrocatalyst for efficient OER derived from surface epitaxial growth of oriented PBA thin film.