Stable high-valent iridium single atoms for high-temperature CO2 electrolysis
Single-atom catalysts (SACs) offer high atomic efficiency and catalytic activity but are prone to aggregation and degradation under high-temperature conditions. Here, we propose a thermally and electrochemically stable high-valent iridium single atom synthesis strategy based on strong metal-support interactions (SMSI) to enhance high-temperature CO2 electrolysis performance in solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs). The SMSI effect, in situ induced during high-temperature cell fabrication and operation, stabilizes the high-valent iridium single atom and simultaneously modulates the surface electronic structure of the La0.6Sr0.4FeO3−δ (LSF) cathode by weakening the Fe−O hybridization, finally promoting oxygen vacancy formation and enhancing CO2 adsorption and activation. This approach boosts the CO2-to-CO electrolysis current density by 80.8% relative to the pristine LSF cathode, achieving 3.02 A cm−2 at 800°C and 1.5 V with nearly 100% Faradaic efficiency and excellent stability over 600 h. These findings provide a viable strategy for designing thermally and electrochemically robust SACs for high-temperature catalytic reactions. Single-atom catalysts offer high efficiency but face aggregation and degradation at elevated temperatures. Here, the authors introduce a thermally stable high-valent iridium single-atom catalyst to enhance CO2 electrolysis in solid oxide electrolysis cells.
Authors
- Runsheng Yu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6417-3910)
- Guoxiong Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6042-1171)
- P D Zhang
- Xusheng Zheng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2559-6106)
- Xinhe Bao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9404-6429)
- S K Wang
- Geng Zou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8360-6707)
- Xi Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4638-3997)
- Wei Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7800-3189)
- Shaowei Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1954-1758)
- Yuefeng Song (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7383-0812)
- Yi Guo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-1890-6726)
- Li M (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8959-9619)
- L J Yu
- Liu H (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2103-2020)
Institutions
- University of Science and Technology of China (CN)
- Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (CN)
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Chinese Academy of Agricultural Engineering (CN)
- Institute of High Energy Physics (CN)
- Dalian National Laboratory for Clean Energy (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
- 2026-07-18
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-75580-x
- Primary Topic
- Advancements in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai
- Salt Science Research Foundation
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Chinese Academy of Sciences
- China Postdoctoral Science Foundation
- National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory
- Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities