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Title: Importance of Surface IrOx in Stabilizing RuO2 for Oxygen Evolution

Journal Article · · Journal of Physical Chemistry. B, Condensed Matter, Materials, Surfaces, Interfaces and Biophysical Chemistry
 [1];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [3];  [2];  [4];  [5]; ORCiD logo [2]
  1. Univ. of Copenhagen (Denmark). Nano-Science Centre. Dept. of Chemistry; Technical Univ. of Denmark, Lyngby (Denmark). Dept. of Physics; Stanford Univ., CA (United States). SUNCAT Center for Interface Science and Catalysis. Dept. of Chemical Engineering
  2. Technical Univ. of Denmark, Lyngby (Denmark). Dept. of Physics
  3. Stanford Univ., CA (United States). SUNCAT Center for Interface Science and Catalysis. Dept. of Chemical Engineering
  4. Univ. of Copenhagen (Denmark). Nano-Science Centre. Dept. of Chemistry
  5. Technical Univ. of Denmark, Lyngby (Denmark). Dept. of Physics; Imperial College London (United Kingdom). Dept. of Materials

The high precious metal loading and high overpotential of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) prevents the widespread utilization of polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) water electrolyzers. In this paper, we explore the OER activity and stability in acidic electrolyte of a combined IrOx/RuO2 system consisting of RuO2 thin films with submonolayer (1, 2, and 4 Å) amounts of IrOx deposited on top. Operando extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) on the Ir L-3 edge revealed a rutile type IrO2 structure with some Ir sites occupied by Ru, IrOx being at the surface of the RuO2 thin film. We monitor corrosion on IrOx/RuO2 thin films by combining electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM) with inductively coupled mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). We elucidate the importance of submonolayer surface IrOx in minimizing Ru dissolution. Finally, our work shows that we can tune the surface properties of active OER catalysts, such as RuO2, aiming to achieve higher electrocatalytic stability in PEM electrolyzers.

Research Organization:
SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States); Univ. of Copenhagen (Denmark); Technical Univ. of Denmark, Lyngby (Denmark)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); Danish Council for Independent Research (Denmark); Danish Ministry of Higher Education and Science (Denmark); Villum Foundation (Denmark)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-76SF00515; 9455
OSTI ID:
1471514
Journal Information:
Journal of Physical Chemistry. B, Condensed Matter, Materials, Surfaces, Interfaces and Biophysical Chemistry, Vol. 122, Issue 2; ISSN 1520-6106
Publisher:
American Chemical SocietyCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 72 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (7)

Synthesis of Iridium Nanocatalysts for Water Oxidation in Acid: Effect of the Surfactant journal January 2020
Iron tungsten mixed composite as a robust oxygen evolution electrocatalyst journal January 2019
Rational design of three-phase interfaces for electrocatalysis journal March 2019
Self-supported nanostructured iridium-based networks as highly active electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution in acidic media journal January 2020
Hollow nanoparticles as emerging electrocatalysts for renewable energy conversion reactions journal January 2018
Synthesis of Iridium Nanocatalysts for Water Oxidation in Acid: Effect of the Surfactant text January 2020
Self-supported nanostructured iridium-based networks as highly active electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution in acidic media text January 2020