Hydrogenation of Mixed Ir-Ti Oxide: A Powerful Concept to Promote the Oxygen Evolution Reaction in Acidic Water Electrolysis
The electrolysis of water from renewable energy sources is a key element in the establishment of a future hydrogen economy. We introduced a novel strategy to significantly improve the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activity of phase-pure Ir0.30Ti0.7O2 without compromising long-term stability in acidic water electrolysis by hydrogen incorporation into Ir0.30Ti0.7O2 through H2 exposure at 150 °C. [1] The mass-normalized OER current is increased by an order of magnitude, while the stability against Ir dissolution is hardly affected. [2] The most attractive feature of hydrogen promotion is the prospect of improving oxidation catalysis for a whole class of materials, namely mixed oxides, and for various oxidation reactions, regardless whether they belong to thermal- or to electrocatalysis.
[1] W. Wang, P. Timmer, A. Spriewald Luciano, Y. Wang, T. Weber, L. Glatthaar, Y. Guo, B.M. Smarsly, H. Over, Catalysis Science & Technology, 2023, 13, 1395–1408, DOI: 10.1039/D2CY02000A.
[2] W. Wang, M. Zlatar, Y. Wang, P. Timmer, A. Spriewald- Luciano, L. Glatthaar, S. Cherevko, H. Over, submitted (July 2024)
