High-entropy RuO2 catalyst with dual-site oxide path for durable acidic oxygen evolution reaction
Developing durable acidic oxygen evolution reaction catalysts is critical for industrial proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers. We incorporate high-entropy atoms (Co, Ni, Cu, Mn, Sm) into RuO<sub>2</sub> (RuO<sub>2</sub>-HEAE) via annealing, achieving remarkably high stability (>1500 h at 100 mA cm<sup>-</sup><sup>2</sup>). In situ differential electrochemical mass spectrometry and operando Attenuated Total Reflection Surface-Enhanced Infrared Absorption Spectroscopy reveal RuO<sub>2</sub>-HEAE follows a dual-site oxide path mechanism instead of the conventional adsorbate evolution mechanism. Quantitative Fourier-transformed extended X-ray absorption fine structure fitting and density functional theory calculations show this mechanistic shift stems from an elongated Ru-M distance in second coordination shell of RuO<sub>2</sub>-HEAE, enabling direct O-O coupling. This OPM-type catalyst delivers ~1500 h of stable operation at 1 A cm<sup>-</sup><sup>2</sup> and 50 °C, demonstrating superior durability versus most reported RuO<sub>2</sub>-based catalysts. This work provides fundamental insights for designing highly stable proton exchange membrane water electrolysis.
Authors
- Huxu Lei
- Hengjie Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6499-3935)
- Fangren Qian (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1908-0090)
- Chengsi Hu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0026-7875)
- Xiaojun Wu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3606-1211)
- Qingjun Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4225-3885)
- Jiabao Huang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5960-9414)
- Luocai Yi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1956-4346)
- Wei Jiang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5404-0468)
- Kai Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8989-6717)
- Peter Joseph Chimtali (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6078-3658)
- Dengfeng Cao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6961-7090)
- Beibei Sheng
- Yalong Yuan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-2107-1460)
- Zhenhai Wen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2340-9525)
- Shuangming Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7567-1552)
- Li Song (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0585-8519)
Institutions
- University of Science and Technology of China (CN)
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter (CN)
- Institute of Microelectronics (CN)
- National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (CN)
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemistry for Energy Materials (CN)
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2025-07-26
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-61763-5
- Citations
- 36
- Primary Topic
- Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 13.08
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Chinese Academy of Sciences
- University of Science and Technology of China
- National Key Research and Development Program of China
- Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities
- Youth Innovation Promotion Association
- Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility