Tuning ORR/OER activity by designing ferroelectric FeTiO3 heterostructures

The integration of ferroelectricity in two-dimensional materials offers a promising strategy for tuning electrocatalytic properties. In this study, we use first-principles calculations to investigate how ferroelectricity modulates catalytic activity in non-van der Waals heterostructures (HSs). Speci...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Hetti Wijesingha, Junxian Liu, Liangzhi Kou
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2025-01-01
Series:JPhys Materials
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7639/ade73f
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Summary:The integration of ferroelectricity in two-dimensional materials offers a promising strategy for tuning electrocatalytic properties. In this study, we use first-principles calculations to investigate how ferroelectricity modulates catalytic activity in non-van der Waals heterostructures (HSs). Specifically, we design ilmenene (FeTiO _3 monolayer) interfaced with ferroelectric (FE) substrates, Sc _2 CO _2 and In _2 Te _3 , to elucidate their polarization effects on the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Our density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that both upward (P↑) and downward (P↓) polarization states significantly influence charge redistribution at the catalytic centre, with the P↑ state facilitating superior electron donation. These polarization effects substantially optimize the ORR/OER catalytic activity, yielding relatively low theoretical OER overpotentials ( η _OER ) of 0.55 V for FeTiO _3 /Sc _2 CO _2 and 0.63 V for FeTiO _3 /In _2 Te _3 , respectively. These findings highlight the role of FE substrates in tailoring electrocatalytic performance, providing insights for the design of polarization-driven catalysts in energy conversion applications.
ISSN:2515-7639