Engineering Thermoelectric‐Electrocatalytic Coupling in RuO 2 /PrCoO 3 Heterointerface for Efficient Oxygen Evolution
Yue Yu, Guikai Zhang, Ruqi Wang, Yueshuai Wang, Zihao Sun, Junpeng Zhu, Pengfei An, Shengqi Chu, Yue Lu, Manling Sui, Juncai DongABSTRACT
The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is pivotal for diverse electrochemical energy conversion systems; however, it has so far been plagued by sluggish kinetics and excessive energy consumption. In this study, we proposed an innovative thermoelectric‐electrocatalytic coupling strategy to enhance OER efficiency by constructing an Ohmic heterointerface through uniform integration of RuO 2 with thermoelectric oxide (PrCoO 3 ). Combined experimental and theoretical analyses revealed that the thermoelectric potential generated by PrCoO 3 selectively activates the intrinsically inert (101) facet of RuO 2 by lowering *OOH formation barrier, thereby substantially boosting the overall OER performance. Consequently, the RuO 2 /PrCoO 3 heterointerface delivered exceptional OER performance under a mild temperature gradient (Δ T ) of 175°C, achieving dramatic reduction in overpotential at 10 mA cm −2 from 300 mV (Δ T = 0°C) to 178 mV, 4 300% increase in current density, and negligible potential loss over 1,000 h. When the catalyst was assembled into an anion exchange membrane water electrolyzer, the cell driven by spontaneous heating reached a low voltage of 2.18 V at a current density of 2.0 A cm −2 , with stable operation for 600 h. These insights into harnessing thermal gradient via integrated electrocatalytic system are crucial for the recovery of industrial waste heat and its conversion into high‐value chemicals.