journal article·2026-02

Electron‐Donating Zr Induces Suppressed Ru Over‐Oxidation and Accelerated Deprotonation Process Toward Efficient and Durable Water Electrolysis

Ming Yang, Xin Guan, Zhaoping Shi, Hongxiang Wu, Yuqing Cheng, Ziang Wang, Wei Liu, Fei Xiao, Minhua Shao, Meiling Xiao, Changpeng Liu, Wei Xing

Small· Volume 22· Issue 12
Publisher page

Abstract

Abstract The scarcity of cost‐effective and durable iridium‐free anode electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) poses a significant challenge to the widespread application of the proton exchange membrane water electrolyzer (PEMWE). To address the electrochemical oxidation and dissolution issues of Ru‐based electrocatalysts, an electron‐donating modification strategy is developed to stabilize WRuO x under harsh oxidative conditions. The optimized catalyst with a low Zirconium doping (Zr, 1 wt.%) enhances durability noticeably, with a 77% reduction in degradation rate in the durability test of 10 mA cm −2 in 0.5 m H 2 SO 4 . When integrated into a homemade PEMWE device, the Zr‐doped catalyst achieves excellent long‐term stability, lasting up to 650 h at 100 mA cm⁻ 2 . Additionally, the electronic modulation from the Zr modification leads to superior activity with a low overpotential of 208 mV at 10 mA cm −2 . Theoretical calculation results further reveal that electron‐donating Zr modification effectively suppresses Ru overoxidation and lattice oxygen participation, maintaining a robust structure during acidic OER. This modification also promotes deprotonation through stronger Brønsted acid sites, significantly improving both long‐term stability and activity.
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Research context

OpenAlex topics: Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction · Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion · Hydrogen Storage and Materials

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

State Key Laboratory of Electroanalytical Chemistry Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry Chinese Academy of Sciences Changchun Jilin 130022 China

School of Applied Chemistry and Engineering University of Science and Technology of China Hefei Anhui 230026 China

Laboratory of Advanced Power Sources Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry Chinese Academy of Sciences Changchun Jilin 130022 China

State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Resource Utilization Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry Chinese Academy of Sciences Changchun 130022 China

Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Clear Water Bay Kowloon Hong Kong 999077 China

CIAC‐HKUST Joint Laboratory for Hydrogen Energy Energy Institute The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Clear Watery Bay Kowloon Hong Kong 999077 China

Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Electrochemical Energy Storage Technologies Fok Ying Tung Research Institute The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Guangzhou 511458 China

CAS – HK Joint Laboratory for Hydrogen Energy Changchun Jilin 130022 China

Funding

National Key Research and Development Program of China · National Natural Science Foundation of China

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