Enhancement of electrocatalytic oxygen evolution by chiral molecular functionalization of hybrid 2D electrodes
Yunchang Liang, Karla Banjac, Kévin Martin, Nicolas Zigon, Seunghwa Lee, Nicolas Vanthuyne, Felipe A. Garcés‐Pineda, José Ramón Galán‐Mascarós, Xile Hu, Narcis Avarvari, Magalı́ Lingenfelder
Abstract
A sustainable future requires highly efficient energy conversion and storage processes, where electrocatalysis plays a crucial role. The activity of an electrocatalyst is governed by the binding energy towards the reaction intermediates, while the scaling relationships prevent the improvement of a catalytic system over its volcano-plot limits. To overcome these limitations, unconventional methods that are not fully determined by the surface binding energy can be helpful. Here, we use organic chiral molecules, i.e., hetero-helicenes such as thiadiazole-[7]helicene and bis(thiadiazole)-[8]helicene, to boost the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) by up to ca. 130 % (at the potential of 1.65 V vs. RHE) at state-of-the-art 2D Ni- and NiFe-based catalysts via a spin-polarization mechanism. Our results show that chiral molecule-functionalization is able to increase the OER activity of catalysts beyond the volcano limits. A guideline for optimizing the catalytic activity via chiral molecular functionalization of hybrid 2D electrodes is given.