Oxygen reduction reaction on Mn-doped Cu Oxide Electrodes

The manuscript explores the oxygen reduction activity of Mn-doped Cu oxide electrodes. Mn is redox-active within the ORR potential range, exhibiting oxidation states from +2 to +7. The Cu[Mn]Ox/Au catalyst demonstrates superior ORR performance, surpassing both pure CuOx and MnOx electrodes. In situ Raman spectroscopy shows that the peak at 612cm-1 demonstrated stark tuning ~0.7V, indicating a redox-active structural framework containing Cu-O-Mn type linkages. In general, this study reinforces the idea that mixing a first-row transition metal into a CuO system can create mixed phases with coordinative unsaturation that can enhance O-O bond breaking.