Self-Assembled Ruddlesden–Popper/Perovskite Hybrid with Lattice-Oxygen Activation as a Superior Oxygen Evolution Electrocatalyst

The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is pivotal in multiple gas-involved energy conversion technologies, such as water splitting, rechargeable metal–air batteries, and CO₂/N₂ electrolysis. Emerging anion-redox chemistry provides exciting opportunities for boosting catalytic activity, and thus mastering lattice-oxygen activation of metal oxides and identifying the origins are crucial for the development of advanced catalysts. Here, a strategy to activate surface lattice-oxygen sites for OER catalysis via constructing a Ruddlesden–Popper/perovskite hybrid, which is prepared by a facile one-pot self-assembly method, is developed. As a proof-of-concept, the unique hybrid catalyst (RP/P-LSCF) consists of a dominated Ruddlesden–Popper phase LaSr₃Co_1.5Fe_1.5O_10-δ (RP-LSCF) and second perovskite phase La_0.25Sr_0.75Co_0.5Fe_0.5O_3-δ (P-LSCF), displaying exceptional OER activity. The RP/P-LSCF achieves 10 mA cm⁻² at a low overpotential of only 324 mV in 0.1 m KOH, surpassing the benchmark RuO₂ and various state-of-the-art metal oxides ever reported for OER, while showing significantly higher activity and stability than single RP-LSCF oxide. The high catalytic performance for RP/P-LSCF is attributed to the strong metal–oxygen covalency and high oxygen-ion diffusion rate resulting from the phase mixture, which likely triggers the surface lattice-oxygen activation to participate in OER. The success of Ruddlesden–Popper/perovskite hybrid construction creates a new direction to design advanced catalysts for various energy applications.