Boosting Oxygen Evolution Reaction Using Defect Rich Ultra-Thin Ruthenium Oxide Nanosheets in Acidic Media

摘要

Hydrogen is regarded as the most promising energy carrier. The pure hydrogen produced from electrochemical water splitting by using renewable energy is the most attractive and effective approach. In comparison to alkaline water electrolysis, proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers (PEMWEs) could operate at higher current densities, lower ohmic loss, more compact system design, faster system response and more stable towards load-cycling and shutdowns. The sluggish kinetics of oxygen evolution reaction (OER) at the anode of PEMWEs has restricted its practical applications. To date, iridium (Ir) metal and its oxide are usually selected as the state-of-the-art catalyst for OER due to their robust and long-term durability under the harsh acidic conditions. Nevertheless, Ir is an extremely scarce element, and its price has been doubled in the past few years. The development of low cost and highly effective electrocatalyst for OER in an acidic medium is urgently needed but remains a great challenge.