High-entropy RuO<sub>2</sub> catalyst with dual-site oxide path for durable acidic oxygen evolution reaction.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 40715041.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-025-61763-5 and PMC identifier 12297328.
- No licence information is recorded for this record.
- Because redistribution is not established, this page shows the abstract only. Follow the links below for the full text.
Abstract
Developing durable acidic oxygen evolution reaction catalysts is critical for industrial proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers. We incorporate high-entropy atoms (Co, Ni, Cu, Mn, Sm) into RuO<sub>2</sub> (RuO<sub>2</sub>-HEAE) via annealing, achieving remarkably high stability (>1500 h at 100 mA cm<sup>-</sup><sup>2</sup>). In situ differential electrochemical mass spectrometry and operando Attenuated Total Reflection Surface-Enhanced Infrared Absorption Spectroscopy reveal RuO<sub>2</sub>-HEAE follows a dual-site oxide path mechanism instead of the conventional adsorbate evolution mechanism. Quantitative Fourier-transformed extended X-ray absorption fine structure fitting and density functional theory calculations show this mechanistic shift stems from an elongated Ru-M distance in second coordination shell of RuO<sub>2</sub>-HEAE, enabling direct O-O coupling. This OPM-type catalyst delivers ~1500 h of stable operation at 1 A cm<sup>-</sup><sup>2</sup> and 50 °C, demonstrating superior durability versus most reported RuO<sub>2</sub>-based catalysts. This work provides fundamental insights for designing highly stable proton exchange membrane water electrolysis.