Stabilizing Oxygen Vacancy in Entropy-Engineered CoFe2O4-Type Catalysts for Co-prosperity of Efficiency and Stability in an Oxygen Evolution Reaction

We used entropy engineering to design a series of CoFe2O4-type spinels. Through microstructural characterization, electrochemical measurements, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, we demonstrated that the entropy-stabilized oxide (Co0.2Mn0.2Ni0.2Fe0.2Zn0.2)Fe2O4 has a single-phase spinel structure and exhibits both efficient and stable catalytic oxygen evolution. This is attributable to disordered occupation of multivalent cations, which induces severe lattice distortion and increases configurational entropy, thereby facilitating formation of structurally stable, high-density oxygen vacancies on the exposed surface of the spinel. Thus, more catalytic sites on the surface are activated and retained over the course of long-duration testing for oxygen evolution. Entropy engineering expands researchers’ access to catalysts that link entropy-stabilized structures to useful properties.