Transient‐Promoter‐Stabilized NiFe Oxyhydroxide Enables Durable kW‐Scale Water Splitting Under Fluctuating Power
Renewable-powered water electrolysis provides a carbon-neutral route to hydrogen, yet large-scale deployment is constrained by reliance on stable but carbon-intensive grid electricity. Direct integration with fluctuating renewable power requires catalysts and devices that can endure dynamic operating conditions. Here we present a transient-promoter strategy for NiFe oxyhydroxide oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts, realized from Ni<sub>3</sub>Fe<sub>1.2</sub>Cr<sub>0.8</sub>O<sub>x</sub> precursor, for kilowatt-scale anion exchange membrane water electrolyzers (AEMWEs). Ex situ and operando spectroscopy establish that Cr (i) modulates Ni/Fe oxidation states to enrich positive charge and facilitate oxyhydroxide formation, (ii) induces porosity that enhances electrolyte penetration and OH<sup>-</sup> adsorption, and (iii) leaches sacrificially to protect Ni/Fe active sites. Lab-scale AEMWE device achieves an industrially relevant current density of 1 A cm<sup>-</sup> <sup>2</sup> at a cell voltage of 1.68 V and sustains continuous operation for over 30 days under both constant and fluctuating loads. Scaling from 1 cm<sup>2</sup> AEMWE to an 8-cell, 512 cm<sup>2</sup> stack, the system can handle an electrical power of 2.5 kW at peak, and delivers 1 A cm<sup>-</sup> <sup>2</sup> at 1.78 V per cell at 60 °C. The stack remains resilient over 13 simulated solar cycles (>50 h), underscoring the feasibility of integrating renewable electricity with durable, NiFe oxyhydroxide OER catalyst based AEMWEs.
Authors
- Yanrong Xue (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2443-1257)
- Lu Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0775-7770)
- Khalid Hazazi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9379-1507)
- Abdul Malek (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1608-9375)
- Yuhao Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3721-5684)
- Chenyu Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3427-3555)
- Yan Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3828-8340)
- Liang Wu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9410-0050)
Institutions
- Saudi Aramco (Saudi Arabia) (SA)
- Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (CN)
- Saudi Aramco (United States) (US)
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (SA)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Angewandte Chemie International Edition
- Published
- 2025-11-03
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202520825
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.36