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Updated: Jul 15, 2026
05:41
Photochemical Oxidative Growth of Iridium Oxide Nanoparticles on CdSe@CdS Nanorods
Published on: February 11, 2016
An Efficient and Durable Low-Iridium Catalyst Enabled by a Potential-Triggered Dual-Pathway Mechanism for Acidic
Shujie Xue1,2,3, Xiaoyang He1, Zhentao Tu1
1School of Chemical Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, P. R. China.
Advanced Materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)
|July 14, 2026
Summary
Researchers developed a novel Cr-Ir catalyst for water electrolysis, enhancing durability and activity. This breakthrough in low-iridium catalysts advances sustainable hydrogen production.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Electrochemistry
- Catalysis
Background:
- The activity-durability trade-off in low-iridium anode catalysts is a major hurdle for acidic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE).
- Developing efficient and robust catalysts is crucial for advancing sustainable hydrogen energy technologies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To engineer a three-dimensional ordered macroporous (3DOM) Cr-Ir solid solution oxide catalyst.
- To regulate intersite oxygen intermediate reactivity for improved efficiency and durability in acidic water oxidation.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of a 3DOM Cr-Ir solid solution oxide.
- Investigation of potential-triggered coupling between adsorption evolution mechanism (AEM) and oxide pathway mechanism (OPM).
- Analysis of Cr-OH activation and cooperation with Ir-O species for O-O coupling.
Main Results:
- The Cr0.72Ir0.28Ox catalyst achieved an overpotential of 254 mV at 10 mA cm-2.
- Demonstrated stable PEMWE operation for over 2000 hours at 3.0 A cm-2 with low iridium loading (0.36 mgIr cm-2).
- Established pathway coupling via architectural engineering for enhanced catalyst performance.
Conclusions:
- Architectural engineering of 3DOM Cr-Ir solid solution oxides enables pathway coupling, addressing the activity-durability trade-off.
- This strategy offers a viable design for practical low-iridium PEMWE catalysts.
- The findings contribute to the advancement of sustainable hydrogen energy technologies.
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