Enhancing catalytic activity of NdFeO3 perovskite by tuning A-site cation deficiency for oxygen evolution reaction

Electrochemical water splitting got much attention because of its great promising electrochemical technology to generate sustainable and renewable energy resources. In this aim, we have prepared a novel series of electrocatalysts Nd_1-xFeO₃ (x = 0.0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.15) by sol-gel method. The effect of the deficiency in the A-site on the structure, morphology, surface and electrocatalytic activity of these perovskites were studied by means of XRD, XPS, MEB, LSV, EIS and chronopotentiometric measurements. Among all the samples, Nd_0.9FeO₃ (denoted NF10) exhibits the higher catalytic activity with a low overpotential of 370 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm^?2, a small Tafel slope of 79 mV dec^?1 and a good electrochemical stability in 1 M KOH solution. The OER performance of NF10 can be effectively enhanced by optimizing iron valence and highly oxidative oxygen species (O₂^2?/O^?) based on the surface of catalyst. The results of this study indicate that the NF10 electrocatalyst can be considered as a good candidate for the OER in alkaline media.