The application discloses a biomimetic water-splitting catalyst containing
rare earth ions and a preparation method and application thereof, the catalyst contains [Mn n XO m ] cluster compounds, wherein n is 3 or 4; m is 2, 4 or 5, the cluster compound is a
rare earth manganese heteronuclear
metal cluster compound containing
rare earth ions X and one of the following core structures: [Mn3XO2] heteronuclear
metal cluster skeleton core, [Mn4XO4] heteronuclear
metal cluster skeleton core and [Mn4XO5] heteronuclear metal cluster skeleton core, and the X is selected from
scandium,
yttrium,
lanthanum,
cerium,
praseodymium,
neodymium,
promethium,
samarium,
europium,
gadolinium,
terbium,
dysprosium,
holmium,
erbium,
thulium,
ytterbium or
lutetium. In the application, the valence of the
manganese ions in the cluster compounds is +3 or +4, and the
manganese ions have important values in magnetic materials. In addition, the [Mn4XO4] and [Mn4XO5] cluster compounds obtained in the application can be used as artificial water-splitting catalysts, and can be used for catalytic splitting of water on the surface of an
electrode or driven by an oxidant (which can be a stable oxidant or a transient oxidant generated by light induction).