Strain heterogeneity in RuO2 for efficient acidic oxygen evolution reaction in proton exchange membrane water electrolysis
Abstract Developing acid-stable and active ruthenium dioxide (RuO2) catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is crucial for facilitating the large-scale applications of proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE) for hydrogen production. Here, we propose a strain heterogeneity engin...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-58570-3 |
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| author | Xuejie Cao Licheng Miao Wenqi Jia Hongye Qin Guangliang Lin Rongpeng Ma Ting Jin Lifang Jiao |
| author_facet | Xuejie Cao Licheng Miao Wenqi Jia Hongye Qin Guangliang Lin Rongpeng Ma Ting Jin Lifang Jiao |
| author_sort | Xuejie Cao |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Developing acid-stable and active ruthenium dioxide (RuO2) catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is crucial for facilitating the large-scale applications of proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE) for hydrogen production. Here, we propose a strain heterogeneity engineering strategy to simultaneously enhance the OER stability and activity of RuO2 electrocatalysts by introducing single-atom platinum (Pt). In a PEM water electrolyzer, the resultant Pt-RuO2 catalyst archives 3 A cm−2 at a low voltage of 1.791 V and maintains a stable performance for over 500 h at 500 mA cm−2. These performance metrics highlight its potential for practical applications. Experiments and calculations analyses confirm that the bulk tensile strain effectively stabilizes the entire structure of electrocatalysts, while the regions of compressive strain are identified as highly active catalytic sites, where the weakened binding energy of oxo-intermediates improves the catalytic activity. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-855547082b4e4e02aa4a7ea544990f0e |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-855547082b4e4e02aa4a7ea544990f0e2025-08-20T03:37:37ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-07-0116111110.1038/s41467-025-58570-3Strain heterogeneity in RuO2 for efficient acidic oxygen evolution reaction in proton exchange membrane water electrolysisXuejie Cao0Licheng Miao1Wenqi Jia2Hongye Qin3Guangliang Lin4Rongpeng Ma5Ting Jin6Lifang Jiao7Key Laboratory of Advanced Energy Materials Chemistry (Ministry of Education), State Key Laboratory of Advanced Chemical Power Sources, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), College of Chemistry, Nankai UniversityKey Laboratory of Advanced Energy Materials Chemistry (Ministry of Education), State Key Laboratory of Advanced Chemical Power Sources, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), College of Chemistry, Nankai UniversityKey Laboratory of Advanced Energy Materials Chemistry (Ministry of Education), State Key Laboratory of Advanced Chemical Power Sources, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), College of Chemistry, Nankai UniversityKey Laboratory of Advanced Energy Materials Chemistry (Ministry of Education), State Key Laboratory of Advanced Chemical Power Sources, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), College of Chemistry, Nankai UniversityKey Laboratory of Advanced Energy Materials Chemistry (Ministry of Education), State Key Laboratory of Advanced Chemical Power Sources, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), College of Chemistry, Nankai UniversityKey Laboratory of Advanced Energy Materials Chemistry (Ministry of Education), State Key Laboratory of Advanced Chemical Power Sources, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), College of Chemistry, Nankai UniversityKey Laboratory of Advanced Energy Materials Chemistry (Ministry of Education), State Key Laboratory of Advanced Chemical Power Sources, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), College of Chemistry, Nankai UniversityKey Laboratory of Advanced Energy Materials Chemistry (Ministry of Education), State Key Laboratory of Advanced Chemical Power Sources, Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), College of Chemistry, Nankai UniversityAbstract Developing acid-stable and active ruthenium dioxide (RuO2) catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is crucial for facilitating the large-scale applications of proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE) for hydrogen production. Here, we propose a strain heterogeneity engineering strategy to simultaneously enhance the OER stability and activity of RuO2 electrocatalysts by introducing single-atom platinum (Pt). In a PEM water electrolyzer, the resultant Pt-RuO2 catalyst archives 3 A cm−2 at a low voltage of 1.791 V and maintains a stable performance for over 500 h at 500 mA cm−2. These performance metrics highlight its potential for practical applications. Experiments and calculations analyses confirm that the bulk tensile strain effectively stabilizes the entire structure of electrocatalysts, while the regions of compressive strain are identified as highly active catalytic sites, where the weakened binding energy of oxo-intermediates improves the catalytic activity.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-58570-3 |
| spellingShingle | Xuejie Cao Licheng Miao Wenqi Jia Hongye Qin Guangliang Lin Rongpeng Ma Ting Jin Lifang Jiao Strain heterogeneity in RuO2 for efficient acidic oxygen evolution reaction in proton exchange membrane water electrolysis Nature Communications |
| title | Strain heterogeneity in RuO2 for efficient acidic oxygen evolution reaction in proton exchange membrane water electrolysis |
| title_full | Strain heterogeneity in RuO2 for efficient acidic oxygen evolution reaction in proton exchange membrane water electrolysis |
| title_fullStr | Strain heterogeneity in RuO2 for efficient acidic oxygen evolution reaction in proton exchange membrane water electrolysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Strain heterogeneity in RuO2 for efficient acidic oxygen evolution reaction in proton exchange membrane water electrolysis |
| title_short | Strain heterogeneity in RuO2 for efficient acidic oxygen evolution reaction in proton exchange membrane water electrolysis |
| title_sort | strain heterogeneity in ruo2 for efficient acidic oxygen evolution reaction in proton exchange membrane water electrolysis |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-58570-3 |
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