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Updated: Feb 4, 2026
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Cell Labeling and Targeting with Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles
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Bond Competition in Iron Dissolution from Spinel Oxides during Water Oxidation.
Shuhao Wang1, Sicheng Wu1, Kamran Dastafkan1
1School of Chemistry, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia.
The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters
|February 2, 2026
Summary
Dissolution of iron in water electrolysis catalysts is a problem. Bond strength competition, not intrinsic properties, drives iron instability in spinel oxides, guiding the design of durable catalysts.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Electrochemistry
- Computational Chemistry
Background:
- Irreversible dissolution of transition metals, especially iron, challenges the durability of water electrolysis catalysts.
- The atomistic pathway of iron dissolution in spinel oxides is not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the mechanism of iron dissolution in NiFe2O4 and CoFe2O4 spinels.
- To identify key factors influencing iron instability during the oxygen evolution reaction (OER).
Main Methods:
- Combined static and dynamic ab initio modeling.
- Electrochemical tests on NiFe2O4 and CoFe2O4 catalysts.
Main Results:
- Iron instability arises from bond strength competition within M-O-Fe linkages (M = Ni, Co).
- Stronger M-O bonds (e.g., Co-O) weaken adjacent Fe-O bonds, promoting Fe dissolution.
- Asymmetric bond competition enhances Fe dissolution, surface reconstruction, and catalyst deterioration.
Conclusions:
- Bond competition is a critical descriptor for metal dissolution in OER catalysts.
- Understanding bond competition provides guidelines for designing more stable water electrolysis catalysts.
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