Ir/Mn co-doped Ru/RuO₂ catalyst

Durable acidic OER

Trace Ir anchors lattice oxygen to suppress the LOM pathway, balancing activity and long-term stability in acidic media.

Chenxuan, Xie · Li, Kaiyang · Chen, Xiaohong · Lu, Yu · Yang, Lijun · Du., Xiaoze · Kong, Yanqiang · Yang, Yongping

Small 2026

Specifications

Overpotential

{'zh': '182', 'en': '182'} mV

Stability (three-electrode system)

{'zh': '600', 'en': '600'} h

PEMWE cell voltage

{'zh': '1.640', 'en': '1.640'} V

PEMWE stability

{'zh': '450', 'en': '450'} h

Hydrogen production cost

{'zh': '0.88', 'en': '0.88'} US$ kg⁻¹

Advantages

Drastic reduction of expensive iridium

Trace Ir (0.024 mg cm⁻²) effectively anchors lattice oxygen, stabilizing the Ru-based catalyst in acidic OER and drastically reducing noble-metal cost.

Stability and activity are both achieved

Through Ir anchoring lattice oxygen and Mn electronic modulation, the catalyst maintains high activity while stable for over 600 h, overcoming the instability of Ru-based catalysts.

High performance in realistic PEMWE device

With ultralow noble-metal loadings, the PEMWE device achieves 1.640 V at 1 A cm⁻² and 450 h stability, with hydrogen cost below the U.S. DOE 2031 target.

Applications

• PEM water electrolysis：Replace high-Ir catalysts to achieve efficient hydrogen production with ultralow noble-metal loadings.
• acidic OER catalysts：Provide a stable acidic OER alternative to overcome the degradation of Ru-based catalysts.
• Ru-based catalyst modification：Synergistic modification with Ir anchoring and Mn doping to suppress LOM and enhance AEM pathway.