Activity and stability proxies for automated evaluation of IrOx electrocatalysts under variable operating conditions

Abstract

To accelerate the screening of electrocatalyst materials, it is necessary to enhance the efficiency of their performance evaluation and optimization under dynamic conditions. The activity and stability of electrocatalyst materials are two crucial metrics that are typically correlated, and thus need to be evaluated in parallel. However. assessing both activity and stability in a time-efficient, reliable and comparable manner remains a challenge. Given the rising interest in evaluating electrocatalysts under realistic fluctuating conditions, we propose an electrochemical approach that uses random sampling and Bayesian optimization to explore pulsed amperometry conditions in hydrous iridium oxides for the oxygen evolution reaction. This method provides activity and stability proxies independent of sample loading which are validated against literature data.