Stable, Efficient, Copper Coordination Polymer-Derived Heterostructured Catalyst for Oxygen Evolution under...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Catalysis

Background:

• Designing efficient and durable electrocatalysts is crucial for water oxidation.
• Heterostructured interfaces can enhance catalyst performance.
• Developing pH-universal catalysts remains a challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize a novel Cu/CuCN heterostructure for water oxidation.
• To evaluate the electrocatalytic activity and stability of the Cu/CuCN material.
• To investigate the underlying mechanism of the enhanced performance.

Main Methods:

• Epitaxial-like growth method for Cu/CuCN synthesis.
• Electrochemical measurements including cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry.
• In-situ characterization and theoretical simulations (DFT).

Main Results:

• The synthesized Cu/CuCN heterostructure exhibited superior oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activity with low overpotentials (250 mV forward, 380 mV backward at 10 mA cm⁻²).
• The catalyst demonstrated excellent intrinsic activity (1.0 mA cm⁻² at 420 mV) and long-term stability (136 h in 1.0 M KOH).
• CuO species were identified at the heterointerface during OER, contributing to abundant active sites and accelerated kinetics.

Conclusions:

• The Cu/CuCN heterostructure is a highly active and stable electrocatalyst for water oxidation.
• The epitaxial interfacial area facilitates efficient electron transport and transfer.
• This work provides a new strategy for designing advanced electrocatalysts for sustainable energy applications.