In situ O K-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) spectroscopy was applied to investigate the electronic and structural change in the nickel–borate (Ni–Bi) electrocatalyst during the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). An absorption peak was observed around 528.7 eV at 1.0 V versus Ag/AgCl in a potassium borate aqueous solution, which relates with the formation of nanoscale order domains of edge-sharing NiO6 octahedra in the Ni–Bi electrocatalyst. XAFS spectra were measured with variation of the electrode potential from 0.3 up to 1.0 V. The measured absorption peaks suggest that the quantity of NiO6 octahedra increased in correlation with the OER current; however, when the potential was changed downward, the XAFS absorption peak assigned to NiO6 octahedra remained constant, even at the electrode potential for no OER current. This difference implies that the water oxidation catalysis proceeds at the domain edge of NiO6 octahedra. The XAFS technique provides the first successful direct probing of the active species in the Ni–Bi electrocatalyst during electrochemical reaction.

The Mn-oxide/Nb:SrTiO3 photoelectrode for oxygen evolution reaction was investigated by in situ Mn K-edge XAFS spectroscopy under UV irradiation. The oxidization of the Mn oxide was observed via photoexcited carrier transfer, which results in the positive potential shift of the Mn oxide cocatalyst toward oxygen evolution reaction.

Photoexcited hole transfer to MnO x cocatalysts on SrTiO3 photoelectrodes was examined under controlled potential conditions during UV irradiation using in situ Mn K-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) spectroscopy. The absorption edges of spectra were found to shift to higher energies during irradiation, indicating that MnO x cocatalysts were oxidized by the migration of photoexcited holes accompanied by a positive potential shift of the MnO x cocatalysts. This oxidation process was promoted by the application of a positive applied potential, suggesting that the photoexcited hole transfer was enhanced by upward band bending at the cocatalyst–photoelectrode interface. Structural changes of the MnO x cocatalyst were found to depend on the UV photon intensity; thus, the observations of photoexcited electron transfer by XAFS are associated with the photoelectrochemical activity during water splitting.

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The electrochromic transition of a nickel borate thin film between colorless and brown was examined by means of in situ XAFS and UV/vis spectroscopy. The XAFS spectra showed that the average valence state of the nickel species in the film changed from +2.1 to +3.8 following the application of an electrode potential. Additionally, a broad peak at 700 nm was observed during in situ UV/vis absorption measurements on the application of a positive potential. These results suggest that the nickel borate film reversibly forms a NiOOH structure with a domain size of several nanometers during the electrochromic reaction.