Pseudo-adsorption and long-range redox coupling during oxygen reduction reaction on single atom electrocatalyst

Fundamental understanding of the dynamic behaviors at the electrochemical interface is crucial for electrocatalyst design and optimization. Here, we revisit the oxygen reduction reaction mechanism on a series of transition metal (M = Fe, Co, Ni, Cu) single atom sites embedded in N-doped nanocarbon by ab initio molecular dynamics simulations with explicit solvation. We have identified the dissociative pathways and the thereby emerged solvated hydroxide species for all the proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) steps at the electrochemical interface. Such hydroxide species can be dynamically confined in a “pseudo-adsorption” state at a few water layers away from the active site and respond to the redox event at the catalytic center in a coupled manner within timescale less than 1 ps. In the PCET steps, the proton species (in form of hydronium in neutral/acidic media or water in alkaline medium) can protonate the pseudo-adsorbed hydroxide without needing to travel to the direct catalyst surface. This, therefore, expands the reactive region beyond the direct catalyst surface, boosting the reaction kinetics via alleviating mass transfer limits. Our work implies that in catalysis the reaction species may not necessarily bind to the catalyst surface but be confined in an active region.