On April 9, the journal “Nature Communications” published online a research article titled “High-entropy alloy enables multi-path electron synergism and lattice oxygen activation for enhanced oxygen evolution activity” by Professor Yu Haibin’s team at the High Magnetic Field Laboratory, Chinese Academy of Sciences. The work was a collaboration between Professor Yu’s team and Associate Professor Peng Xu from Hubei University. The University was listed as the first affiliation. Professor Yu Haibin and Associate Professor Peng Xu are co-corresponding authors, while Ph.D. candidates Zhang Tao (class of 2020) and Zhao Huifeng are co-first authors. Associate Researcher Peng Jing from Shenzhen Institute of Technology also contributed to the research.

Electrocatalytic Oxygen Evolution Reaction (OER) is a critical step in clean energy technologies such as water electrolysis for hydrogen production. However, its sluggish reaction kinetics significantly limit overall energy conversion efficiency. Traditional catalysts rely mainly on the adsorption of reaction intermediates at metal active sites (via the Adsorbate Evolution Mechanism, AEM), and their performance is constrained by the theoretical overpotential limit. Although the Lattice Oxygen Mechanism (LOM) can potentially overcome this limitation, it faces challenges such as the instability of high-valence metal states and low oxygen activation efficiency.

High-Entropy Alloys Enable Multi-Path Electron Synergism to Activate Lattice Oxygen for OER

This research leverages the multicomponent characteristics of high-entropy alloys (HEAs) to construct a multi-path electron synergism strategy, enabling precise modulation of the electronic structure through the combination of various metallic elements. Moreover, the synergistic effect of multiple elements in the HEA successfully activates a new reaction mechanism involving lattice oxygen, offering a novel approach for the development of highly active and stable OER catalysts.

The study reveals that high-valence Ni sites facilitate lattice oxygen activation, while the introduction of weak Co-O bonds significantly reduces the energy barrier for O–O bond formation, resulting in an efficient Ni–Co dual active center. This multi-element synergistic design strategy not only surpasses the performance limitations of traditional single-metal catalysts but also induces a stable amorphous structure via surface reconstruction, achieving simultaneous enhancement in both catalytic activity and stability.

This work provides deep insight into the structure–activity relationships in multi-element HEA catalysts and lays a solid theoretical foundation for designing new, efficient materials for energy conversion applications.

The research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and other funding programs.

Article link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-58648-y