Mass-Production of Mesoporous MnCo2O4 Spinels with Manganese(IV)- and Cobalt(II)-Rich Surfaces for Superior Bifunctional Oxygen Electrocatalysis

A mesoporous MnCo2O4 electrode material is made for bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysis. The MnCo2O4 exhibits both Co3O4-like activity for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and Mn2O3-like performance for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). The potential difference between the ORR and OER of MnCo2O4 is as low as 0.83V. By XANES and XPS investigation, the notable activity results from the preferred Mn-IV- and Co-II-rich surface. The electrode material can be obtained on large-scale with the precise chemical control of the components at relatively low temperature. The surface state engineering may open a new avenue to optimize the electrocatalysis performance of electrode materials. The prominent bifunctional activity shows that MnCo2O4 could be used in metal-air batteries and/or other energy devices.