O-Vacancy Mediated Partially Inverted Ferrospinels for Enhanced Activity in the Sulfuric Acid Decomposition for...

Understanding the characterization of a tailored Co₃O₄ spinel with Fe³⁺ doping poses a challenge due to the surface state complexity in bifunctional catalysts with higher cation diversity. Doping with secondary metal results in a double spinel structure (a hybrid of normal and inverted spinels). This enhances the catalytic properties by generating more active oxygen vacancies. The cobalt-rich (FeCo₂O₄) hybrid spinel and iron-rich (CoFe₂O₄) inverted spinel are synthesized using a wet impregnation method, supported over oxidized SiC (SiC-Pretrt) for an improved metal-support interaction. FeCo₂O₄ on pretreated SiC exhibits the highest catalytic activity (90% conversion at 1173 K) and stability (over 100 h) in sulfuric acid decomposition of the iodine-sulfur process for hydrogen production. This improved performance is attributed to the high electronegativity of Co³⁺, oxygen vacancies, and strong metal-support interaction. The high electronegativity of Co³⁺ weakens the S-O bond in M-S-O, enhancing the catalytic activity of the spinels. These results are further corroborated by detailed characterization and density functional theory calculations.