Reducing iridium (Ir) loading while maintaining efficiency and stability is crucial for the acidic oxygen evolution reaction (OER). In this study, we develop a synthetic method of sequential electrochemical deposition and high-temperature thermal shock to produce an IrOx/Ir-WO3 electrocatalyst with ∼1.75 nm IrOx nanoparticles anchoring on Ir-doped WO3 nanosheets. The IrOx/Ir-WO3 electrocatalyst with a low Ir loading of 0.035 mg cm-2 demonstrates a low overpotential of 239 mV to achieve a current density of 10 mA cm-2 and a mass activity of 6.6 × 104 A gIr-1 @1.75 V vs RHE in 0.5 M H2SO4. IrOx/Ir-WO3 on carbon paper as the anode and Pt/C as the cathode work stably for 40 h at 30 mA cm-2 in a proton exchange membrane water electrolyzer. It is found that the cooperation of lattice-doped Ir and surface-anchored IrOx enhances the activity and stability of IrOx/Ir-WO3 for acidic OER. Specifically, the doped Ir reduces the electron density of the anchored IrOx, thus optimizing the adsorption energy of oxygen-containing intermediates and the kinetic barrier of H2O dissociation, leading to an enhanced activity of IrOx/Ir-WO3. Also, the Ir-WO3 support provides electrons to retard the overoxidation and dissolution of Ir atoms from the anchored IrOx during acidic OER.
Read full abstract