Highly Active Ba0.5Sr0.5Co0.8Fe0.2O3-δ Single Material Electrode towards the Oxygen Evolution Reaction for Alkaline Water Splitting Applications

Abstract

Ba0.5Sr0.5Co0.8Fe0.2O3-δ (BSCF)/carbon composite electrodes show remarkable activity towards the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). However, carbon oxidation at high potentials is definitively an issue for carbon-containing anodic electrode materials in water electrolyzers. We have recently demonstrated that after processing BSCF with carbon, the electronic structure of the material changes and high OER activity can be achieved. In this contribution we show that after processing BSCF with carbon it is possible to remove the carbon component retaining the same high OER activity of the BSCF/carbon composite electrodes, improving at the same time the electrode stability, i.e. avoiding the carbon oxidation at high potentials.