Water oxidation is an important reaction that produces electrons and protons, which are important for downstream reactions such as hydrogen production and carbon dioxide reduction. Presently, the slow water oxidation is a key limiting factor for the development of hydrogen production and/or carbon dioxide reduction into practical solar energy storage technologies. An important reason for the slow progress in solve water oxidation problems is the lack of knowledge on the detailed mechanisms by which water is oxidized. As a multi-step process, the reaction involves at least 4 protons and 4 holes (when the desired product is oxygen gas). Intuitively, the coordination of charges and protons plays a critical role, but the details remain unknown. In this talk, we report our recent progress in understanding how water oxidation is influenced by surface hole behaviors. Using an Ir-based catalyst that features atomically defined structures, we were able to systematically vary a number of parameters, including the hole concentration, the density of active sites, as well as the properties of the supporting substrate that determines hole accumulation. It was found that matching the concentrations of surface holes and active site densities is critical. It was also revealed that the support substrate could have a profound influence on the reaction kinetics, even though they do not directly participate in the reactions. This knowledge is expected to propel the development of catalysts for improved water oxidation under photochemical conditions.
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