The development of efficient and stable catalysts with high mass activity is crucial for acidic oxygen evolution reaction (OER). In this study, CeO2-Ir heterojunctions supported on carbon nanotubes (CeO2-Ir/CNTs) are synthesized using a solvothermal method based on the heterostructure strategy. CeO2-Ir/CNTs demonstrate remarkable effectiveness as catalysts for acidic OER, achieving 10.0 mA cm-2 at a low overpotential of only 262.9 mV and maintaining stability over 60.0 h. Notably, despite using an Ir dosage 15.3 times lower than that of c-IrO2, CeO2-Ir/CNTs exhibit a very high mass activity (2542.3 A gIr-1@1.53 V), which is 58.8 times higher than that of c-IrO2. When applied to acidic water electrolyzes, CeO2-Ir/CNTs display a prosperous potential for application as anodic catalysts. X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS) analysis reveals that the chemical environment of Ir nanoparticles (NP) can be effectively modulated through coupling with CeO2. This modulation is believed to be the key factor contributing to the excellent OER catalytic activity and stability observed in CeO2-Ir/CNTs.
Keywords: CeO2-Ir heterojunction; acidic oxygen evolution reaction; electrocatalysis; high activity and long-term stability.