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Updated: May 15, 2025
Controlling the Size, Shape and Stability of Supramolecular Polymers in Water
Published on: August 2, 2012
Atomically Dispersed High-Valent d0-Metal Breaks the Activity-Stability Trade-Off in Proton Exchange Membrane Water
Jaehyuk Shim1,2, Kangjae Lee1,2, Yunjae Yu3
1Center for Nanoparticle Research, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea.
Abstract:
Green hydrogen production via proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE) faces economic feasibility challenges, primarily due to its reliance on noble metal catalysts. While cost-effective Ru-based catalysts show promise as alternatives to expensive Ir-based catalysts for an anodic oxygen evolution reaction, their long-term performance is compromised by overoxidation at high current densities. In addressing this challenge, we present a cooperative dual-site strategy for atomic-scale incorporation of high-valent d0-metal cations into RuO2. This synthesis results in uniformly distributed Ru-O-d0metal bonds, effectively reconciling the activity and stability trade-off. Leveraging these effects, our optimized Ta1/RuO2 catalyst demonstrates exceptional performance, with a low overpotential of 164 ± 2 mV and stable operation for 1000 h at 100 mA cm-2. In practical PEMWE systems, Ta1/RuO2 achieves 1.58 V at 2 A cm-2, surpassing the 2026 Department of Energy target, and maintains remarkable stability over 650 h at 500 mA cm-2. This breakthrough offers a highly active and durable PEMWE system suitable for industrial-scale applications.
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