Atomic Ga triggers spatiotemporal coordination of oxygen radicals for efficient water oxidation on crystalline RuO2
Advancements in proton-exchange membrane water electrolyzer depend on developing oxygen evolution reaction electrocatalysts that synergize high activity with stability. Here, we introduce an approach aimed at elevating oxygen evolution reaction performance by enhancing the spatiotemporal coordination of oxygen radicals to promote efficient O-O coupling. A dense, single-atom configuration of oxygen radical donors within interconnected RuO<sub>2</sub> nanocrystal framework is demonstrated. The stable oxygen radicals on gallium sites with adaptable Ga-O bonds are thermodynamically favorable to attract those from Ru sites, addressing dynamic adaptation challenges and boosting O-O coupling efficiency. The optimized catalyst achieves a low overpotential of 188 mV at 10 mA cm<sup>-2</sup>, operates robustly for 800 h at 100 mA cm<sup>-2</sup> in acidic conditions, and shows a large current density of 3 A cm<sup>-2</sup> at 1.788 V, with stable performance at 0.5 A cm<sup>-2</sup> for 200 h, confirming its long-term viability in proton-exchange membrane water electrolyzer applications.
Authors
- Han‐Don Um (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2087-160X)
- Wei Luo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6126-899X)
- Haojie Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0165-7472)
- Qi Xiao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6691-3986)
- Bingbao Mei (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4195-7151)
- Yu Sun (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9819-3263)
- Haifeng Wang
- Yonghui Zhao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8120-6435)
- Lei Tan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0755-1185)
- Wan Jiang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1015-0371)
- Xiaotong Wu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-3857-0390)
- Chao Lin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1761-9083)
- Xiangxiang Pan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6555-0941)
- Xiaopeng Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3230-1249)
- Jing Shen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5427-7468)
Institutions
- Ningbo University (CN)
- Hokkaido University of Education (JP)
- Ningbo University of Technology (CN)
- Kangwon National University (KR)
- Donghua University (CN)
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Hokkaido University (JP)
- Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics (DE)
- Shanghai Advanced Research Institute (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2025-04-28
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-58346-9
- Citations
- 32
- Primary Topic
- Catalytic Processes in Materials Science
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 16.57
Funders
- Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai
- Salt Science Research Foundation
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Shanghai Education Development Foundation
- Shanghai Municipal Education Commission
- University of Science and Technology of China
- Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities
- Program for Professor of Special Appointment (Eastern Scholar) at Shanghai Institutions of Higher Learning