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Customized O─O Radical Coupling Route on High-Density Fe─N─C Catalysts for Stable Industrial-Scale Water Oxidation
Zhiang Hu1, Jiangwei Chang1, Jingkun Yu1
1College of Chemistry and Pingyuan Laboratory, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, P. R. China.
Angewandte Chemie (International Ed. in English)
|June 3, 2026
Summary
Developing advanced iron-nitrogen-carbon (Fe-N-C) catalysts with tunable iron site density enhances oxygen evolution reaction (OER) stability and efficiency for hydrogen production. This breakthrough enables durable, high-performance water electrolysis.
Area of Science:
- Electrochemistry
- Materials Science
- Catalysis
Background:
- Efficient and durable oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts are crucial for large-scale hydrogen production via anion-exchange membrane water electrolysis.
- Current catalysts face challenges with operational stability at high current densities and controlled reaction pathways.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the regulatory effect of Fe site density on OER intermediates' adsorption energies in Fe-N-C single-atom catalysts.
- To achieve controllable switching of OER mechanisms for improved catalyst performance.
Main Methods:
- Theoretical calculations to analyze Fe site density effects on adsorption energies.
- Experimental tuning of Fe site density in Fe-N-C catalysts.
- Electrochemical testing of catalysts and anion-exchange membrane electrolyzers.
Main Results:
- Fe site density continuously regulates adsorption energies of key OER intermediates.
- Increasing Fe density allows fine-tuning of surface *OH coverage, enabling a switch to the oxide pathway mechanism (OPM).
- A high-density Fe-N-C catalyst (HDFe-N-C) demonstrated 2000 h stability at 500 mA cm⁻² with a 288 mV overpotential.
Conclusions:
- Fe-N-C catalysts with optimized Fe density can effectively control OER mechanisms.
- The developed HDFe-N-C catalyst exhibits exceptional stability and efficiency for water electrolysis.
- This work paves the way for robust and cost-effective hydrogen production technologies.
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