Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 8, 2025

Tuning Oxide Properties by Oxygen Vacancy Control During Growth and Annealing
Published on: June 9, 2023
Stabilizing Highly Active Ru Sites by Suppressing Lattice Oxygen Participation in Acidic Water Oxidation
Yunzhou Wen1, Peining Chen1,2, Lu Wang3,4
1State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Department of Macromolecular Science and Laboratory of Advanced Materials, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China.
Abstract:
In hydrogen production, the anodic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) limits the energy conversion efficiency and also impacts stability in proton-exchange membrane water electrolyzers. Widely used Ir-based catalysts suffer from insufficient activity, while more active Ru-based catalysts tend to dissolve under OER conditions. This has been associated with the participation of lattice oxygen (lattice oxygen oxidation mechanism (LOM)), which may lead to the collapse of the crystal structure and accelerate the leaching of active Ru species, leading to low operating stability. Here we develop Sr-Ru-Ir ternary oxide electrocatalysts that achieve high OER activity and stability in acidic electrolyte. The catalysts achieve an overpotential of 190 mV at 10 mA cm-2 and the overpotential remains below 225 mV following 1,500 h of operation. X-ray absorption spectroscopy and 18O isotope-labeled online mass spectroscopy studies reveal that the participation of lattice oxygen during OER was suppressed by interactions in the Ru-O-Ir local structure, offering a picture of how stability was improved. The electronic structure of active Ru sites was modulated by Sr and Ir, optimizing the binding energetics of OER oxo-intermediates.
Related Concept Videos
Radical Reactivity: Steric Effects
Along with electronic...
Radical Oxidation of Allylic and Benzylic Alcohols
EDTA: Auxiliary Complexing Reagents
Ladder Diagrams: Redox Equilibria
Consider the Fe3+/Fe2+ half-reaction, which has a standard-state potential of +0.771 V. At potentials more positive than +0.771 V, Fe3+ predominates, whereas Fe2+...
Redox Equilibria: Overview
Complexation Equilibria: Factors Influencing Stability of Complexes

