Low-iridium stabilized ruthenium oxide anode catalyst for durable proton-exchange membrane water electrolysis

Chang Qiu; Chase Sellers; Zhen Yu Wu; David A. Cullen; Eli Stavitski; Akhil Tayal; Tae Ung Wi; Mounika Kodali; Bryan Erb; Andrew Smeltz; Feng Yang Chen; Yuge Feng; Zhou Yu; Ahmad Elgazzar; Tanguy Terlier; Thomas P. Senftle; Haotian Wang

doi:10.1038/s41565-025-02030-y

Low-iridium stabilized ruthenium oxide anode catalyst for durable proton-exchange membrane water electrolysis

Chang Qiu
, Chase Sellers
, Zhen Yu Wu
, David A. Cullen
, Eli Stavitski
, Akhil Tayal
, Tae Ung Wi
, Mounika Kodali
, Bryan Erb
, Andrew Smeltz
, Feng Yang Chen
, Yuge Feng
, Zhou Yu
, Ahmad Elgazzar
, Tanguy Terlier
, Thomas P. Senftle
, Haotian Wang

electron Microscopy and Microanalysis

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

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

While mixing iridium (Ir) with ruthenium oxide (RuO₂) has proven to be an effective strategy for reducing Ir loading in anode catalysts for proton-exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolysers, achieving industrially relevant long-term stability typically requires an Ir-rich, Ru-lean combination. Here, by combining density functional theory with Metropolis Monte Carlo methods, we discovered that sufficient stabilization in the RuO₂ lattice could be achieved with less than 50 at.% of Ir, and that Ir in the first subsurface layer plays a critical role. By effectively dispersing Ir dopants within the RuO₂ lattice, we demonstrated an Ir:Ru atomic ratio of only 1:6 that exhibited exceptional stability for over 1,500 h of continuous water electrolysis at 2 A cm⁻². Our Ru₆IrO_x catalyst has the potential to reduce Ir loading by 80% compared with current commercial PEM water electrolysers, and its stability was further validated under industrial testing conditions in a 25-cm² PEM electrolyser.

Original language	English
Journal	Nature Nanotechnology
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-025-02030-y
State	Accepted/In press - 2025

Funding

This work was supported by the Robert A. Welch Foundation (grant no. C-2051-20230405), the the David and Lucile Packard Foundation (grant 2020-71371) and National Science Foundation (grant no. 2143941). Electron microscopy research was supported by the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS), which is a US Department of Energy, Office of Science User Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. This research used the Inner Shell Spectroscopy (ISS, 8-ID) of the National Synchrotron Light Source II, a US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science User Facility operated for the DOE Office of Science by Brookhaven National Laboratory under contract no. DE-SC0012704. We acknowledge the use of the Shared Equipment Authority and Electron Microscopy Center at Rice University for their contributions to this research.

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Qiu, C., Sellers, C., Wu, Z. Y., Cullen, D. A., Stavitski, E., Tayal, A., Wi, T. U., Kodali, M., Erb, B., Smeltz, A., Chen, F. Y., Feng, Y., Yu, Z., Elgazzar, A., Terlier, T., Senftle, T. P., & Wang, H. (Accepted/In press). Low-iridium stabilized ruthenium oxide anode catalyst for durable proton-exchange membrane water electrolysis. Nature Nanotechnology. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-025-02030-y

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title = "Low-iridium stabilized ruthenium oxide anode catalyst for durable proton-exchange membrane water electrolysis",

abstract = "While mixing iridium (Ir) with ruthenium oxide (RuO2) has proven to be an effective strategy for reducing Ir loading in anode catalysts for proton-exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolysers, achieving industrially relevant long-term stability typically requires an Ir-rich, Ru-lean combination. Here, by combining density functional theory with Metropolis Monte Carlo methods, we discovered that sufficient stabilization in the RuO2 lattice could be achieved with less than 50 at.\% of Ir, and that Ir in the first subsurface layer plays a critical role. By effectively dispersing Ir dopants within the RuO2 lattice, we demonstrated an Ir:Ru atomic ratio of only 1:6 that exhibited exceptional stability for over 1,500 h of continuous water electrolysis at 2 A cm−2. Our Ru6IrOx catalyst has the potential to reduce Ir loading by 80\% compared with current commercial PEM water electrolysers, and its stability was further validated under industrial testing conditions in a 25-cm2 PEM electrolyser.",

author = "Chang Qiu and Chase Sellers and Wu, \{Zhen Yu\} and Cullen, \{David A.\} and Eli Stavitski and Akhil Tayal and Wi, \{Tae Ung\} and Mounika Kodali and Bryan Erb and Andrew Smeltz and Chen, \{Feng Yang\} and Yuge Feng and Zhou Yu and Ahmad Elgazzar and Tanguy Terlier and Senftle, \{Thomas P.\} and Haotian Wang",

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year = "2025",

doi = "10.1038/s41565-025-02030-y",

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journal = "Nature Nanotechnology",

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AU - Qiu, Chang

AU - Sellers, Chase

AU - Wu, Zhen Yu

AU - Cullen, David A.

AU - Stavitski, Eli

AU - Tayal, Akhil

AU - Wi, Tae Ung

AU - Kodali, Mounika

AU - Erb, Bryan

AU - Smeltz, Andrew

AU - Chen, Feng Yang

AU - Feng, Yuge

AU - Yu, Zhou

AU - Elgazzar, Ahmad

AU - Terlier, Tanguy

AU - Senftle, Thomas P.

AU - Wang, Haotian

PY - 2025

Y1 - 2025

N2 - While mixing iridium (Ir) with ruthenium oxide (RuO2) has proven to be an effective strategy for reducing Ir loading in anode catalysts for proton-exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolysers, achieving industrially relevant long-term stability typically requires an Ir-rich, Ru-lean combination. Here, by combining density functional theory with Metropolis Monte Carlo methods, we discovered that sufficient stabilization in the RuO2 lattice could be achieved with less than 50 at.% of Ir, and that Ir in the first subsurface layer plays a critical role. By effectively dispersing Ir dopants within the RuO2 lattice, we demonstrated an Ir:Ru atomic ratio of only 1:6 that exhibited exceptional stability for over 1,500 h of continuous water electrolysis at 2 A cm−2. Our Ru6IrOx catalyst has the potential to reduce Ir loading by 80% compared with current commercial PEM water electrolysers, and its stability was further validated under industrial testing conditions in a 25-cm2 PEM electrolyser.

AB - While mixing iridium (Ir) with ruthenium oxide (RuO2) has proven to be an effective strategy for reducing Ir loading in anode catalysts for proton-exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolysers, achieving industrially relevant long-term stability typically requires an Ir-rich, Ru-lean combination. Here, by combining density functional theory with Metropolis Monte Carlo methods, we discovered that sufficient stabilization in the RuO2 lattice could be achieved with less than 50 at.% of Ir, and that Ir in the first subsurface layer plays a critical role. By effectively dispersing Ir dopants within the RuO2 lattice, we demonstrated an Ir:Ru atomic ratio of only 1:6 that exhibited exceptional stability for over 1,500 h of continuous water electrolysis at 2 A cm−2. Our Ru6IrOx catalyst has the potential to reduce Ir loading by 80% compared with current commercial PEM water electrolysers, and its stability was further validated under industrial testing conditions in a 25-cm2 PEM electrolyser.

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SN - 1748-3387

JO - Nature Nanotechnology

JF - Nature Nanotechnology

ER -

Low-iridium stabilized ruthenium oxide anode catalyst for durable proton-exchange membrane water electrolysis

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