Nanosized IrOx–Ir Catalyst with Relevant Activity for Anodes of Proton Exchange Membrane Electrolysis Produced by a Cost‐Effective Procedure

作者：Philipp Lettenmeier, Li Wang, Ute Golla‐Schindler, Pawel Gazdzicki, Natalia A. Cañas, Michael Handl, Renate Hiesgen, Seyed Schwan Hosseiny, Aldo Saul Gago, K. Andreas Friedrich · 发表于：Angewandte Chemie International Edition · 年份：2015 · DOI：10.1002/anie.201507626 · 被引用次数：246 · 研究领域：Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion、Fuel Cells and Related Materials、Ammonia Synthesis and Nitrogen Reduction

We have developed a highly active nanostructured iridium catalyst for anodes of proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis. Clusters of nanosized crystallites are obtained by reducing surfactant-stabilized IrCl3 in water-free conditions. The catalyst shows a five-fold higher activity towards oxygen evolution reaction (OER) than commercial Ir-black. The improved kinetics of the catalyst are reflected in the high performance of the PEM electrolyzer (1 mg(Ir) cm(-2)), showing an unparalleled low overpotential and negligible degradation. Our results demonstrate that this enhancement cannot be only attributed to increased surface area, but rather to the ligand effect and low coordinate sites resulting in a high turnover frequency (TOF). The catalyst developed herein sets a benchmark and a strategy for the development of ultra-low loading catalyst layers for PEM electrolysis.