Operando XMCD of ferrimagnetic spinel oxide catalysts for magnetic enhanced oxygen evolution reaction

An important hurdle in water electrolysis originates from the fact that the reactants of the anode reaction, the oxygen evolution reaction, are singlet molecules, whereas the oxygen molecule has a triplet ground state with parallel spin alignment. In line with this idea, enhanced OER activity was achieved by inducing ferro- and ferrimagnetic long-range magnetic order in catalysts, but the enhancement mechanism remains largely elusive. Using X-ray Magnetic Circular Dichroism (XMCD) this study will provide insights into the magnetic behavior of thin film oxide catalysts under operando OER conditions which will directly connect the spin-spin interactions in the catalyst to the (changes in) OER activity. This understanding will enable us to shine light on the magnetic dependent OER mechanism.