Iridium metallene oxide for acidic oxygen evolution catalysis

Qian Dang; Haiping Lin; Zhenglong Fan; Lu Ma; Qi Shao; Yujin Ji; Fangfang Zheng; Shize Geng; Shi-Ze Yang; Ningning Kong; Wenxiang Zhu; Youyong Li; Fan Liao; Xiaoqing Huang; Mingwang Shao

doi:10.1038/s41467-021-26336-2

Iridium metallene oxide for acidic oxygen evolution catalysis

Nat Commun. 2021 Oct 14;12(1):6007. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-26336-2.

Authors

Qian Dang^#^{1

2

3}, Haiping Lin^#², Zhenglong Fan^#², Lu Ma^#⁴, Qi Shao⁵, Yujin Ji², Fangfang Zheng², Shize Geng^{1

2}, Shi-Ze Yang⁶, Ningning Kong², Wenxiang Zhu², Youyong Li⁷, Fan Liao², Xiaoqing Huang⁸, Mingwang Shao⁹

Affiliations

¹ College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, 215123, Jiangsu, P. R. China.
² Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM), Soochow University, 215123, Jiangsu, P. R. China.
³ State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, 361005, Xiamen, P. R. China.
⁴ NSLS-II, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY, 11973, USA.
⁵ College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, 215123, Jiangsu, P. R. China. qshao@suda.edu.cn.
⁶ Eyring Materials Center, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA. shize.yang@asu.edu.
⁷ Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM), Soochow University, 215123, Jiangsu, P. R. China. yyli@suda.edu.cn.
⁸ State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, 361005, Xiamen, P. R. China. hxq006@xmu.edu.cn.
⁹ Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Materials (FUNSOM), Soochow University, 215123, Jiangsu, P. R. China. mwshao@suda.edu.cn.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Exploring new materials is essential in the field of material science. Especially, searching for optimal materials with utmost atomic utilization, ideal activities and desirable stability for catalytic applications requires smart design of materials' structures. Herein, we report iridium metallene oxide: 1 T phase-iridium dioxide (IrO₂) by a synthetic strategy combining mechanochemistry and thermal treatment in a strong alkaline medium. This material demonstrates high activity for oxygen evolution reaction with a low overpotential of 197 millivolt in acidic electrolyte at 10 milliamperes per geometric square centimeter (mA cm_geo^-2). Together, it achieves high turnover frequencies of 4.2 s_UPD^-1 (3.0 s_BET^-1) at 1.50 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode. Furthermore, 1T-IrO₂ also shows little degradation after 126 hours chronopotentiometry measurement under the high current density of 250 mA cm_geo^-2 in proton exchange membrane device. Theoretical calculations reveal that the active site of Ir in 1T-IrO₂ provides an optimal free energy uphill in *OH formation, leading to the enhanced performance. The discovery of this 1T-metallene oxide material will provide new opportunities for catalysis and other applications.