Breaking hydrogen-bonding confinement with B–OH groups to accelerate proton transfer during oxygen evolution

Abstract

This study engineers the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) microenvironment through the introduction of B–OH groups and quantifies their proton transfer coefficients under high-current-density conditions by analyzing open-circuit potential decay transients. The presence of B–OH groups near Ru active sites reorganizes the local hydrogen-bonding network, which enriches free water molecules and facilitates proton transfer kinetics. This modification improves OER performance without modifying the electronic structures of the active centers, demonstrating a strategy with broad applicability across diverse electrocatalytic systems.