Amorphous Iridium Oxide-Integrated Anode Electrodes with Ultrahigh Material Utilization for Hydrogen Production at Industrial Current Densities

Ding, Lei; Li, Kui; Wang, Weitian; Xie, Zhiqiang; Yu, Shule; Yu, Haoran; Cullen, David A.; Keane, Alex; Ayers, Kathy; Capuano, Christopher B.; Liu, Fangyuan; Gao, Pu-Xian; Zhang, Feng-Yuan

doi:10.1007/s40820-024-01411-7

Title: Amorphous Iridium Oxide-Integrated Anode Electrodes with Ultrahigh Material Utilization for Hydrogen Production at Industrial Current Densities

Journal Article · 24 May 2024 · Nano-Micro Letters

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-024-01411-7 · OSTI ID:2438736

Ding, Lei ^[1]; Li, Kui ^[1]; Wang, Weitian ^[1]; Xie, Zhiqiang ^[1]; Yu, Shule ^[1];

^[2];

^[2]; Keane, Alex ^[3]; Ayers, Kathy ^[3]; Capuano, Christopher B. ^[3]; Liu, Fangyuan ^[4]; Gao, Pu-Xian ^[4];

^[1]

Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Nel Hydrogen, Wallingford, CT (United States)
Univ. of Connecticut, Storrs, CT (United States)

Herein, ionomer-free amorphous iridium oxide (IrO_x) thin electrodes are first developed as highly active anodes for proton exchange membrane electrolyzer cells (PEMECs) via low-cost, environmentally friendly, and easily scalable electrodeposition at room temperature. Combined with a Nafion 117 membrane, the IrO_x-integrated electrode with an ultralow loading of 0.075 mg cm^–2 delivers a high cell efficiency of about 90%, achieving more than 96% catalyst savings and 42-fold higher catalyst utilization compared to commercial catalyst-coated membrane (2 mg cm^–2). Additionally, the IrO_x electrode demonstrates superior performance, higher catalyst utilization and significantly simplified fabrication with easy scalability compared with the most previously reported anodes. Notably, the remarkable performance could be mainly due to the amorphous phase property, sufficient Ir³⁺ content, and rich surface hydroxide groups in catalysts. Overall, due to the high activity, high cell efficiency, an economical, greatly simplified and easily scalable fabrication process, and ultrahigh material utilization, the IrO_x electrode shows great potential to be applied in industry and accelerates the commercialization of PEMECs and renewable energy evolution.

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Research Organization:: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Scientific User Facilities (SUF); USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Office of Sustainable Transportation. Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-00OR22725; EE0008426; EE0008423; FE0011585

OSTI ID:: 2438736

Journal Information:: Nano-Micro Letters, Journal Name: Nano-Micro Letters Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 16; ISSN 2311-6706

Publisher:: SpringerCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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08 HYDROGEN
amorphous IrOx electrodes
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ultrahigh material utilization

Title: Amorphous Iridium Oxide-Integrated Anode Electrodes with Ultrahigh Material Utilization for Hydrogen Production at Industrial Current Densities

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