The critical role of A, B-site cations and oxygen vacancies on the OER electrocatalytic performances of Bi0.15Sr0.85Co1−Fe O3−δ (0.2 ≤ x ≤ 1) perovskites in alkaline media

Development of perovskite-type electrocatalysts with high activity, excellent durability and affordable cost provides a promising solution to promote commercialization of clean energy technologies. Here we prepared Bi0.15Sr0.85Co1−xFexO3−δ (x = 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1) perovskites by the conventional solid-state reaction route, and investigated their OER electrocatalytic activity and durability in 0.1 M KOH solution to reveal the critical role of A, B-site cations and oxygen vacancies. Results show the OER activity decreases with increasing x. The optimum composition, BiSC0.8F0.2, presents impressive electrocatalytic performances with low overpotential (330 mV on rotation disk electrode, and 283 mV on carbon paper electrode at 10 mA/cm2) and excellent long-time durability showing a small increase in the overpotential of 17 mV in 167.5 h. Comprehensive analysis and discussion on the bulk and surface properties reveal the critical role of A, B-site cations and oxygen vacancies on OER, and interrelations of Co2+ fraction, oxygen non-stoichiometry and the OER overpotential have been established. Most importantly, a highly A-site deficient surface layer is found on the as-synthesized perovskite, which facilitate OER by exposing more active B-site cations. This work not only reports a promising OER electrocatalyst with high activity and superior durability, but also provides perspectives on relational design for highly efficient and stable perovskite electrocatalysts for OER using solid-state reaction method.