Functional oxides and their interfaces offer new opportunities to overcome the 

current limits of energy storage and conversion systems, e.g., water dissociation 

and formation. However, the understanding of complex oxide interfaces and 

their electrochemical properties is far from complete, particularly with regard to 

electronic and ionic dynamics occurring in aqueous solutions or ionic liquids under 

applied electric fields. To elucidate the physical and electrocatalytic properties 

of oxide surfaces and interfaces, it is necessary to build a model system and to 

employ in situ experimental tools to detect and analyze the complex time-dependent 

phenomena. In this talk, I will introduce recent in situ synchrotron studies [1,2] 

conducted at Argonne National Laboratory that combine structural, spectroscopic, 

and electrochemical characterization on model systems, e.g., epitaxial perovskite 

or layered oxide thin films. With this methodology, we can determine both the 

reactivity and stability of active sites on complex oxide surfaces during water 

dissociation and formation. This approach offers much needed insight into the 

electrocatalytic properties of oxide interfaces and provides new strategies for the 

creation of new stable and active energy materials designed at the atomic level. 

 

[1] S. H. Chang et al., ACS Nano 8, 1584 (2014). 

[2] S. H. Chang et al., Nature Commun. 5, 4191 (2014).