Iridium-Based Catalysts for Solid Polymer Electrolyte Electrocatalytic Water Splitting

Chao Wang; Feifei Lan; Zhenfeng He; Xiaofeng Xie; Yuhong Zhao; Hua Hou; Li Guo; Vignesh Murugadoss; Hu Liu; Qian Shao; Qiang Gao; Tao Ding; Renbo Wei; Zhanhu Guo

doi:10.1002/cssc.201802873

Iridium-Based Catalysts for Solid Polymer Electrolyte Electrocatalytic Water Splitting

ChemSusChem. 2019 Apr 23;12(8):1576-1590. doi: 10.1002/cssc.201802873. Epub 2019 Apr 1.

Authors

Chao Wang¹, Feifei Lan¹, Zhenfeng He², Xiaofeng Xie³, Yuhong Zhao¹, Hua Hou¹, Li Guo¹, Vignesh Murugadoss⁴, Hu Liu^{4

5}, Qian Shao⁶, Qiang Gao⁷, Tao Ding⁸, Renbo Wei⁹, Zhanhu Guo⁴

Affiliations

¹ Advanced Energy Materials and Systems Institute, College of Materials Science and Engineering, North University of China, Taiyuan, 030051, PR China.
² National Demonstration Center for Experimental Chemical Engineering Comprehensive Education, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, North University of China, Taiyuan, 030051, PR China.
³ INET, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, PR China.
⁴ Integrated Composites Laboratory (ICL), Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA.
⁵ Key Laboratory of Materials Processing and Mold (Zhengzhou University), Ministry of Education, National Engineering Research Center, for Advanced Polymer Processing Technology, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450002, PR China.
⁶ College of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, Shandong, 266590, PR China.
⁷ Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, P.O. Box 2008, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA.
⁸ College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004, PR China.
⁹ Research Branch of Advanced Functional Materials, School of Materials and Energy, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, 611731, PR China.

PMID: 30656828
DOI: 10.1002/cssc.201802873

Abstract

Chemical energy conversion/storage through water splitting for hydrogen production has been recognized as the ideal solution to the transient nature of renewable energy sources. Solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) water electrolysis is one of the most practical ways to produce pure H₂ . Electrocatalysts are key materials in the SPE water electrolysis. At the anode side, electrode materials catalyzing the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) require specific properties. Among the reported materials, only iridium presents high activity and is more stable. In this Minireview, an application overview of single iridium metal and its oxide catalysts-binary, ternary, and multicomponent catalysts of iridium oxides and supported composite catalysts-for the OER in SPE water electrolysis is presented. Two main strategies to improve the activity of an electrocatalyst system, namely, increasing the number of active sites and the intrinsic activity of each active site, are reviewed with detailed examples. The challenges and perspectives in this field are also discussed.

Keywords: electrochemistry; iridium; solid polymer electrolytes; supported catalysts; water splitting.

Publication types

Review