Issue 23, 2023

Bi-directional strains increase the performance of iridium oxide nanoparticles towards the acidic oxygen evolution reaction in proton exchange membrane electrolyzers

Abstract

The challenge of achieving high-performance iridium-based catalysts towards the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzers remains unresolved due to the highly acidic catalyst/PEM interface and oxidation conditions. To address this issue, we introduce core–shell structured Sb0.3Ir0.7Ox@TB-IrOx nanocatalysts featuring twin boundaries (TBs) with bi-directional (shear and axial) strains that exhibit a remarkably low overpotential of 201 mV at 10 mA cm−2 towards the OER in 0.5 M H2SO4. Moreover, Sb0.3Ir0.7Ox@TB-IrOx displays outstanding mass activity of 3.16 A mg per Ir (η = 270 mV), which is 26.2 times better than that of commercial IrO2. The enhanced catalytic activity is attributed to the tuned Ir–O bond lengths along the bi-directional strains, caused by twin boundaries and the core–shell structure, optimizing oxygen intermediate adsorption energy, as supported by microscope characterization and theoretical calculations. Furthermore, a PEM electrolyzer employing the Sb0.3Ir0.7Ox@TB-IrOx nanocatalyst maintains a cell voltage of 2.03 V at 2.0 A cm−2 and exhibits negligible decay in efficiency even after 500 hours of continuous operation.

Graphical abstract: Bi-directional strains increase the performance of iridium oxide nanoparticles towards the acidic oxygen evolution reaction in proton exchange membrane electrolyzers

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Research Article
Submitted
14 Aug. 2023
Accepted
24 Sept. 2023
First published
25 Sept. 2023

Inorg. Chem. Front., 2023,10, 6892-6900

Bi-directional strains increase the performance of iridium oxide nanoparticles towards the acidic oxygen evolution reaction in proton exchange membrane electrolyzers

X. Wu, S. Hao, Y. He, L. Lei and X. Zhang, Inorg. Chem. Front., 2023, 10, 6892 DOI: 10.1039/D3QI01609A

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