Quasi-single-crystalline CoO hexagrams with abundant defects for highly efficient electrocatalytic water oxidation

Abstract

Defects and structural long-range ordering have been recognized as two crucial characters for advanced electrocatalysts. However, these two features have rarely been achieved together. Herein, we report the preparation of single-crystalline CoO hexagrams and demonstrate their exceptional electrocatalytic properties for water oxidation. The quasi-single-crystalline CoO hexagrams, prepared at the critical phase transition point of β-Co(OH)₂/Co(OH)F hexagrams, possess both abundant oxygen vacancies as defects and structural long-range ordering. The matching between the b-axis of Co(OH)F crystals and the a-axis of β-Co(OH)₂ crystals is critical for the formation of the CoO hexagram single crystals. The quasi-single-crystalline CoO hexagrams with abundant defects are highly efficient for water oxidation by delivering a 10 mA cm⁻² current density at a low overpotential of 269 mV in a 1 M KOH aqueous solution.