Rapid Surface Reconstruction of Amorphous Co(OH)2/WOx with Rich Oxygen Vacancies to Promote Oxygen Evolution.

Herein, a transition metal dissolution‐oxygen vacancy strategy, based on dissolution of highly oxidized transition metal species in alkaline electrolyte, was suggested to construct a high‐performance amorphous Co(OH)2/WOx (a‐CoW) catalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). The surface reconstruction of a‐CoW and its evolution were described by regulating oxygen vacancies. With continuous dissolution of W species, oxygen vacancies on the surface were generated rapidly, the surface reconstruction was promoted, and the OER performance was improved significantly. During the surface reconstruction, W species also played a role in electronic modulation for Co. Due to its rapid surface reconstruction, a‐CoW exhibited excellent OER performance in alkaline electrolyte with an overpotential of 208 mV at 10 mA cm−2 and had long‐term stability for at least 120 h. This work shows that the transition metal dissolution‐oxygen vacancy strategy is effective for preparation of high‐performance catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]