Facile synthesis of jagged Au/Ir nanochains with superior electrocatalytic activity for oxygen evolution reaction

Abstract

Abstract Au/Ir bimetals are not easy to obtain because alloy phase diagrams are not available for these material combinations (Ronald et al., 2004). Herein, the Au/Ir nanochains (Au/Ir NCs) are synthesized via one-pot, hydrothermal method. By virtue of jagged surface with abundant atomic defects, the Au/Ir NCs are demonstrated much more active than commercial IrO2 electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction under alkaline media. The potential of the Au/Ir NCs sustains 1.53\u202fV vs reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) with no obvious decease under current density at 10 milliamps per square centimeter, while that of IrO2 increase to 1.65\u202fV vs RHE after stability tests for ca. 32\u202fh. The durability as well as the activity of Au/Ir NCs is attributed to the electronic interaction between Au and Ir, which is confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).