Atomic-level Ru-Ir mixing in rutile-type (RuIr)O2 for efficient and durable oxygen evolution catalysis
The success of proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE) depends on active and robust electrocatalysts to facilitate oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Heteroatom-doped-RuO<sub>x</sub> has emerged as a promising electrocatalysts because heteroatoms suppress lattice oxygen participation in the OER, thereby preventing the destabilization of surface Ru and catalyst degradation. However, identifying suitable heteroatoms and achieving their atomic-scale coupling with Ru atoms are nontrivial tasks. Herein, to steer the reaction pathway away from the involvement of lattice oxygen, we integrate OER-active Ir atoms into the RuO<sub>2</sub> matrix, which maximizes the synergy between stable Ru and active Ir centers, by leveraging the changeable growth behavior of Ru/Ir atoms on lattice parameter-modulated templates. In PEMWE, the resulting (RuIr)O<sub>2</sub>/C electrocatalysts demonstrate notable current density of 4.96 A cm<sup>-2</sup> and mass activity of 19.84 A mg<sub>Ru+Ir</sub><sup>-1</sup> at 2.0 V. In situ spectroscopic analysis and computational calculations highlight the importance of the synergistic coexistence of Ru/Ir-dual-OER-active sites for mitigating Ru dissolution via the optimization of the binding energy with oxygen intermediates and stabilization of Ru sites.
Authors
- Ho Yeon Jang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7510-9711)
- Kwangyeol Lee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0575-7216)
- Hionsuck Baik (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5745-4404)
- Yeji Park (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7086-7732)
- Seoin Back (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4682-0621)
- Doyeop Kim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3915-2637)
- Taehyun Kwon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7402-027X)
- Sung Jong Yoo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0238-5971)
- Tae Kyung Lee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0238-2420)
- Taekyung Kim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0401-5958)
- Jinwon Choi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-7746-999X)
- Dong-Jin Kim
Institutions
- Incheon National University (KR)
- Sogang University (KR)
- Korea University (KR)
- Fuel Cells and Hydrogen (BE)
- Korea Basic Science Institute (KR)
- Korea University (JP)
- Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KR)
- National Institute of Environmental Research (KR)
- Korea University of Science and Technology (KR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2025-01-10
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-55910-1
- Citations
- 74
- Primary Topic
- Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 26.90
Funders
- National Research Foundation
- Pohang University of Science and Technology
- Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy
- Korea Institute of Science and Technology
- Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information
- Korea Basic Science Institute
- National Research Foundation of Korea