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Oxygen Evolution Reaction on 2D Ferromagnetic Fe 3 GeTe 2 : Boosting the Reactivity by the Self‐Reduction of Surface Hydroxyl
Author(s) -
Zhao Yinghe,
Gu Jinxing,
Chen Zhongfang
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.201904782
Subject(s) - overpotential , nanosheet , materials science , oxygen evolution , density functional theory , ferromagnetism , catalysis , chemical engineering , water splitting , reactivity (psychology) , electrochemistry , metal , nanotechnology , chemistry , metallurgy , electrode , condensed matter physics , computational chemistry , organic chemistry , medicine , physics , alternative medicine , photocatalysis , pathology , engineering
Fe 3 GeTe 2 is a water‐ and air‐stable, metallic, and layered material. Very recently, few‐layer and single‐layer Fe 3 GeTe 2 have been successfully exfoliated from its bulk and revealed as 2D ferromagnets ( Nature 2018 , 563 , 94; Nat. Mater . 2018 , 17 , 778). Here, the basal plane of Fe 3 GeTe 2 is demonstrated to be of high electrocatalytic activity towards oxygen evolution reaction (OER) without resorting to any chemical modifications, by means of systematic density functional theory computations. The Fe 3 GeTe 2 nanosheet preserves the metallic character of the bulk, and its 2D layered structure provides abundant exposed active sites to catalyze OER. All these unique characteristics suggest that the Fe 3 GeTe 2 nanosheet may be an excellent catalyst for electrochemical OER. More importantly, it is found that the self‐reduction of surface hydroxyl into water can significantly reduce the overpotential for OER, which greatly boosts the OER activity. This work not only reveals new mechanisms for OER but also opens the door for the application of emerging 2D ferromagnets in the field of energy storage and conversion.