Distortion-induced interfacial charge transfer at single cobalt atom secured on ordered intermetallic surface enhances pure oxygen production

Abstract

In this work, atomic cobalt (Co) incorporation into the Pd₂Ge intermetallic lattice facilitates operando generation of a thin layer of CoO over Co-substituted Pd₂Ge, with Co in the CoO surface layer functioning as single metal sites. Hence the catalyst has been titled Co₁–CoO-Pd₂Ge. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and X-ray absorption spectroscopy confirm the existence of CoO, with some of the Co bonded to Ge by substitution of Pd sites in the Pd₂Ge lattice. The role of the CoO layer in the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) has been verified by its selective removal using argon sputtering and conducting the OER on the etched catalyst. In situ X-ray absorption near-edge structure and extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy demonstrate that CoO gets transformed to CoOOH (Co³⁺) in operando condition with faster charge transfer through Pd atoms in the core Pd₂Ge lattice. In situ Raman spectroscopy depicts the emergence of a CoOOH phase on applying potential and shows that the phase is stable with increasing potential and time without getting converted to CoO₂. Density functional theory calculations indicate that the Pd₂Ge lattice induces distortion in the CoO phase and generates unpaired spins in a nonmagnetic CoOOH system resulting in an increase in the OER activity and durability. The existence of spin density even after electrocatalysis is verified from electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. We have thus successfully synthesized intermetallic supported CoO during synthesis and rigorously verified the role played by an intermetallic Pd₂Ge core in enhancing charge transfer, generating spin density, improving electrochemical durability, and imparting mechanical stability to a thin CoOOH overlayer. Differential electrochemical mass spectrometry has been explored to visualize the instantaneous generation of oxygen gas during the onset of the reaction.