Abstract
A study of various compositions of anodes for proton exchange membrane water electrolysis aimed at reducing precious metal content and system costs without compromising performance and durability is presented. A key challenge in current water electrolysis technologies is the reliance on high iridium loadings to ensure sufficient catalytic activity, electronic conductivity, and durability for the oxygen evolution reaction. To address this, catalyst layers based on the stable but kinetically limited rutile phase of iridium oxide are combined with platinum nanoparticles and carbon-based additives to improve structural properties and ink processability. By systematically varying the volume ratios of carbon to precious metals and ionomer to solids, compositional trends have been identified, and significant performance improvements have been achieved. Structural and elemental analysis confirms improved dispersion of platinum and iridium can be achieved, as well as electronic conductivity improvements within the catalyst layer. Polarization curve analysis has shown the ability of added Pt and C to significantly increase catalytic activity. These results highlight the potential positive impact of Pt and C on anode structure, composition, and cell performance.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | e01870 |
| Journal | Advanced Materials Technologies |
| Volume | 11 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Mar 18 2026 |
Funding
L.V.B. and K.K. contributed equally to this work. This work was conducted as part of the Hydrogen from Next-generation Electrolyzers of Water (H2NEW) consortium, funded by the U.S. DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO). Electron microscopy research was supported by the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS), which is a U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science User Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The views expressed in the article do not necessarily represent the views of the DOE or the U.S. Government. The U.S. Government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the U.S. Government retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this work, or allow others to do so, for U.S. Government purposes. The authors thank Chaiwat Engtrakul, Andrew Kominowski, Bennet Chao, Ellis Klein, Cole Delery for assistance. L.V.B. and K.K. contributed equally to this work. This work was conducted as part of the Hydrogen from Next‐generation Electrolyzers of Water (H2NEW) consortium, funded by the U.S. DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO). Electron microscopy research was supported by the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS), which is a U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science User Facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The views expressed in the article do not necessarily represent the views of the DOE or the U.S. Government. The U.S. Government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the U.S. Government retains a nonexclusive, paid‐up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this work, or allow others to do so, for U.S. Government purposes. The authors thank Chaiwat Engtrakul, Andrew Kominowski, Bennet Chao, Ellis Klein, Cole Delery for assistance.
Keywords
- PEM water electrolysis
- anode catalyst layer
- conductive additive
- iridium oxide
- pore former
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