Cation vacancies mediate thermochemical water splitting with iron aluminates

Abstract

Solar thermochemical water splitting enables hydrogen production by cycling metal oxides between reduced and oxidized states, typically through an oxygen vacancy mechanism. However, recent experimental work suggests that cation vacancies have a greater influence on the redox behavior of iron aluminate spinels used in water splitting. This remains debated, as calculations predict that such cation vacancies are thermodynamically unfavorable. In the current work, we show that Fe vacancies in (Fe$\zeta$Al1-$\zeta$)3O4 become accessible only when facilitated by inversion between Fe and Al. This antisite disorder lowers the formation energy of octahedral Fe vacancies in Al-rich spinels ($\zeta$ = 1/3) from over 3 eV to just 0.62 eV when one third of the cation sites are inverted, allowing high Fe vacancy concentrations under oxidizing conditions. This mechanism supports high H2 yields up to 361 $\mu$mol/g, consistent with experimental observations. Our findings support the notion that solar thermochemical water splitting can occur through a cation vacancy mechanism. They also clarify how site inversion, vacancy energetics, and defect interactions each contribute to redox performance, offering general design principles for identifying and optimizing materials that operate through cation vacancy cycling.