EES catalysis最新文献

{"title":"Minimalist and nanoparticle-free selenium-based photocathodes for record performance solar-driven hydrogen evolution","authors":"Edoardo Maggi, Oriol Segura-Blanch, Ivan Caño, Arnau Torrens, Alex Jimenez-Arguijo, Pau Estarlich, Lorenzo Calvo-Barrio, Hao Zhe Chun, Mario F. Garcia-Sanchez, Marcel Placidi, Joaquim Puigdollers, Jordi Llorca, Lydia Helena Wong, Lluís Soler and Edgardo Saucedo","doi":"10.1039/D5EY00297D","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D5EY00297D","url":null,"abstract":"<p >This work reports the highest photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance for selenium (Se)-based photocathodes, achieved through a simple, sustainable, and nanoparticle-free design. A half-cell solar-to-hydrogen (HC-STH) efficiency of 2.78 ± 0.01% and a photocurrent density of 11.35 ± 0.01 mA cm<small>⁻²</small> at 0 V<small>_RHE</small> were obtained with bare Mo/Se devices tested in H<small>₂</small>SO<small>₄</small>, surpassing the previous Se-based (FTO/Se/TiO<small>₂</small>/Pt) HC-STH benchmark by over a factor of seven. To improve sustainability and device safety, the deposition of a thin TiO<small>₂</small> passivation layer enabled comparable performance (2.76 ± 0.01%), even in neutral phosphate buffer, allowing to obtain the highest photoelectrocatalytic onset potential reported so far (0.74 V<small>_RHE</small>). Unlike most PEC devices that rely on complex multilayer stacks and costly noble metals, which limit scalability and environmental compatibility, this work demonstrates that high performance can be achieved with a fully earth-abundant and low-toxicity materials set. A systematic screening of back contacts, Se phases, absorber thickness, protective overlayers, and electrolyte formulations revealed the crucial role of Mo in enhancing Se orientation, charge extraction, and photovoltage generation. These results establish multiple benchmarks for Se-based PEC water splitting and highlight the potential of streamlined and scalable architectures for efficient and sustainable green hydrogen production.</p>","PeriodicalId":72877,"journal":{"name":"EES catalysis","volume":" 1","pages":" 163-174"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-10-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2026/ey/d5ey00297d?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145969479","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Thin-film Cu1−xNx catalysts for efficient CO2 reduction: a scalable magnetron sputtering approach","authors":"Mathias van der Veer, Nick Daems, Pegie Cool and Tom Breugelmans","doi":"10.1039/D5EY00246J","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D5EY00246J","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Thin-film-based catalysts, fabricated through physical vapor deposition, have attracted significant interest as promising materials for electrochemical CO<small>₂</small> reduction. In this context, metallic Cu films function as active catalyst layers for the reduction to ethylene and ethanol. However, these films still experience high overpotentials, resulting in low energy efficiencies. In this study, we have fabricated Cu<small>_{1−<em>x</em>}</small>N<small>_<em>x</em></small> films to overcome this issue by incorporating nitrogen into the sputtering process, leading to the formation of an anti-ReO<small>₃</small> crystal structure of Cu<small>₃</small>N, which contains interstitial vacancies filled with Cu atoms. Under optimal sputtering conditions of <em>r</em><small>_N2</small> = 0.50, sputter rate = 4 Å s<small>⁻¹</small>, and pressure = 6 μbar, EDX analysis reveals a sub-stoichiometric thin-film composed of Cu<small>_0.84</small>N<small>_0.16</small>. In the electrochemical CO<small>₂</small> reduction, this film resulted in an increase in energy efficiency from 15.8% to 20% for ethylene compared to pure Cu films, which was attributed to a decrease in the measured potential by ± 500 mV, due to the addition of nitrogen in the structure. This key finding suggests that for future applications, Cu<small>_{1−<em>x</em>}</small>N<small>_<em>x</em></small> layers should be employed instead of metallic Cu to reduce the required energy demands while maintaining selectivity.</p>","PeriodicalId":72877,"journal":{"name":"EES catalysis","volume":" 1","pages":" 77-85"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2026/ey/d5ey00246j?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145969446","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Unraveling membrane electrode assembly design for electrochemical conversion of carbon dioxide to formate/formic acid","authors":"Puvikkarasan Jayapragasam, Jacob A. Wrubel, Paige Nicole Brimley, Fry Intia, Leiming Hu and Kenneth C. Neyerlin","doi":"10.1039/D5EY00272A","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D5EY00272A","url":null,"abstract":"<p >This work presents a one-dimensional continuum modeling approach to investigate various cell architectures used for electrochemical conversion of CO<small>₂</small> to formate/formic acid. Ion transport is simulated by a system of generalized modified Poisson–Nernst–Planck (GMPNP) equations that reflect the reactive transport phenomena including steric effects as the electrolyte solutions become concentrated. In the cathode catalyst layer, ionic current contributions from both the supporting electrolyte and solid-state ionomer are considered. Voltage and CO<small>₂</small> utilization breakdowns are utilized to deconvolute the impacts of the cell architecture. The origins of (bi)carbonate formation in the cathode are explored, as the subsequent decrease in CO<small>₂</small> availability is a key reason for low faradaic efficiencies to formate/formic acid. In addition, the role of a supporting electrolyte (KOH) is investigated to understand its tradeoffs: while the K<small>⁺</small> ions can improve both conductivity and electrochemically active surface area in the cathode, the presence of OH<small>⁻</small> ions raises the pH and leads to deleterious formation of (bi)carbonates. To this end, we also present parametric studies on the concentration and flow rate of supplied KOH to the cell, to establish a path towards eliminating the need for a supporting electrolyte.</p>","PeriodicalId":72877,"journal":{"name":"EES catalysis","volume":" 1","pages":" 146-162"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-10-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2026/ey/d5ey00272a?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145969470","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Solid-phase production of Co–N–C electrocatalysts at a kilogram scale via the Kirkendall effect for proton exchange membrane fuel cells","authors":"Jiaheng Huo, Wulyu Jiang, Lu Xia, Bruna Ferreira Gomes, Yunxing Zhao, Yinping Wei, Xuya Zhu, Dongsheng Xia, Min Chen and Lin Gan","doi":"10.1039/D5EY00264H","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D5EY00264H","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Platinum-group metal-free single-atom catalysts (SACs) are vital for cost-effective fuel cells, yet their adoption is hindered by performance limitations and challenges in scalable production. While Fe–N–C SACs offer high activity, their stability is severely compromised by Fenton-induced degradation. To address this, Co–N–C SACs have emerged as promising alternatives due to their much lower Fenton activity and hence improved durability. However, conventional synthesis relies on solvent-intensive methods, limiting large-scale, environmentally friendly production and precise structural control. Here, we report a solid-phase synthesis strategy <em>via</em> the Kirkendall effect for the kilogram-scale production of Co-doped zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (Co-ZIF-8) with high reproducibility and precise compositional control. Further pyrolysis at high temperatures enables the formation of structurally well-defined Co–N–C SACs with tunable composition, high site density, and superior scalability. The optimized catalyst, when integrated as the cathode in a representative proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) system, delivers remarkable power densities of 0.70 W cm<small>⁻²</small> and 0.39 W cm<small>⁻²</small> in O<small>₂</small> and air conditions, respectively, outperforming most reported Co-based catalysts. This work establishes a generalizable and environmentally sustainable route for the large-scale production of high-performance non-precious metal electrocatalysts, advancing PEMFC technology and broader electrochemical energy applications.</p>","PeriodicalId":72877,"journal":{"name":"EES catalysis","volume":" 1","pages":" 108-117"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2026/ey/d5ey00264h?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145969466","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Phosphate modification of Pd/Al2O3 enhances activity and stability in aromatic hydrogenation under CO-contaminated hydrogen","authors":"Adrian Seitz, Yaoci Sheng, Ian Backes, Phillip Nathrath, Dennis Weber, Tanja Franken, Roberto Félix, Angelo Rillera, Johannes Frisch, Marcus Bär, Tanja Retzer and Patrick Schühle","doi":"10.1039/D5EY00231A","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D5EY00231A","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Hydrogenation reactions are essential to synthesize platform and fine chemicals today and to establish chemical hydrogen storage in the future. However, hydrogen from fossil or biogenic sources contains CO, a potent poison for noble metal hydrogenation catalysts, necessitating costly purification steps. In this work, we demonstrate phosphate modification as an effective strategy to enhance activity and CO tolerance of Pd/Al<small>₂</small>O<small>₃</small> in benzyltoluene hydrogenation using pure and impure H<small>₂</small> streams. Under 1.6 vol% CO in H<small>₂</small>, phosphate modified catalysts achieve a 230% increase in productivity over unmodified Pd/Al<small>₂</small>O<small>₃</small>. Characterization reveals that highly dispersed monomeric phosphate species on Al<small>₂</small>O<small>₃</small> enhance metal–support interaction and induce Pd redispersion, forming smaller, more stable Pd nanoparticles with enhanced resistance against sintering. Notably, the local electronic environment of Pd remains unchanged by phosphate species. We further show that under CO-rich conditions, benzyltoluene is preferentially hydrogenated at Pd edge sites rather than terrace sites, which explains the pronounced activity increase of the smaller Pd nanoparticles. Phosphate-induced acidity provides additional sites for aromatic hydrogenation with spilled-over hydrogen that remain active in the presence of CO.</p>","PeriodicalId":72877,"journal":{"name":"EES catalysis","volume":" 1","pages":" 118-133"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2026/ey/d5ey00231a?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145969468","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Beyond activity: a perspective on diagnosing instability of reversible O2 catalysts for metal–air batteries","authors":"Ricardo P. M. Duarte, Reshma R. Rao, Mary P. Ryan, Trung Dung Tran, Veronica Celorrio, Jonathan Sharman, Alex M. Bonastre and Ifan E. L. Stephens","doi":"10.1039/D5EY00236B","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D5EY00236B","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Zinc–air redox flow batteries have high potential to penetrate the stationary energy storage market, due to the abundancy, and low cost of active species – oxygen and zinc. However, their technological fruition is limited by the development of reversible O<small>₂</small> electrodes operating at potentials between 0.6 V<small>_RHE</small> to 1.7 V<small>_RHE</small>, under which no catalyst material has been shown to be stable over long durations. Despite heavy research on the topic of reversible O<small>₂</small> catalysis, little is known about the parameters controlling the stability of the bifunctional catalyst. Several research accounts assess the activity of reversible O<small>₂</small> catalysts, but only a small portion cover degradation mechanism over such a large potential window. In this perspective, we summarize our current understanding of material challenges for Zn–air batteries, reversible O<small>₂</small> catalyst integration strategies, and electrochemical behaviour, with a particular focus on catalyst stability. Nickel cobalt oxide (NiCo<small>₂</small>O<small>₄</small>), a promising yet understudied system, is used as an example material for investigations at potentials of both the O<small>₂</small> reduction (ORR) and evolution (OER) reactions. We also report original data employing <em>ex situ</em> X-ray diffraction, electron energy loss spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, as well as electrochemical measurements to study the activity of NiCo<small>₂</small>O<small>₄</small>. Furthermore, electrochemical accelerated stress tests are coupled with post-mortem transmission electron microscopy, inductively coupled plasma, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to study the dissolution, compositional changes and amorphization of the top surface 5 nm of the catalyst surface. <em>In situ</em> X-ray absorption spectroscopy revealed irreversible oxidation of Co centres in NiCo<small>₂</small>O<small>₄</small> during OER, which explains the reduction in activity of the ORR after the catalyst was exposed to anodic OER potentials. This methodology provides a broader method to screen reversible O<small>₂</small> catalyst stability and enables us to summarize future strategies to improve the activity and stability of reversible O<small>₂</small> catalysts and electrodes.</p>","PeriodicalId":72877,"journal":{"name":"EES catalysis","volume":" 1","pages":" 55-76"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2026/ey/d5ey00236b?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145969445","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Oxygen vacancy-induced ferroelectric effect in (111) strontium titanate single crystals controls photoelectrochemical water oxidation","authors":"Samutr Assavachin, Chengcan Xiao, Hamed Vahdatvasei, Tatiana Mamani, Davide Donadio and Frank E. Osterloh","doi":"10.1039/D5EY00266D","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D5EY00266D","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Ferroelectric materials, such as tetragonal BaTiO<small>₃</small>, have a permanent electric polarization that can be controlled with an external electric field, however, a ferroelectric polarization in cubic SrTiO<small>₃</small> is forbidden by the higher symmetry of the lattice. Here we demonstrate that hydrogen annealed SrTiO<small>_{3−<em>x</em>}</small> single crystals can be polarized electrically, and that the polarization controls the activity for photoelectrochemical water oxidation, a pathway to solar hydrogen fuel. Specifically, it is observed that the anodic water oxidation photocurrent increases from 0.99 to 2.22 mA cm<small>⁻²</small> at 1.23 V RHE (60 mW cm<small>⁻²</small>, UV illumination) or decreases to 0.50 mA cm<small>⁻²</small> after electric polarization of hydrogen-annealed (111) SrTiO<small>_{3−<em>x</em>}</small> single crystals in forward or reverse direction. The polarization also modifies the surface photovoltage signal of the material and its flat band potential, based on Mott–Schottky measurements. These observations are attributed to the formation of an electric dipole at the (111) SrTiO<small>_{3−<em>x</em>}</small> surface, which alters the potential drop across the depletion layer at the solid–liquid junction, and with it the electron transfer barrier. Density functional theory calculations confirm that an electric dipole can result from the movement of oxygen vacancies between the surface or sub-surface layers of SrTiO<small>_{3−<em>x</em>}</small>. The filling of these surface oxygen vacancies is the probable cause for the observed disappearance of the electric polarization after 24 h storage in air and 48 h in argon. Overall, this work establishes a new surface-based ferroelectric effect in SrTiO<small>_{3−<em>x</em>}</small> and its use for solar energy conversion during photoelectrochemical water oxidation. Because oxygen vacancy defects are common, similar electric polarization effects are to be expected in other metal oxides.</p>","PeriodicalId":72877,"journal":{"name":"EES catalysis","volume":" 6","pages":" 1315-1326"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2025/ey/d5ey00266d?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145429054","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Active Pt thin layers over MoC for the low-temperature water–gas shift reaction","authors":"Peiyao Guo, Yinghong Huang, Chuanchuan Jin, Di Zhou, Shaobo Han, Yan Zhou, Fan Yang and Wenjie Shen","doi":"10.1039/D5EY00243E","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D5EY00243E","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Pt/MoC catalysts have been documented to be highly active for the water–gas shift reaction at low temperatures, but identification of the active metal entity remains challenging primarily because of the co-existence of metal nanoparticles, clusters and single-atoms in the catalysts. Here, Pt dispersion on MoC was finely tuned by the carburization of a Pt/MoO<small>₃</small> precursor with a CH<small>₄</small>/H<small>₂</small> mixture at 873–973 K. It was found that the 3 nm Pt particles over MoO<small>₃</small> redispersed into thin layers (mainly bilayers/trilayers) at 873 K and into loosely arranged monolayers/single-atoms at 973 K during the carburization of MoO<small>₃</small> to MoC. Tests for the low-temperature water–gas shift reaction found that Pt thin layers showed the most pronounced activity based on the moderate adsorption of CO on Pt and the facile dissociation of water over MoC at their interfacial perimeter. But the activity lowered as Pt further dispersed into monolayers/single-atoms in the Pt/MoC catalysts. <em>In situ</em> IR experiments revealed that the Pt thin layers facilitated the adsorption of CO while the MoC support dissociated H<small>₂</small>O into reactive –OH species that might migrate to the Pt surface and react with CO, expediting the low-temperature WGS reaction.</p>","PeriodicalId":72877,"journal":{"name":"EES catalysis","volume":" 1","pages":" 189-200"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2026/ey/d5ey00243e?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145969440","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Direct work function tuning via boron-acceptor substitution on an iron phthalocyanine ligand for a boosted oxygen reduction reaction in brine-seawater batteries","authors":"Seonghee Kim, Yiwen Xu, Suyeon Kim, Jewon Lee, Heechae Choi and Oi Lun Li","doi":"10.1039/D5EY00254K","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D5EY00254K","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Highly conductive concentrated brine seawater can be reused as an electrolyte in aluminium–air seawater batteries used in on-board marine applications; however, the severe chloride corrosion in brine seawater often causes Pt-based oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) electrocatalysts at the cathode to degrade rapidly. Fe macrocyclic molecules, such as those in iron phthalocyanine (FePc), are reported to exhibit low affinity to chloride adsorption. On the other hand, the strongly bound O* and OOH* intermediates in the FeN<small>₄</small> active sites and the localized electron orbitals are well-known to restrict their ORR performance. In this study, by combining a room-temperature plasma-assisted material modification strategy with density functional theory (DFT) calculations and thermodynamic modelling, we successfully substituted boron as an acceptor on the FePc ligand to induce significant electron delocalization in the macrocyclic FePc structure, thereby reducing the ORR energy barrier of FePc. In an alkaline saline environment (0.1 M KOH + 1 M NaCl), B-FePc displays superior catalytic activity (0.932 V <em>vs.</em> RHE) at the half-wave potential with moderate stability, which surpassed the performance of a commercial 20 wt% Pt/Vulcan electrocatalyst and most of the recently reported electrocatalysts. When used as an air cathode catalyst in a brine seawater-based Al–air battery (1 M KOH + 1 M NaCl + seawater), B-FePc as a cathode catalyst exhibited a peak power density of 71.0 mW cm<small>⁻²</small> and an exceptional stability following its discharging for 60 h at 20 mA cm<small>⁻²</small> through a mechanical recharging process.</p>","PeriodicalId":72877,"journal":{"name":"EES catalysis","volume":" 1","pages":" 134-145"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2026/ey/d5ey00254k?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145969469","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Polymer-mediated exsolution and segregation of ruthenium oxides on β-MnO2 for durable water oxidation in proton-exchange membrane electrolyzers","authors":"Yanzhi Zhang, Xingyi Zhan, Zhihe Wei, Chenghao Wang, Zhangyi Zheng, Shiwei Mei, Daqi Song, Mutian Ma, Xinyu Zhang, Xiya Yang, Tong Zhou, Jianrong Zeng, Yang Peng and Zhao Deng","doi":"10.1039/D5EY00227C","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D5EY00227C","url":null,"abstract":"<p >The development of acid-stable and low-noble-metal electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is challenging but demanding for the large-scale application of proton-exchange membrane water electrolyzers (PEMWE). Herein, taking advantage of the densely packed and stable crystalline structure of β-MnO<small>₂</small> and the dopant-induced lattice strain, a high-performance OER catalyst with low Ru loading is developed <em>via</em> the thermally-driven and polymer-mediated exsolution and segregation process. While high-resolution microscopic studies clearly illustrate the Schottky mechanism involved in the formation of polycrystalline RuO<small>_<em>x</em></small>-containing grains anchored to the MnO<small>₂</small> support, spectroscopic findings unveil a significantly altered electronic structure with reduced Mn and Ru chemical states, as well as populated vacancies. Consequently, the best catalyst Ru–MnO<small>₂</small>-PT achieves remarkable OER activity in acidic medium, requiring an overpotential of only 163 mV to reach a current density of 10 mA cm<small>⁻²</small>, in addition to excellent electrolytic stability, enabling a prolonged operation of PEMWE for over 2000 hours. This study sheds new light on controllably regulating the exsolution and segregation process of noble metal-doped transition metal oxides for the fabrication of highly robust OER catalysts.</p>","PeriodicalId":72877,"journal":{"name":"EES catalysis","volume":" 6","pages":" 1400-1408"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2025/ey/d5ey00227c?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145429078","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}