Dynamic carbon surface chemistry: Revealing the role of carbon in electrolytic water oxidation

作     者：Yuxiao Ding Qingqing Gu Alexander Klyushin Xing Huang Sakeb H.Choudhury Ioannis Spanos Feihong Song Rik Mom Pascal Dungen Anna K.Mechler Robert Schlogl Saskia Heumann Yuxiao Ding;Qingqing Gu;Alexander Klyushin;Xing Huang;Sakeb H.Choudhury;Ioannis Spanos;Feihong Song;Rik Mom;Pascal Düngen;Anna K.Mechler;Robert Schl(o)gl;Saskia Heumann

作者机构：Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy ConversionStiftstrasse 34-36Mtilheim an der Ruhr 45470Germany Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck GesellschaftFaradayweg 4-6Berlin 14195Germany Research Group Catalysis for EnergyHelmholtz-Zentrum Berlin fur Materialien und Energie GmbHAlbert-Einstein-Strasse 1512489 BerlinGermany 

出 版 物：《Journal of Energy Chemistry》 (能源化学（英文版）)

年 卷 期：2020年第29卷第8期

页      面：155-159,I0006页

核心收录：

学科分类：081704[工学-应用化学] 07[理学] 08[工学] 0817[工学-化学工程与技术] 0703[理学-化学] 070301[理学-无机化学] 

基　　金：support of the Max Planck society 

主　　题：Carbon chemistry Carbon catalysis Carbon electrode Water splitting Iron impurity 

摘      要：Carbon materials have been widely used as electrodes, but the mechanistic roles are still not clear due to the complexity of the carbon surface chemistry. Herein we clarify that intrinsic material properties of carbon have to be activated by extrinsic factors. Pure carbon has no catalytic activity when used as electrode for electrocatalytic water oxidation. The evolution of oxygen functional groups on the carbon surface with increasing potential and the subsequent formation of real active sites with iron impurities from the electrolyte have been confirmed. These in-situ formed active sites protect the carbon from deep oxidation. This unprecedented finding not only provides insight into the dynamic evolution of carbon electrode surface chemistry and raises awareness of the need for detailed surface analysis under operando conditions, but also suggests a direction for the development of scalable and high-performance carbonbased electrode systems for various electrochemical applications.