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Topological materials have been recently regarded as ideal catalysts for heterogeneous reactions due to their surface metallic states and high carrier mobility. However, the underlying relationship between their catalytic performance and topological states is under debate. It has been discovered that the electride 12CaO·7Al2 O3 (C12A7:4e- ) hosts multifold fermions and Fermi arcs on the (001) surface near the Fermi level due to the interstitial electrons. Through the comparison of catalytic performance under different doping and strain conditions, based on the hydrogen evolution process, it has been demonstrated that the excellent catalytic performance indeed originates from topological properties. A linear relationship between the length of Fermi arcs, and Gibbs free energy (ΔGH* ) has been found, which not only provides the direct evidence to link the enhanced catalytic performance and surface Fermi arc states, but also fully clarifies the fundamental mechanism in topological catalysis.
Meng et al. (Tue,) studied this question.