Influence of Calcination Temperature on Electrochemical Properties of Perovskite Oxide Nanofiber Catalysts

Energy conversion and storage systems have recently attracted significant attention owing to increasing environmental and energy problems. However, the slow kinetics of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) render their commercialization difficult. Many studies are being conducted to replace precious metal catalysts that have high activity for the ORR and OER but have scarcity and low stability. In this study, Sm0.5Sr0.5CoO3 (SSC) nanofibers were fabricated via the electrospinning of non-precious metal-based perovskite oxides to replace precious metal catalysts. In addition, the properties and electrochemical performance of SSC fibers synthesized at different calcination temperatures were evaluated. The small crystallite size, high specific surface area, abundant oxygen vacancies, and high ORR/OER activity suggest that SSC800 hollow fibers are optimal bifunctional catalysts.