Boosting the stability of perovskites with exsolved nanoparticles by B-site supplement mechanism

Abstract

Perovskites with exsolved nanoparticles (P-eNs) have immense potentials for carbon dioxide (CO₂) reduction in solid oxide electrolysis cell. Despite the recent achievements in promoting the B-site cation exsolution for enhanced catalytic activities, the unsatisfactory stability of P-eNs at high voltages greatly impedes their practical applications and this issue has not been elucidated. In this study, we reveal that the formation of B-site vacancies in perovskite scaffold is the major contributor to the degradation of P-eNs; we then address this issue by fine-regulating the B-site supplement of the reduced Sr₂Fe_1.3Ni_0.2Mo_0.5O_6-δ using foreign Fe sources, achieving a robust perovskite scaffold and prolonged stability performance. Furthermore, the degradation mechanism from the perspective of structure stability of perovskite has also been proposed to understand the origins of performance deterioration. The B-site supplement endows P-eNs with the capability to become appealing electrocatalysts for CO₂ reduction and more broadly, for other energy storage and conversion systems.

The instability of perovskites with exsolved nanoparticles for CO₂ electrocatalysis impedes their practical applications. Here, the authors show the formation of B-site vacancies in perovskite substrate as a major contributor to the degradation and report a strategy to enhance the stability of the perovskites at high voltages.