The oxygen evolution reaction that occurs during water oxidation is of considerable importance as an essential energy conversion reaction for rechargeable metal–air batteries and direct solar water splitting. Cost-efficient ABO3 perovskites have been studied extensively because of their high activity for the oxygen evolution reaction; however, they lack stability, and an effective solution to this problem has not yet been demonstrated. Here we report that the Fe4+-based quadruple perovskite CaCu3Fe4O12 has high activity, which is comparable to or exceeding those of state-of-the-art catalysts such as Ba0.5Sr0.5Co0.8Fe0.2O3−δ and the gold standard RuO2. The covalent bonding network incorporating multiple Cu2+ and Fe4+ transition metal ions significantly enhances the structural stability of CaCu3Fe4O12, which is key to achieving highly active long-life catalysts.

The supposed low viscosity of serpentine may strongly influence subduction-zone dynamics at all time scales, but until now its role could not be quantified because measurements relevant to intermediate-depth settings were lacking. Deformation experiments on the serpentine antigorite at high pressures and temperatures (1 to 4 gigapascals, 200 degrees to 500 degrees C) showed that the viscosity of serpentine is much lower than that of the major mantle-forming minerals. Regardless of the temperature, low-viscosity serpentinized mantle at the slab surface can localize deformation, impede stress buildup, and limit the downdip propagation of large earthquakes at subduction zones. Antigorite enables viscous relaxation with characteristic times comparable to those of long-term postseismic deformations after large earthquakes and slow earthquakes. Antigorite viscosity is sufficiently low to make serpentinized faults in the oceanic lithosphere a site for subduction initiation.