Janus effect of FeCo dual atom catalyst with Co as active center in acidic oxygen reduction reaction

Abstract Dual-atom catalysts (DACs) represent a frontier in heterogeneous electrocatalysis for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in proton exchange membrane fuel cells. However, the dynamic evolution of active-site structure complicates mechanistic understanding. Herein, alloyed Fe-Co DACs with st...

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Main Authors: Long-Ji Yuan, Zhen-Yu Miao, Xu-Lei Sui, Chi-Feng Lee, Qi Li, Mei-Jie Yin, Li-Xiao Shen, Ying-Rui Lu, Zi-Gang Zhao, Yu-Zhe Liu, Lin-Sheng Zhu, Wei Gong, Wen-Liang Feng, Hsiao-Tsu Wang, Guo-Xu Zhang, Zhen-Bo Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-08-01
Series:Nature Communications
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-62728-4
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Summary:Abstract Dual-atom catalysts (DACs) represent a frontier in heterogeneous electrocatalysis for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in proton exchange membrane fuel cells. However, the dynamic evolution of active-site structure complicates mechanistic understanding. Herein, alloyed Fe-Co DACs with strong Fe-Co bonds are synthesized via molecular chelation and ionic coupling strategies. In-situ spectroscopy combined with theoretical calculation reveals the Janus effect of Fe-Co dual-atom sites: Co serves as the primary catalytic center for the 4e- process with Fe as the cooperative sites to absorb the *OH. This division-of-labor mechanism lowers the theoretical overpotential from 1.14 V to 0.43 V for acidic oxygen reduction reaction. Thus, the catalyst achieves a 0.852 V half-wave potential and 1.14 W cm−2 power density (2.0 bar H₂-O₂), sustaining 81% peak power after 10,000 cycles. These findings clarify DAC configuration-mechanism relationships, guiding the design of high-performance DACs.
ISSN:2041-1723