Oxygen Evolution Durability of ZrO₂-Coated Mn Oxide-Based Catalyst Against Potential Cycling in Acidic Solution

A highly durable anode catalyst based on nonprecious or ultrareduced-precious-metal oxide was developed for proton exchange membrane water electrolysis. The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activity and durability of the Mn oxide-based film and electrocatalyst were investigated. Coating the Mn oxide-based film with ZrO 2 by atomic layer deposition effectively improved the durability of the catalyst against potential cycling; however, the ZrO 2 coating also reduced the initial OER activity. In contrast, including a Pt interlayer restored the initial OER activity of the ZrO 2 -coated MnO 2 electrocatalyst to a level similar to that of the uncoated MnO 2 catalyst. The durability of the ZrO 2 -coated MnO 2 electrocatalyst with a Pt interlayer against potential cycling exceeded that of MnO 2 and ZrO 2 -coated MnO 2 . Accordingly, the ZrO 2 -coated MnO 2 electrocatalyst with a Pt interlayer exhibited superior performance, with higher initial OER activity and durability against potential cycling.