Durable, pure water–fed, anion-exchange membrane electrolyzers through interphase engineering
Anion-exchange membrane water electrolyzers (AEMWEs) promise scalable, low-cost hydrogen production but are limited by the electrochemical instability of their anode ionomers. We report interphase engineering using inorganic-containing molecular additives that coassemble with ionomer, enabling pure water-fed AEMWEs to operate with a degradation rate <0.5 millivolt per hour at 2.0 amperes per square centimeter and 70°C-a >20-fold durability improvement. Analysis of different additives and ionomers shows that the stabilization mechanism involves cross-links between metal oxo/hydroxo oligomers and ionomers. Under operation, the inorganic additive enriches, forming an interphase near the water-oxidation catalyst that passivates the anode ionomer against continuous degradation while maintaining mechanical integrity and hydroxide conductivity. This additive-based interphase-engineering strategy provides a path to durable AEMWEs that operate without supporting electrolytes and is adaptable across diverse catalysts and ionomers for electrochemical technologies.
Authors
- Balsu Lakshmanan
- Minkyoung Kwak (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2515-5557)
- Archana Sekar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2171-7900)
- Kelvin Kam-Yun Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6833-9436)
- Joëlle Fréchette (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5680-6554)
- Shannon Wachter Boettcher (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8971-9123)
- Anthony C. Ekennia (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3324-7566)
- Gregory M. Su (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7495-8041)
- Hui Duan
- Juhyun Oh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8605-1428)
- Shujin Hou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3633-2387)
- Peiyao Wu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7063-1463)
- Thomas Francisco Jaramillo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9900-0622)
- Michael J. Zachman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1910-1357)
- Ryan T. Hannagan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5634-170X)
- Yang Zhao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5252-6157)
- Yushan Yan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6616-4575)
- Valeria Cartagena (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4725-4019)
Institutions
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory (US)
- Biogen (United States) (US)
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (US)
- University of Oregon (US)
- SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (US)
- Oregon Center For Applied Science (United States) (US)
- University of Delaware (US)
- University of California, Berkeley (US)
- Stanford University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Science
- Published
- 2025-10-16
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adw7100
- Citations
- 14
- Primary Topic
- Fuel Cells and Related Materials
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 10.23