Enhanced oxygen and hydrogen evolution activities of Pt/LaCoO3 perovskite oxide via in-situ exsolution of Pt nanoparticles

This report designed a Pt/LaCoO3 composite electrocatalyst for electrochemical water splitting: LaCo0.94Pt0.06O3 was prepared via the sol-gel method and then dealt with a heat treatment in 10% H-2/Ar atmosphere at 350 degrees C. The XRD, HRTEM, SEM and XPS results show that the Pt nanoparticles (NPs) exsolve from the perovskite lattice and are homogeneously distributed on the surface. The HER and OER performance of the samples was tested in 1 mol.L-1 KOH solution and the findings illustrate that compared with LaCo0.94Pt0.06O3, Pt/LaCoO3 owes better OER and HER performance. The improved performance could be up to the higher ratio of oxygen vacancies and improved charge transfer. Furthermore, the synergistic effect between Pt NPs and the LaCoO3 matrix may also take a leading part in the future.