Undoped ruthenium oxide as a stable catalyst for the acidic oxygen evolution reaction
Abstract Reducing green hydrogen production cost is critical for its widespread application. Proton-exchange-membrane water electrolyzers are among the most promising technologies, and significant research has been focused on developing more active, durable, and cost-effective catalysts to replace e...
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| Format: | Article |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56188-z |
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| author | Jiayi Tang Daqin Guan Hengyue Xu Leqi Zhao Ushtar Arshad Zijun Fang Tianjiu Zhu Manjin Kim Chi-Wen Pao Zhiwei Hu Junjie Ge Zongping Shao |
| author_facet | Jiayi Tang Daqin Guan Hengyue Xu Leqi Zhao Ushtar Arshad Zijun Fang Tianjiu Zhu Manjin Kim Chi-Wen Pao Zhiwei Hu Junjie Ge Zongping Shao |
| author_sort | Jiayi Tang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Reducing green hydrogen production cost is critical for its widespread application. Proton-exchange-membrane water electrolyzers are among the most promising technologies, and significant research has been focused on developing more active, durable, and cost-effective catalysts to replace expensive iridium in the anode. Ruthenium oxide is a leading alternative while its stability is inadequate. While considerable progress has been made in designing doped Ru oxides and composites to improve stability, the uncertainty in true failure mechanism in acidic oxygen evolution reaction inhibits their further optimization. This study reveals that proton participation capability within Ru oxides is a critical factor contributing to their instability, which can induce catalyst pulverization and the collapse of the electrode structure. By restricting proton participation in the bulk phase and stabilizing the reaction interface, we demonstrate that the stability of Ru-oxide anodes can be notably improved, even under a high current density of 4 A cm‒2 for over 100 h. This work provides some insights into designing Ru oxide-based catalysts and anodes for practical water electrolyzer applications. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c680fa25b8c4419eb97b37759d8f3bf6 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-c680fa25b8c4419eb97b37759d8f3bf62025-01-19T12:31:00ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-01-0116111010.1038/s41467-025-56188-zUndoped ruthenium oxide as a stable catalyst for the acidic oxygen evolution reactionJiayi Tang0Daqin Guan1Hengyue Xu2Leqi Zhao3Ushtar Arshad4Zijun Fang5Tianjiu Zhu6Manjin Kim7Chi-Wen Pao8Zhiwei Hu9Junjie Ge10Zongping Shao11WA School of Mines: Minerals, Energy and Chemical Engineering (WASM–MECE), Curtin UniversityWA School of Mines: Minerals, Energy and Chemical Engineering (WASM–MECE), Curtin UniversityDepartment of Chemistry, Tsinghua UniversityWA School of Mines: Minerals, Energy and Chemical Engineering (WASM–MECE), Curtin UniversityWA School of Mines: Minerals, Energy and Chemical Engineering (WASM–MECE), Curtin UniversityWA School of Mines: Minerals, Energy and Chemical Engineering (WASM–MECE), Curtin UniversityWA School of Mines: Minerals, Energy and Chemical Engineering (WASM–MECE), Curtin UniversityJohn de Laeter Centre, Curtin UniversityNational Synchrotron Radiation Research Center 101 Hsin-Ann RoadMax-Planck-Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids Nöthnitzer Str. 40State Key Laboratory of Electroanalytic Chemistry, Jilin Province Key Laboratory of Low Carbon Chemistry Power, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of SciencesWA School of Mines: Minerals, Energy and Chemical Engineering (WASM–MECE), Curtin UniversityAbstract Reducing green hydrogen production cost is critical for its widespread application. Proton-exchange-membrane water electrolyzers are among the most promising technologies, and significant research has been focused on developing more active, durable, and cost-effective catalysts to replace expensive iridium in the anode. Ruthenium oxide is a leading alternative while its stability is inadequate. While considerable progress has been made in designing doped Ru oxides and composites to improve stability, the uncertainty in true failure mechanism in acidic oxygen evolution reaction inhibits their further optimization. This study reveals that proton participation capability within Ru oxides is a critical factor contributing to their instability, which can induce catalyst pulverization and the collapse of the electrode structure. By restricting proton participation in the bulk phase and stabilizing the reaction interface, we demonstrate that the stability of Ru-oxide anodes can be notably improved, even under a high current density of 4 A cm‒2 for over 100 h. This work provides some insights into designing Ru oxide-based catalysts and anodes for practical water electrolyzer applications.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56188-z |
| spellingShingle | Jiayi Tang Daqin Guan Hengyue Xu Leqi Zhao Ushtar Arshad Zijun Fang Tianjiu Zhu Manjin Kim Chi-Wen Pao Zhiwei Hu Junjie Ge Zongping Shao Undoped ruthenium oxide as a stable catalyst for the acidic oxygen evolution reaction Nature Communications |
| title | Undoped ruthenium oxide as a stable catalyst for the acidic oxygen evolution reaction |
| title_full | Undoped ruthenium oxide as a stable catalyst for the acidic oxygen evolution reaction |
| title_fullStr | Undoped ruthenium oxide as a stable catalyst for the acidic oxygen evolution reaction |
| title_full_unstemmed | Undoped ruthenium oxide as a stable catalyst for the acidic oxygen evolution reaction |
| title_short | Undoped ruthenium oxide as a stable catalyst for the acidic oxygen evolution reaction |
| title_sort | undoped ruthenium oxide as a stable catalyst for the acidic oxygen evolution reaction |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56188-z |
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