Facile Synthesis Toward Surface Decorated Ir1Ox@Pd35 with Low Iridium Content for Highly Efficient and Durable Proton Exchange Membrane Water Electrolyzer

초록

Herein, we introduce an iridium-decorated palladium nanocluster (Ir1Ox@Pd35) synthesized via an epoxide-assisted sol-gel method. The nanocluster had a unique surface-decorated structure, as confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and synchrotron-based X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Structural characterization indicated that the Ir shell inhibited Pd growth by forming a porous surface-decorated structure, contributing to enhanced activity. With low Ir loading (0.10 mgIr cm-2), Ir1Ox@Pd35 exhibits superior oxygen evolution reaction activity and durability compared to commercial IrO2. Ir1Ox@Pd35 also exhibited high performance and durability in a proton exchange membrane water electrolyzer (PEMWE), including a 20-fold increase in Ir utilization compared to IrO2-based systems. Featuring tailored structures and enhanced Ir utilization, Ir1Ox@Pd35 offers a sustainable path for PEMWEs.

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