Lanthanides Regulate the Oxide Pathway Mechanism of RuO<sub>2</sub> to Boost Acidic Oxygen Evolution.

Yang, Weiwei; Jia, Liangyong; Cao, Jing; Miao, Yuqing; Mei, Bingbao; Ouyang, Ruizhuo; Luo, Jianbin; Dou, Xiaoyi et al. · Nano Lett · 2026

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Regulating the reaction pathway of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is pivotal in enhancing the activity and stability of RuO<sub>2</sub>-based catalysts. However, it remains challenging to achieve the desired oxide pathway mechanism (OPM) for RuO<sub>2</sub>-based catalysts. Herein, we use density functional theory calculations to predict that Sm doping can tune the OER pathway of RuO<sub>2</sub> toward the OPM. We successfully synthesize various lanthanide-doped RuO<sub>2</sub> catalysts and demonstrate an overpotential as low as 184 mV at 10 mA cm<sup>-2</sup> for Sm-doped RuO<sub>2</sub> supported on reduced graphene oxide (Sm-RuO<sub>2</sub>/rGO). Sm-RuO<sub>2</sub>/rGO exhibits a stable operation for over 200 h at 500 mA cm<sup>-2</sup>. In situ characterizations confirm the functionality of incorporated Sm atoms in triggering an OPM pathway for RuO<sub>2</sub>. Our work demonstrates an effective strategy to regulate the OER pathway of RuO<sub>2</sub>-based catalysts, enabling highly efficient and durable OER under acidic conditions and showing great promise for industrial applications.