Acidic Oxygen Evolution Electrocatalysts for Proton Exchange Membrane Water Electrolysis
This community focuses on developing electrocatalysts that split water into hydrogen and oxygen in acidic environments, specifically for use in proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzers.
The research centers on the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in acidic media, a critical bottleneck for PEM water electrolysis. Recurring materials include iridium oxide, ruthenium oxide, and cobalt-based spinels, often engineered with titanium, manganese, or lanthanide dopants to enhance stability and activity. Key methods involve tuning lattice oxygen participation, managing oxygen vacancies, and optimizing interfacial water interactions. The work addresses specific challenges such as catalyst degradation under acidic conditions and the high cost of iridium, seeking earth-abundant alternatives or low-loading strategies that maintain durability. Applications are explicitly tied to gigawatt-scale hydrogen production and industrial water splitting systems.
The community represents 5.2% of all iridium research tracked, 1.9% of ruthenium research, and 0.7% of oxygen research. Iridium contributes the highest number of papers within this group, with 2,188 entries, while oxygen has the largest share of its total research allocated to this community.
There are 7,083 papers in this community, primarily published in the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, the Journal of The Electrochemical Society, and Electrochimica Acta.
Recent work continues to refine the mechanisms of acidic water oxidation, with studies on rare-earth-doped cobalt centers, interfacial water engineering on ruthenium oxide, and the role of oxygen vacancies in stabilizing lattice oxygen pathways.