Water oxidation by manganese oxides, a new step towards a complete picture: simplicity is the ultimate sophistication

We, for the first time, report that many Mn oxides (Mn3O4, alpha-Mn2O3, beta-MnO2, CaMnO3, Ca2Mn3O8, CaMn3O6 and CaMn4O8) in the presence of cerium(IV) ammonium nitrate, in the water oxidation, convert to layered Mn oxide. This layered Mn oxide is an efficient water oxidizing catalyst.