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Synthesis and Evaluation of a Ruthenium-based Mitochondrial Calcium Uptake Inhibitor
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Enhancing acidic oxygen evolution reaction with a highly stable Eu-doped RuO2 electrocatalyst
Yin Qin1, Kang Jie Li2, Zilin Yan3
1Institute of Interdisciplinary Innovation in Low Carbon Metallurgical Engineering, School of Materials and Energy, Guangdong University of Technology Guangzhou 510006 China.
Chemical Science
|August 8, 2026
Summary
Europium-doped ruthenium oxide (Eu-RuO2) enhances the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in acidic conditions. This novel catalyst shows improved stability and activity for acidic OER applications.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Electrochemistry
- Catalysis
Background:
- Ruthenium oxides (RuO2) are promising for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) but lack stability in acidic media.
- Ru oxidation and dissociation limit the performance of RuO2 catalysts.
Purpose of the Study:
- To engineer a stable and active Eu-RuO2 catalyst for acidic OER.
- To investigate the role of Europium (Eu) doping in enhancing OER performance and stability.
Main Methods:
- Europium (Eu) doping of RuO2 to create Eu-RuO2 catalyst.
- Electrochemical testing in acidic solution (0.5 M H2SO4) and PEM-WE devices.
- Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations.
- In situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS).
- Attenuated total reflection-surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy (ATR-SEIRAS).
Main Results:
- Eu-RuO2 catalyst exhibits low overpotential (195 mV) and high current density (10 mA cm-2) for OER.
- Achieved outstanding stability of 2800 hours in 0.5 M H2SO4.
- Demonstrated high performance in acidic PEM-WE devices (1000 mA cm-2 at 1.67 V) with 300 hours of stable operation.
- DFT and XAS reveal Eu 4f orbital stabilization of Ru-O covalency, suppressing Ru oxidation.
- ATR-SEIRAS and DFT confirm optimized oxygen intermediate adsorption and enhanced oxide path mechanism (OPM).
Conclusions:
- Eu doping significantly enhances the activity and long-term stability of RuO2 for acidic OER.
- The 4f orbital coupling mechanism is key to stabilizing Ru-O bonds and improving catalytic performance.
- Eu-RuO2 is a promising catalyst for demanding acidic electrochemical applications.
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