Tantalum-stabilized ruthenium oxide electrocatalysts for industrial water electrolysis

Jiahao Zhang; Xianbiao Fu; Soonho Kwon; Kaifeng Chen; Xiaozhi Liu; Jin Yang; Haoran Sun; Yanchang Wang; Tomoki Uchiyama; Yoshiharu Uchimoto; Shaofeng Li; Yan Li; Xiaolong Fan; Gong Chen; Fanjie Xia; Jinsong Wu; Yanbo Li; Qin Yue; Liang Qiao; Dong Su; Hua Zhou; William A. Goddard; Yijin Kang

doi:10.1126/science.ado9938

Tantalum-stabilized ruthenium oxide electrocatalysts for industrial water electrolysis

Jiahao Zhang, Xianbiao Fu, Soonho Kwon, Kaifeng Chen, Xiaozhi Liu, Jin Yang, Haoran Sun, Yanchang Wang, Tomoki Uchiyama, Yoshiharu Uchimoto, Shaofeng Li, Yan Li, Xiaolong Fan, Gong Chen, Fanjie Xia, Jinsong Wu, Yanbo Li, Qin Yue, Liang Qiao, Dong SuHua Zhou, William A. Goddard, Yijin Kang

ENG - Materials Processing

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

39 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The iridium oxide (IrO₂) catalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction used industrially (in proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers) is scarce and costly. Although ruthenium oxide (RuO₂) is a promising alternative, its poor stability has hindered practical application. We used well-defined extended surface models to identify that RuO₂ undergoes structure-dependent corrosion that causes Ru dissolution. Tantalum (Ta) doping effectively stabilized RuO₂ against such corrosion and enhanced the intrinsic activity of RuO₂. In an industrial demonstration, Ta-RuO₂ electrocatalyst exhibited stability near that of IrO₂ and had a performance decay rate of ~14 microvolts per hour in a 2800-hour test.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	48-55
Number of pages	8
Journal	Science
Volume	387
Issue number	6729
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1126/science.ado9938
Publication status	Published - 2025 Jan 3

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title = "Tantalum-stabilized ruthenium oxide electrocatalysts for industrial water electrolysis",

abstract = "The iridium oxide (IrO2) catalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction used industrially (in proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers) is scarce and costly. Although ruthenium oxide (RuO2) is a promising alternative, its poor stability has hindered practical application. We used well-defined extended surface models to identify that RuO2 undergoes structure-dependent corrosion that causes Ru dissolution. Tantalum (Ta) doping effectively stabilized RuO2 against such corrosion and enhanced the intrinsic activity of RuO2. In an industrial demonstration, Ta-RuO2 electrocatalyst exhibited stability near that of IrO2 and had a performance decay rate of \textasciitilde{}14 microvolts per hour in a 2800-hour test.",

author = "Jiahao Zhang and Xianbiao Fu and Soonho Kwon and Kaifeng Chen and Xiaozhi Liu and Jin Yang and Haoran Sun and Yanchang Wang and Tomoki Uchiyama and Yoshiharu Uchimoto and Shaofeng Li and Yan Li and Xiaolong Fan and Gong Chen and Fanjie Xia and Jinsong Wu and Yanbo Li and Qin Yue and Liang Qiao and Dong Su and Hua Zhou and Goddard, \{William A.\} and Yijin Kang",

year = "2025",

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doi = "10.1126/science.ado9938",

language = "English",

volume = "387",

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journal = "Science",

issn = "0036-8075",

publisher = "American Association for the Advancement of Science",

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Zhang, J, Fu, X, Kwon, S, Chen, K, Liu, X, Yang, J, Sun, H, Wang, Y, Uchiyama, T, Uchimoto, Y, Li, S, Li, Y, Fan, X, Chen, G, Xia, F, Wu, J, Li, Y, Yue, Q, Qiao, L, Su, D, Zhou, H, Goddard, WA & Kang, Y 2025, 'Tantalum-stabilized ruthenium oxide electrocatalysts for industrial water electrolysis', Science, vol. 387, no. 6729, pp. 48-55. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.ado9938

TY - JOUR

T1 - Tantalum-stabilized ruthenium oxide electrocatalysts for industrial water electrolysis

AU - Zhang, Jiahao

AU - Fu, Xianbiao

AU - Kwon, Soonho

AU - Chen, Kaifeng

AU - Liu, Xiaozhi

AU - Yang, Jin

AU - Sun, Haoran

AU - Wang, Yanchang

AU - Uchiyama, Tomoki

AU - Uchimoto, Yoshiharu

AU - Li, Shaofeng

AU - Li, Yan

AU - Fan, Xiaolong

AU - Chen, Gong

AU - Xia, Fanjie

AU - Wu, Jinsong

AU - Li, Yanbo

AU - Yue, Qin

AU - Qiao, Liang

AU - Su, Dong

AU - Zhou, Hua

AU - Goddard, William A.

AU - Kang, Yijin

PY - 2025/1/3

Y1 - 2025/1/3

N2 - The iridium oxide (IrO2) catalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction used industrially (in proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers) is scarce and costly. Although ruthenium oxide (RuO2) is a promising alternative, its poor stability has hindered practical application. We used well-defined extended surface models to identify that RuO2 undergoes structure-dependent corrosion that causes Ru dissolution. Tantalum (Ta) doping effectively stabilized RuO2 against such corrosion and enhanced the intrinsic activity of RuO2. In an industrial demonstration, Ta-RuO2 electrocatalyst exhibited stability near that of IrO2 and had a performance decay rate of ~14 microvolts per hour in a 2800-hour test.

AB - The iridium oxide (IrO2) catalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction used industrially (in proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers) is scarce and costly. Although ruthenium oxide (RuO2) is a promising alternative, its poor stability has hindered practical application. We used well-defined extended surface models to identify that RuO2 undergoes structure-dependent corrosion that causes Ru dissolution. Tantalum (Ta) doping effectively stabilized RuO2 against such corrosion and enhanced the intrinsic activity of RuO2. In an industrial demonstration, Ta-RuO2 electrocatalyst exhibited stability near that of IrO2 and had a performance decay rate of ~14 microvolts per hour in a 2800-hour test.

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DO - 10.1126/science.ado9938

M3 - Article

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AN - SCOPUS:85214285039

SN - 0036-8075

VL - 387

SP - 48

EP - 55

JO - Science

JF - Science

IS - 6729

ER -

Tantalum-stabilized ruthenium oxide electrocatalysts for industrial water electrolysis

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