Strain heterogeneity in RuO2 for efficient acidic oxygen evolution reaction in proton exchange membrane water electrolysis

Developing acid-stable and active ruthenium dioxide (RuO2) catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is crucial for facilitating the large-scale applications of proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE) for hydrogen production. Here, we propose a strain heterogeneity engineering strategy to simultaneously enhance the OER stability and activity of RuO2 electrocatalysts by introducing single-atom platinum (Pt). In a PEM water electrolyzer, the resultant Pt-RuO2 catalyst archives 3 A cm−2 at a low voltage of 1.791 V and maintains a stable performance for over 500 h at 500 mA cm−2. These performance metrics highlight its potential for practical applications. Experiments and calculations analyses…

• NN
  National Natural Science Foundation of China

  Awards: 52025013, 22121005
• FR
  Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities
• BS
  Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility