  Renewable energy conversion and storage, and greenhouse gas emission-free
technologies are within the primary tasks and challenges for the society.
Hydrogen fuel, produced by alkaline water electrolysis is fulfilling all these
demands, however the technology is economically feeble, limited by the slow
rate of oxygen evolution reaction. Complex metal oxides were suggested to
overcome this problem being low-cost efficient catalysts. However, the
insufficient long-term stability, degradation of structure and electrocatalytic
activity are restricting their utilization. Here we report on a new
perovskite-based self-assembling material BaCo0.98Ti0.02O3-$\delta$:Co3O4 with
superior performance, showing outstanding properties compared to current
state-of-the-art materials without degeneration of its properties even at 353
K. By chemical and structural analysis the degradation mechanism was identified
and modified by selective doping. Short-range order and chemical composition
rather than long-range order are factors determining the outstanding
performance. The derived general design rules can be used for further
development of oxide-based electrocatalytic materials.
