Spin Effect on Oxygen Electrocatalysis
Jisi Li, Jingjing Ma, Zi’ang Ma, Erling Zhao, Kun Du, Jiaxin Guo, Tao Ling
Abstract
Oxygen involved reactions, including oxygen reduction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reactions (OERs), play a key role in electrochemical energy devices, such as fuel cells and metal–air batteries. Recent theoretical calculations and experimental investigations reveal that the energy loss in ORR/OER is closely related to the triplet O 2 generation/conversion step. However, the spin‐related phenomena have long been neglected in understanding of the ORR/OER mechanism. This review highlights recent advances in understanding and application of the spin‐related effect in oxygen electrocatalysis. It is demonstrated that the exchange interaction in magnetic catalysts can build a spin‐selective channel to filter the electron spins with appropriate orientation in the O 2 generation/conversion step during ORR/OER. It is believed that the introduction of spin effect can establish a more comprehensive understanding of oxygen electrocatalysis and assist designing more reactive oxygen electrocatalysts.