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Self-adaptive ZrN coating enables stable acidic oxygen evolution on Co3O4through dynamic surface reconstruction

Han, Zheng ; Sufyan, Ali LU ; Zheng, Jiaxian ; Li, Jiahao ; Liu, Xin ; Mao, Lujiao ; van Loon, Erik LU orcid and Liang, Hanfeng (2026) In Materials Horizons 13(2). p.1036-1043
Abstract

The development of acid-stable, non-precious catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) remains a critical challenge for proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers (PEMWEs). While Co3O4 shows promising OER activity, its rapid dissolution in acidic media severely limits practical application. Here, we design a self-adaptive protection strategy by depositing ZrN coatings on Co3O4 precursor via magnetron sputtering. Controlled calcination transforms the initial ZrN coating into a mixed-phase Zr2ON2 and ZrO2 surface layer. This unique coating architecture combines the high conductivity of Zr2ON2 with the corrosion resistance of... (More)

The development of acid-stable, non-precious catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) remains a critical challenge for proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers (PEMWEs). While Co3O4 shows promising OER activity, its rapid dissolution in acidic media severely limits practical application. Here, we design a self-adaptive protection strategy by depositing ZrN coatings on Co3O4 precursor via magnetron sputtering. Controlled calcination transforms the initial ZrN coating into a mixed-phase Zr2ON2 and ZrO2 surface layer. This unique coating architecture combines the high conductivity of Zr2ON2 with the corrosion resistance of ZrO2, enabling high OER performance with a low overpotential of 362 mV at 10 mA cm−2 and good stability of over 140 h at 100 mA cm−2 in 0.1 M HClO4. Structural characterization reveals that under OER conditions, the coating spontaneously reconstructs, preferentially forming Zr2ON2 due to its thermodynamic stability. This reconstruction simultaneously optimizes interfacial charge transfer and suppresses Co over-oxidation, thereby inhibiting dissolution. When integrated into PEMWEs, the catalyst demonstrates practical viability, sustaining 500 mA cm−2 at 1.8 V with >40 h stability at 200 mA cm−2. This work establishes dynamic coating reconstruction as a powerful strategy for designing stable acidic OER catalysts.

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author
; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Materials Horizons
volume
13
issue
2
pages
8 pages
publisher
Royal Society of Chemistry
external identifiers
  • scopus:105028362067
  • pmid:41160586
ISSN
2051-6347
DOI
10.1039/d5mh01453k
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
b33ab598-0846-4c2e-b280-e2bb231ecddd
date added to LUP
2026-02-19 14:17:39
date last changed
2026-02-19 14:18:50
@article{b33ab598-0846-4c2e-b280-e2bb231ecddd,
  abstract     = {{<p>The development of acid-stable, non-precious catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) remains a critical challenge for proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers (PEMWEs). While Co<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub> shows promising OER activity, its rapid dissolution in acidic media severely limits practical application. Here, we design a self-adaptive protection strategy by depositing ZrN coatings on Co<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub> precursor via magnetron sputtering. Controlled calcination transforms the initial ZrN coating into a mixed-phase Zr<sub>2</sub>ON<sub>2</sub> and ZrO<sub>2</sub> surface layer. This unique coating architecture combines the high conductivity of Zr<sub>2</sub>ON<sub>2</sub> with the corrosion resistance of ZrO<sub>2</sub>, enabling high OER performance with a low overpotential of 362 mV at 10 mA cm<sup>−2</sup> and good stability of over 140 h at 100 mA cm<sup>−2</sup> in 0.1 M HClO<sub>4</sub>. Structural characterization reveals that under OER conditions, the coating spontaneously reconstructs, preferentially forming Zr<sub>2</sub>ON<sub>2</sub> due to its thermodynamic stability. This reconstruction simultaneously optimizes interfacial charge transfer and suppresses Co over-oxidation, thereby inhibiting dissolution. When integrated into PEMWEs, the catalyst demonstrates practical viability, sustaining 500 mA cm<sup>−2</sup> at 1.8 V with &gt;40 h stability at 200 mA cm<sup>−2</sup>. This work establishes dynamic coating reconstruction as a powerful strategy for designing stable acidic OER catalysts.</p>}},
  author       = {{Han, Zheng and Sufyan, Ali and Zheng, Jiaxian and Li, Jiahao and Liu, Xin and Mao, Lujiao and van Loon, Erik and Liang, Hanfeng}},
  issn         = {{2051-6347}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{1036--1043}},
  publisher    = {{Royal Society of Chemistry}},
  series       = {{Materials Horizons}},
  title        = {{Self-adaptive ZrN coating enables stable acidic oxygen evolution on Co<sub>3</sub>O<sub>4</sub>through dynamic surface reconstruction}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/d5mh01453k}},
  doi          = {{10.1039/d5mh01453k}},
  volume       = {{13}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}