Phys.org December 6, 2024
An international team of researchers (Germany, Spain) investigated the electronic and structural behavior of the newly developed oxygen evolution reaction (OER) Kopernikus P2X amorphous IrOx/TiO2. It was compared to the current commercial benchmark catalyst: crystalline IrO2/TiO2, Umicore Elyst. Analysis of the redox behavior of the catalysts showed distinct electronic differences between the amorphous and crystalline oxides. They derived property–structure relationships under equivalent OER conditions for materials exhibiting distinctly different activities and found that P2X IrOx/TiO2 catalyst underwent substantial electronic structure changes, with larger reduction in the Ir–O bond lengths compared to that of the commercial benchmark catalyst. The diverse OER pathways suggested that P2X IrOx/TiO2 catalyst and the benchmark IrO2/TiO2 commercial catalyst follow mechanisms akin to those of amorphous iridium oxide (am-IrOx) and rutile-IrO2, respectively. According to the researchers, their results show the intrinsic activities of different iridium oxide-based catalysts and provide crucial insights for enhancing their performances in proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers… read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLEÂ
Graphic abstract. Credit: ACS Catalysis, Volume 14, Issue 22, , pp 16759–16769, 2024