Oxygen vacancy-rich defective Co3O4-RuO2 heterostructure catalysts for efficient acidic oxygen evolution reaction

Abstract

Proton exchange membrane water electrolysis offers a sustainable approach to producing clean hydrogen fuel. Nonetheless, the advancement of electrocatalysts for the acidic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) that exhibit both high performance and cost-effectiveness remains a significant challenge, thereby hindering their widespread commercial application. In this study, we have developed a Co3O4-RuO2 heterojunction electrocatalyst. Spectroscopic characterization and electrochemical analyses revealed that the presence of oxygen vacancies at the heterointerface, along with the electronic coupling between RuO2 and Co3O4, significantly enhanced the OER performance of the catalyst. Notably, the Co3O4-RuO2 composite necessitates a relatively low overpotential of 218 mV to attain a current density of 10 mA cm−2, indicating promising potential for practical applications.