23.08.2022

Electrocatalytic Oxygen Evolution in Metallic Glasses Published in ACS Catalysis

 

A new study by Dr. Baran Sarac and Univ. Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Dr. h.c. Jürgen Eckert and their colleagues from Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, University of Cambridge, Slovak Academy of Sciences, and National University of Science and Technology MISIS have recently revealed the enhanced oxygen evolution reaction (OER) reaction kinetics of a Zr-Cu-Al-Ni Metallic Glass (MG). Low Tafel slope and high capacitance were achieved by forming a highly electrocatalytically active amorphous Zr-rich oxide layer on MG ribbons via cyclic voltammetry. The long-term stability of the formed oxide layer was also confirmed in the same alkaline electrolyte. A homogeneous combination of inexpensive earth-abundant metals and the facile production method of a Zr-rich oxide layer with high electrocatalytic OER activity make these materials promising candidates for future renewable energy production materials, particularly at small scales. This is also the first article in ACS catalysis to demonstrate the OER performance of metallic glasses in general.

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acscatal.2c02672