Ir-Based Oxygen Evolution Reaction Catalysts: Role of Microstructure and Activation Protocols
Full article
| Journal |
Chemical Engineering Journal
ISSN: 1385-8947
, E-ISSN: 1873-3212
|
| Output data |
Year: 2025,
Volume: 526,
Article number
: 170888,
Pages count
: 14
DOI:
10.1016/j.cej.2025.170888
|
| Tags |
Oxygen evolution reaction; Iridium black; Hydrous iridium oxide; Activation; Rotating disk electrode; PEM water electrolysis |
| Authors |
Kozlova Margarita V.
1,2
,
Moguchikh Elizaveta A.
3
,
Alekseenko Anastasia A.
3
,
Pavlets Angelina S.
3
,
Pankov Ilya V.
4
,
Aydakov Egor E.
5
,
Kaichev Vasily V.
5
,
Solovyev Maksim A.
1
,
Pushkareva Irina V.
6
,
Bessarabov Dmitri G.
6
,
Pushkarev Artem S.
6
|
| Affiliations |
| 1 |
National Research Centre “Kurchatov Institute” 1, Kurchatov sq., Moscow, 123182, Russia
|
| 2 |
National Research University "Moscow Power Engineering Institute", 14, Krasnokazarmennaya str., 111250, Moscow, Russia
|
| 3 |
Southern Federal University, Faculty of Chemistry, 7 Zorge St., Rostov-on-Don, 344090, Russia
|
| 4 |
Southern Federal University, Research Institute of Physical Organic Chemistry, 194/2 Stachki St., Rostov-on-Don, 344090, Russia
|
| 5 |
Department of Catalysis Research, Boreskov Institute of Catalysis, Prospect Ac. Lavrentieva 5, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia
|
| 6 |
HySA Infrastructure Center of Competence, Faculty of Engineering, North-West University, Private Bag X6001, Potchefstroom Campus, 2531, South Africa
|
|
Funding (2)
|
1
|
Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation
|
FENW-2023-0016
|
|
2
|
Department of Science,Technology and Innovation
|
|
Currently, the most efficient electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers (PEMWE) are Ir-based materials. Their remarkable performance stems from an optimal balance between high catalytic activity, and chemical and electrochemical stability in an acidic environment. The limited availability of Ir is, however, of great concern considering the worldwide energy transition and wide application of water electrolysis to obtain green hydrogen. Hence, to reduce its consumption, there is a need to enhance the catalyst activity and stability – allowing their utilization in the Gigawatt-scale electrolyzer production.
Because the structure of an “as-received” catalyst is altered after application, it is essential to induce adjustments of the catalyst surface, which is responsible for high OER activity, prior to performance evaluation of the catalyst. However, the absence of a standardized catalyst activation/conditioning protocol complicates the direct comparison of results across different studies.
This work investigates the effect of three activation protocols applied to Ir-based catalysts synthesized via different liquid-phase deposition approaches. The effects of the catalyst background and the activation protocol on catalysts' surface structure and performance were elucidated. The performance of the catalysts thus obtained is benchmarked against PEMWE operation.