Spin-Selective Oxygen Evolution Reaction in Chiral Iron Oxide Nanoparticles: Synergistic Impact of Inherent Magnetic...

Electron spin polarization is identified as a promising avenue for enhancing the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), which is the bottleneck that limits the energy efficiency of water-splitting. Here, we report that both ferrimagnetic (f-Fe₃O₄) and superparamagnetic iron oxide (s-Fe₃O₄) catalysts can exhibit external magnetic field (Hext)-induced OER enhancement, and the activity is proportional to their intrinsic magnetic moment. Additionally, the chirality-induced spin selectivity (CISS) effect was utilized in synergy with Hext to get a maximum enhancement of up to 89% improvement in current density (at 1.8 V vs RHE) with a low onset potential of 270 mV in s-Fe₃O₄ catalysts. Spin polarization and the resultant spin selectivity suppress the production of H₂O₂ and promote the formation of ground state triplet O₂ during the OER. Furthermore, the design of chiral s-Fe₃O₄ with synergistic spin potential effect demonstrates a high spin polarization of ∼42%, as measured using conductive atomic force microscopy (c-AFM).