Study on Water Splitting of the 214-Type Perovskite Oxides LnSrCoO₄ (Ln = La, Pr, Sm, Eu, and Ga)

We present a study on the electrocatalysis of 214-type perovskite oxides LnSrCoO₄ (Ln = La, Pr, Sm, Eu, and Ga) with semiconducting-like behavior synthesized using the sol-gel method. Among these five catalysts, PrSrCoO₄ exhibits the optimal electrochemical performance in both the oxygen evolution reaction and the hydrogen evolution reaction, mainly due to its larger electrical conductivity, mass activity, and turnover frequency. Importantly, the weak dependency of LSV curves in a KOH solution with different pH values, revealing the adsorbate evolving mechanism in PrSrCoO₄, and the density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicate that PrSrCoO₄ has a smaller Gibbs free energy and a higher density of states near the Fermi level, which accelerates the electrochemical water splitting. The mutual substitution of different rare-earth elements will change the unit-cell parameters, regulate the electronic states of catalytic active site Co ions, and further affect their catalytic performance. Furthermore, the magnetic results indicate strong spin-orbit coupling in the electroactive sites of Co ions in SmSrCoO₄ and EuSrCoO₄, whereas the magnetic moments of Co ions in the other three catalysts mainly arise from the spin itself. Our experimental results expand the electrochemical applications of 214-type perovskite oxides and provide a good platform for a deeper understanding of their catalytic mechanisms.