Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 9, 2026

Growth and Electrostatic/chemical Properties of Metal/LaAlO3/SrTiO3 Heterostructures
Published on: February 8, 2018
Pivotal Role of Interfacial Strain in Ultrathin Nickelate Oxide Films for Cost-Effective Oxygen Evolution Reaction
Zhiying Chen1, Xue-Peng Wang1, Xi Zhang2
1Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Special Functional Materials, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of New Energy Materials Service Safety, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China.
Abstract:
Cost-efficient perovskite oxides have been widely studied as non-noble-metal catalysts due to their tunable structures and electronic properties. However, polycrystal perovskites consist of dissimilar surface morphologies, randomly distributed structural defects, and crystallographic planes, which inevitably complicates the understanding of electrocatalytic mechanisms. Herein, single-crystal LaNiO3 thin films were studied as a model system to modulate oxygen evolution reaction (OER) performance by synergistically controlling the interfacial strain and film thickness. Our results demonstrate a 3-fold increase in the level of the OER performance achieved by imposing substantial compressive strain exceeding -2.0% on 3 nm-thick epitaxial LaNiO3 films, compared to that of bulk counterparts. Combined experiments and calculations reveal that compressive strain promotes the occupation of the dz2 orbital, weakening the adsorption energy of OH- intermediates and concomitantly enhancing the OER performance in the LaNiO3 ultrathin films through the lattice oxygen mechanism. These findings open up rich playgrounds for rational design of cost-effective electrocatalytic oxide ultrathin films.
Related Concept Videos
Catalysis
The Supercomplexes in the Crista Membrane
Introduction to Mechanisms of Enzyme Catalysis
Catalysis
Heterogeneous Catalysis
Bioreactor Controls-II

