A quinary high entropy metal oxide exhibiting robust and efficient bidirectional O2 reduction and water oxidation

The O2/H2O couple-based transformation between renewable energy and electricity has emerged as a key step in implementing a carbon-neutral energy infrastructure. Therefore, an inexpensive and efficient electrocatalyst driving both O2 reduction and O2 evolution reaction in water becomes critical that can be directly applied in a unitized regenerative fuel cell in both electrolyzer or fuel cell mode. Here, we have crafted a high entropy metal oxide (HEO) containing readily abundant first-row transition metals (Fe, Cr, Co, Mn, Ni) via a metal-organic framework intermediate followed by regulated annealing at 750 °C. This material exhibited bidirectional ORR and OER activity in alkaline aqueous media (pH 14.0) with excellent energy efficiency on either side, showcasing a difference of 0.79 V (while achieving 10 mA cm−2 current density) and ∼90% Faradaic efficiency. The in-depth electrochemical and surface analysis pointed out the key formation of the Ni–OOH layer on the HEO particle and the optimal porosity for maximized electrochemical surface area generation as pivotal factors behind its superior reactivity. An alkaline electrolyzer was assembled with this HEO (anode) and Ni-foam (cathode), which demonstrated concurrent production of O2 and H2 over 6 h with minimal alterations in the anodic material. Therefore, this robust, inexpensive, and scalable HEO material can boost the progress in developing sustainable electrolyzer/fuel cell assemblies.