Abstract:
Durable multifunctional electrocatalysts with zero emission
and high catalytic activity are desirable for environmentally benign clean
energy technologies such as water-splitting devices, fuel cells, and
rechargeable metal−air batteries. Herein, we investigate a new antisite
disordered polycrystalline double-perovskite oxide Ca2FeRuO6 (CFR)
material for catalytic activity. This makes it a remarkable electrocatalyst
with excellent stability in a highly alkaline (1 M KOH) medium for oxygen
reduction reaction (ORR), oxygen evolution reaction (OER), and hydrogen
evolution reaction (HER). The bulk perovskite exhibits significant onset
potentials of 0.9 V for ORR and 1.57 V vs the reversible hydrogen electrode
(RHE) for OER, creating a superior bifunctional electrocatalyst. The novelty
enhances for trifunctionality as it shows a moderate onset potential of −0.19
V vs RHE for HER. Substantially, the present material efficiently accelerates
visible-light-driven water splitting for OER at neutral pH with excellent recyclability. The photo-/electroactive perovskite is an
exceptional example of a heterogeneous catalyst for multifunctional activity. A plausible mechanistic pathway for the synergistic
effects of eg orbit-filling in perovskite oxides for OER, ORR, and HER activities is proposed by density functional theory (DFT)
calculations.
