Open Access Publication of the Month – Anton Kaus (PGI-7) et al.

25 August 2025

To encourage us all to broaden our horizons, each month the Central Library selects one open access publication from the JuSER publications portal to be featured in the newsletter of Forschungszentrum Jülich.

In the open access publication of the month for August 2025, Anton Kaus (PGI-7) and his co-authors from IET-1, PGI-7, MEET, and KIT write about the durability of two materials – lanthanum strontium cobalt oxide (LSCO) and lanthanum strontium iron oxide (LSFO) – during the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), which is essential for clean energy production.

The OER is a key step in splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen. Hydrogen then serves as a clean fuel. The authors used highly defined model systems with a precise crystal structure to test the effects of repeatedly triggering the reaction in an alkaline environment. This repetitive process simulates the dynamic operation of an electrolyzer connected to a renewable energy source. Using advanced techniques, such as in operando atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), in cooperation with IET-1, MEET, and KIT, they showed that LSCO degrades rapidly, with aging visible deep within its bulk structure. This degradation leads to a loss of activity over time. In contrast, LSFO primarily exhibits surface transformation while maintaining its bulk structure and remaining an active catalyst material.

These findings provide insights for enhancing catalyst design to achieve greater long-term stability during the oxygen evolution reaction.

The open access publication entitled “Transient Surface Degradation of LSCO and LSFO during OER in Alkaline Electrolyte under Dynamic Cycling Conditions” was published in the journal ACS Catalysis. JuSER publications portal – Transient Surface Degradation of LSCO and LSFO during OER in Alkaline Electrolyte under Dynamic Cycling Conditions

Forschungszentrum Jülich – Central Library (ZB) – Open Access

Forschungszentrum Jülich – Peter Grünberg Institute (PGI) – Electronic Materials (PGI-7)
Forschungszentrum Jülich – Institute of Energy Technologies (IET) – Fundamental Electrochemistry (IET-1) Focus topic "Microscopy and Diffraction"
University of Münster – MEET Battery Research Center
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) – Karlsruhe Nano Micro Facility (KNMFi) – Soft X-Ray Spectroscopy, Microscopy, and Spectromicroscopy (WERA)