Iridium-Based Alkaline Hydrogen Oxidation Reaction Electrocatalysts.

Abstract

The hydroxide exchange membrane fuel cells (HEMFCs) are promising but lack of high-performance anode hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) electrocatalysts. The platinum group metals (PGMs) have the HOR activity in alkaline medium two to three orders of magnitude lower than those in acid, leading to the high required PGMs amount on anode to achieve high HEMFC performance. The mechanism study demonstrates the hydrogen binding energy of the catalyst determines the alkaline HOR kinetics, and the adsorbed OH and water on the catalyst surface promotes HOR. Iridium (Ir) has a unique advantage for alkaline HOR due to its similar hydrogen binding energy to Pt and enhanced adsorption of OH. However, the HOR activity of Ir/C is still unsatisfied in practical HEMFC applications. Further fine tuning the adsorption of the intermediate on Ir-based catalysts is of great significance to improve their alkaline HOR activity, which can be reasonably realized by structure design and composition regulation. In this concept, we address the current understanding about the alkaline HOR mechanism and summarize recent advances of Ir-based electrocatalysts with enhanced alkaline HOR activity. We also discuss the perspectives and challenges on Ir-based electrocatalysts in the future.