Oxygen Evolution Reaction over the Au/YSZ Interface at High Temperature

Oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is a sluggish electrocatalytic reaction in solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) at high temperatures (600~850 oC). Perovskite oxide has been widely investigated for catalyzing the OER, however, the formation of cation‐enriched secondary phases at the oxide/oxide interface blocks the active sites and decreases the OER performance. Herein, we show that the Au/yttria‐stabilized zirconia (YSZ) interface possesses much higher OER activity than the lanthanum strontium manganite/YSZ anode. Electrochemical characterizations and density functional theory calculations suggest that the Au/YSZ interface provides a favorable path for OER by triggering the interfacial oxygen spillover from the YSZ to the Au surface. In situ X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy results confirm the existence of spillover oxygen on the Au surface. This study demonstrates that the Au/YSZ interface possesses excellent catalytic activity for OER at high temperatures in SOEC.

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