Highly Active IrRuOx/MnOx Electrocatalysts with Ultralow Anode PGM Demand in Proton Exchange Membrane Electrolyzers

Kang J, Möhle S, Wang X, Kovács MM, Nasralla KNN, Schmidt J, Selve S, Dworschak D, Strasser P (2025)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2025

Journal

Advanced Energy Materials Wiley

DOI: 10.1002/aenm.202405758

Abstract

Thrifting the rare iridium in proton exchange membrane water electrolyzer (PEMWE) anodes is an effective means to preempt undesired future iridium supply shortages aiding wider deployment of PEMWEs in coming years. This work explores a new family of MnOx-supported IrOx and IrRuOx electrocatalysts for the acidic oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Comprehensive ex situ and in situ characterization uncovers synthesis-structure-activity relationships of the OER materials with insight into the origin of their exceptional activity: The MnOx support provides beneficial dispersion while the introduction of Ru into IrOx/MnOx leads to a modulation of the chemical state of Ir coupled with a strong surface reconstruction. In half-cell tests, IrRuOx/MnOx reveals an Ir mass activity of 964.7 A gIr−1 at 1.53 VRHE, which is 36 times higher than that of the commercial IrO2 (C-IrO2). It is also demonstrated that this promising catalytic OER activity translates into a realistic PEMWE performance. IrRuOx/MnOx and IrOx/MnOx thin catalyst layers are developed in low Ir-loaded membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) and an outstanding PEMWE cell performance is reported with cell voltages of 1.66 V at 2 A cm−2. This translates into a favorable (Ir + Ru) platium group metal (PGM) demand of <0.05 gPGM kW−1 at 70% voltage efficiency, meeting a 2035 technical demand target.

Involved external institutions

Technische Universität Berlin DE Germany (DE) Forschungszentrum Jülich / Research Centre Jülich (FZJ) DE Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Kang, J., Möhle, S., Wang, X., Kovács, M.M., Nasralla, K.N.N., Schmidt, J.,... Strasser, P. (2025). Highly Active IrRuOx/MnOx Electrocatalysts with Ultralow Anode PGM Demand in Proton Exchange Membrane Electrolyzers. Advanced Energy Materials. https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.202405758

MLA:

Kang, Jiaqi, et al. "Highly Active IrRuOx/MnOx Electrocatalysts with Ultralow Anode PGM Demand in Proton Exchange Membrane Electrolyzers." Advanced Energy Materials (2025).

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