Premium
Synthesis of 3D IrRuMn Sphere as a Superior Oxygen Evolution Electrocatalyst in Acidic Environment
Author(s) -
Aizaz Ud Din Muhammad,
Irfan Syed,
Dar Sami Ullah,
Rizwan Syed
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
chemistry – a european journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.687
H-Index - 242
eISSN - 1521-3765
pISSN - 0947-6539
DOI - 10.1002/chem.201905063
Subject(s) - overpotential , electrocatalyst , oxygen evolution , catalysis , coordination sphere , formamide , transition metal , chemical engineering , chemistry , inorganic chemistry , noble metal , metal , materials science , electrochemistry , organic chemistry , electrode , engineering
The design of a three‐dimensional structure for an Ir‐based catalyst offers a great opportunity to improve the electrocatalytic performance and maximize the use of the precious metal. Herein, a novel wet chemical strategy is reported for the synthesis of an IrRuMn catalyst with a sphere structure and porous features. In the synthetic process, the combined use of citric acid and formamide is requisite for the formation of the sphere structure. This method leads to a favorable 3D IrRuMn sphere structure with many fully exposed active sites. Furthermore, an alloying noble metal, such as Ir or Ru, with the transition metal leads to enhanced oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activity. The doping of a transition metal, such as Mn, is an interesting example, because it exhibits stability and activity in both acidic and alkaline media. For the OER, the IrRuMn sphere catalyst exhibits an overpotential of 260 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm −2 in strongly acidic 0.1 m HClO 4 , which is superior to that of a commercial IrO 2 /C catalyst. This approach provides a novel way to synthesize an Ir‐based multimetallic spherical electrocatalyst, which exhibits exceptional efficiency for the acidic OER. It will pave the way for new approaches to the practical utilization of PEM electrolyzers.