| Title |
Enhanced Alkaline Oxygen Evolution Reaction of Co3O4 through Sn-Induced Reduction of Activation Energy Barrier |
| Authors |
이승훈(Seung Hun Lee) ; 이성준(Sung Jun Lee) ; 이상훈(Sanghun Lee) ; 이우재(Woo Jae Lee) ; 채문석(Munseok S Chae) ; 김양도(Yangdo Kim) ; 박유세(Yoo Sei Park) |
| DOI |
https://doi.org/10.3365/KJMM.2026.64.8.753 |
| ISSN |
1738-8228(ISSN), 2288-8241(eISSN) |
| Keywords |
Oxygen evolution reaction; Electrocatalyst; Alkaline water electrolysis; Hydrogen energy |
| Abstract |
Sn-incorporated Co3O4 electrocatalysts were successfully synthesized through a coprecipitation method followed by thermal annealing for application in the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) under alkaline conditions. The Sn content in the catalysts was systematically tuned by varying the molar ratio of Co and Sn precursors during the synthesis process. Structural characterization using X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed that the intrinsic spinel Co3O4 crystal structure was well preserved after Sn incorporation, without the formation of undesirable secondary phases or impurities. Morphological and compositional analyses further verified the uniform distribution of Sn species within the Co3O4. Among the synthesized catalysts, Co3O4@Sn-3 demonstrated the highest OER performance, exhibiting an overpotential of 380 mV at a current density of 10 mA/cm2 which was lower than that of pristine Co3O4@Sn-0 (400 mV). Arrhenius analysis revealed that the activation energy for the OER decreased after Sn incorporation, indicating that Sn doping effectively reduced the electrochemical reaction barrier. The improved OER activity is attributed to the modulation of the surface electronic structure and the facilitated charge-transfer process induced by Sn incorporation into Co3O4. Furthermore, the enhanced catalytic activity and reduced activation energy barrier highlight the potential of Sn-modified Co3O4 electrocatalysts as efficient and cost-effective OER catalysts for alkaline water electrolysis applications. |