Effect of temperature treatment on CoTiO_x catalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction

Developing improved catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) to boost the efficiency of hydrogen production via electrochemical water splitting is a crucial step for advancing this attractive renewable energy technology. In this work, we identify CoTiO_x as a novel nonprecious metal catalyst for the OER and explore the effect of temperature treatments on its activity, structure, and electronic state. Using a simple and scalable sol-gel synthesis we can deposit this catalyst on a wide variety of substrates. Extended electrochemical testing reveals good stability and physical and electronic characterization of this catalyst reveals an amorphous structure and an oxidation state similar to that of other active cobalt catalysts.