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Updated: Aug 27, 2025

Multiscale Sampling of a Heterogeneous Water/Metal Catalyst Interface using Density Functional Theory and Force-Field Molecular Dynamics
Published on: April 12, 2019
Hetero-Atomic Pairs with a Distal Fe3+ -Site Boost Water Oxidation
Yanping Zhu1, Gao Chen2, You-Chiuan Chu1
1Department of Chemistry, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 106, Taiwan.
Abstract:
The hetero-atomic interaction has been the subject of many investigations, due to their heterogeneity, the individual roles of the atoms are still difficult to realize. Herein, an electrocatalyst with a hetero-atomic pair confined on a tungsten phosphide (WP) substrate so that the Fe3+ -site of the pair is distal to the surface is shown to deliver an extremely low overpotential of 192 mV at 10 mA cm-2 and one of the highest oxygen production turnover frequencies (TOF) of 2.1 s-1 at 300 mV under alkaline environment for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Operando characterization shows the Lewis acidic Fe3+ site boosts a large population of Co4+/3+ and the deprotonation of coordinated water, allowing simultaneously enhanced electron-transfer as well as the proton-transfer. A significant contribution from the WP substrate modulates the order of hydroxide transfer in the pre-equilibrium step (PES) and rate-determining-step (RDS), leading to a remarkable OER performance.
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