Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 11, 2025

Synthesis and Performance Characterizations of Transition Metal Single Atom Catalyst for Electrochemical CO2 Reduction
Published on: April 10, 2018
Tunnel-structured IrOx unlocks catalytic efficiency in proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers
Mingcheng Zhang1, Wei An1, Qianqian Liu1,2
1State Key Laboratory of Inorganic Synthesis and Preparative Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun, China.
None:
Proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers face challenges due to high iridium loading and sluggish oxygen evolution reaction kinetics when using conventional rutile-structured iridium oxide nanocatalysts. Here we find that iridium oxide catalysts with a specific tunnel-type crystal structure exhibit highly localized reactivity, where regions at tunnel mouths drive oxygen evolution far more efficiently than tunnel-wall regions. The intrinsic activity of tunnel mouths is 25-fold higher than that of tunnel walls, with shorter nanorods achieving a better balance between active site exposure and electron/mass transport efficiency. When implemented in proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers, this engineered catalyst achieves notable performance at low iridium loading (0.28 mgIr cm-2), delivering over 2.0 A cm-2 at 1.8 V (80 °C) and operating stably for 1800 h-notably outperforming conventional catalysts. Our work identifies catalytic hotspots in tunnel-structured oxides and demonstrates their rational integration into high-performance, durable electrolyzer systems.
More Related Videos
06:39Author Spotlight: Design and Evaluation of Au-Electroplated Carbon Fiber Cloth Electrodes for Hydrogen Peroxide Fuel Cells
Published on: October 20, 2023
10:21Developing Photosensitizer-Cobaloxime Hybrids for Solar-Driven H2 Production in Aqueous Aerobic Conditions
Published on: October 5, 2019
Related Concept Videos
Ion Exchange
Turnover Number and Catalytic Efficiency
Chymotrypsin is a pancreatic enzyme that breaks down proteins during digestion....
Chemiosmosis
Electron Transport Chain
The electron transport chain involves a series of protein complexes on the inner mitochondrial membrane that undergo a series of redox reactions. At the end of this chain, the electrons...
ATP Driven Pumps I: An Overview
There are four main types of ATP-driven pumps - P-type, V-type, F-type, and ABC transporter. All these pumps are of varying complexities and...
Chemiosmosis and ATP Synthesis
Catalytically Perfect Enzymes
Most enzymes...