Abstract
A central challenge for hydrogen generation via electrolytic water splitting is the identification of efficient oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts; a key aspect of the challenge hinges on an ability to relate atomic-scale structure to observed activities. Amorphous iron-based oxide(hydroxides) prepared by photochemical metal organic decomposition (PMOD) are proven OER catalysts, but their atomistic structures have been elusive. Here, a combination of powder diffraction and pair distribution function (PDF) analyses enables the formulation of a set of structural characteristics that capture the salient features of amorphous iron oxide(hydroxide) (a-FeOx), a model compound for this class of materials. a-FeOx contains only octahedrally coordinated iron atoms, which form clusters of both edge- and corner-sharing octahedra. A degree of “eutaxy” with predominantly ABC-type anion stacking persists at length scales beyond the dimensions of cluster domains–consistent with thermally induced crystallization in...
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