Achieving Higher Activity of Acidic Oxygen Evolution Reaction Using an Atomically Thin Layer of IrOx over Co3O4

Li, Gengnan; Priyadarsini, Adyasa; Xie, Zhenhua; Kang, Sinwoo; Liu, Yuzi; Chen, Xiaobo; Kattel, Shyam; Chen, Jingguang G.

doi:10.1021/jacs.4c17915

Achieving Higher Activity of Acidic Oxygen Evolution Reaction Using an Atomically Thin Layer of IrO_x over Co₃O₄

Journal Article · Thu Feb 13 00:00:00 UTC 2025 · Journal of the American Chemical Society

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.4c17915· OSTI ID:2529389

^[1]; ^[2]; Xie, Zhenhua ^[3]; ^[4]; ^[1]; Chen, Xiaobo ^[5]; ^[6]; ^[3]

Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Center for Nanoscale Materials (CNM)
Florida A & M University, Tallahassee, FL (United States)
Columbia University, New York, NY (United States); Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
State University of New York (SUNY), Binghamton, NY (United States)
University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL (United States)

The development of electrocatalysts with reduced iridium (Ir) loading for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is essential to produce low-cost green hydrogen from water electrolysis under acidic conditions. Herein, an atomically thin layer of iridium oxide (IrO_x) has been uniformly dispersed onto cobalt oxide (Co₃O₄) nanocrystals to improve the efficient use of Ir for acidic OER. In situ characterization and theoretical calculations reveal that compared to the conventional IrOx cluster, the atomically thin layer of IrO_x shows stronger interaction with the Co₃O₄ and consequently higher OER activity due to the Ir-O-Co bond formation at the interface. Equally important, the facile synthetic method and the promising activity in the proton exchange membrane water electrolyzer, reaching 1 A cm^-2 at 1.7 V with remarkable durability, enable potential scale-up applications. In conclusion, these findings provide a mechanistic understanding for designing active, stable and lower-cost electrocatalysts with well-defined structures for acidic OER.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Chemical Sciences, Geosciences & Biosciences Division (CSGB); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Scientific User Facilities (SUF)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-06CH11357; SC0012653; SC0012704; SC0024485

OSTI ID:: 2529389

Report Number(s):: BNL--227644-2025-JAAM

Journal Information:: Journal of the American Chemical Society, Journal Name: Journal of the American Chemical Society Journal Issue: 8 Vol. 147; ISSN 0002-7863

Publisher:: American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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