Long‐Range Atomic Periodicity Unlocks Durable Water Electrolysis
ABSTRACT The development of efficient and stable oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts is essential for proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers (PEMWEs). Although iridium (Ir)‐based catalysts balance activity and stability, their widespread adoption is hindered by persistent iridium leaching and oxidative dissolution, resulting in structural degradation. Here, we present a long‐range atomic ordered iridium–vanadium (Ir–V) intermetallic with strong heteroatomic bonds that significantly suppresses iridium dissolution and maintains structural integrity during acidic OER. Both theoretical and experimental analyses confirm that exceptional stability originates from the highly ordered atomic grid structure, in which a density of strong heteroatomic bonding effectively stabilizes iridium sites against oxidation and leaching. The optimized Ir–V intermetallic with a low Ir loading of 0.11 mg Ir cm −2 delivers a current density of 3.0 A cm −2 at 1.844 V in PEMWE and demonstrates operational stability over 2500 h under dynamic current densities alternating between 1.0 and 2.0 A cm −2 , highlighting great potential for sustainable green hydrogen production.
Authors
- Guangzhe Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9342-730X)
- Guangfang Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7546-6997)
- Lin Zhuang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5642-6735)
- Hongfang Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5012-7278)
- Chundong Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6728-0519)
- Zhuoxin Lu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1569-2698)
- Guang Feng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6659-9181)
- Gongwei Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3248-1270)
- Ruikang Yuan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8571-0519)
- Li Xiao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6416-3138)
- Deli Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2023-6478)
- Chang-Feng Yan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7096-1761)
- Yan Shi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8517-0767)
- Weijie Kong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1700-4801)
- Huiying Li
- Shuang Wang
- Tao Shen
- Kailun Wang
Institutions
- China National Offshore Oil Corporation (China) (CN)
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Wuhan University (CN)
- Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion (CN)
- State Key Laboratory of Coal Combustion (CN)
- Huazhong University of Science and Technology (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Angewandte Chemie International Edition
- Published
- 2026-10-09
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.2858393
- Primary Topic
- Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00