Interface engineering of Co3O4---SmMn2O5 nanosheets for efficient oxygen reduction electrocatalysis
Ying WANG(), Fan LIU, Hongjie YUAN, Tianjun HU()
Key Laboratory of Magnetic Molecules & Magnetic Information Materials (Ministry of Education), School of Chemical and Material Science, Shanxi Normal University, Taiyuan 030006, China
Interface engineering is an efficient strategy to modify electronic structure and further improve electrocatalytic activity. Herein, crystalline/amorphous heterostructured Co3O4–SmMn2O5 nanosheets (Co3O4–SMO NSs) have been synthesized by coupling of SMO (electron acceptor) with higher Fermi-level Co3O4 (electron donor), via a one-step hydrothermal method followed by calcination. The resulting Co3O4–SMO NSs display higher half-wave potential and specific activity than those of pure SMO or Co3O4. In addition, Co3O4–SMO NSs exhibit superior stability and methanol tolerance. The crystalline/amorphous heterostructure and the electron interaction between SMO and Co3O4 result in interfacial charge transfer. This leads to more active valence states and more oxygen vacancies, optimizing the adsorption energy of O species and expediting electron migration, thus boosting oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalytic performance. This study provides a promising strategy to design efficient ORR electrocatalysts by interfacial engineering.
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