Karl Johann Jakob Mayrhofer

The Common Intermediates of Oxygen Evolution and Dissolution Reactions during Water Electrolysis on Iridium

Abstract Understanding the pathways of catalyst degradation during the oxygen evolution reaction is a cornerstone in the development of efficient and stable electrolyzers, since even for the most promising Ir based anodes the harsh reaction conditions are detrimental. The dissolution mechanism is complex and the correlation to the oxygen evolution reaction itself is still poorly understood. Here, by coupling a scanning flow cell with inductively coupled plasma and online electrochemical mass spectrometers, we monitor the oxygen evolution and degradation products of Ir and Ir oxides in situ. It is shown that at high anodic potentials several dissolution routes become possible, including formation of gaseous IrO3. On the basis of experimental data, possible pathways are proposed for the oxygen‐evolution‐triggered dissolution of Ir and the role of common intermediates for these reactions is discussed.

Atomic-scale insights into surface species of electrocatalysts in three dimensions

The topmost atomic layers of electrocatalysts determine the mechanism and kinetics of reactions in many important industrial processes, such as water splitting, chlor-electrolysis or fuel cells. Optimizing the performance of electrocatalysts requires a detailed understanding of surface-state changes during the catalytic process, ideally at the atomic scale. Here, we use atom probe tomography to reveal the three-dimensional structure of the first few atomic layers of electrochemically grown iridium oxide, an efficient electrocatalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction. We unveil the formation of confined, non-stoichiometric Ir–O species during oxygen evolution. These species gradually transform to IrO2, providing improved stability but also a decrease in activity. Additionally, electrochemical growth of oxide in deuterated solutions allowed us to trace hydroxy-groups and water molecules present in the regions of the oxide layer that are favourable for the oxygen evolution and iridium dissolution reactions. Overall, we demonstrate how tomography with near-atomic resolution advances the understanding of complex relationships between surface structure, surface state and function in electrocatalysis.Morphological changes in catalyst structure are known to occur during electrocatalysis, and understanding such changes is important to gain insight into the catalytic process. Now, in the case of iridium oxide, these surface changes are probed in atomic-scale detail during the oxygen evolution reaction, and correlated with activity and stability.

A Perspective on Low-Temperature Water Electrolysis – Challenges in Alkaline and Acidic Technology

1 Department of Interface Chemistry and Surface Engineering, Max-Planck-Institut für Eisenforschung GmbH, Max-Planck-Strasse 1, 40237 Düsseldorf, Germany 2 Helmholtz-Institute Erlangen-Nürnberg for Renewable Energy (IEK-11), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Egerlandstr. 3, 91058 Erlangen, Germany 3 Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität ErlangenNürnberg, Egerlandstr. 3, 91058 Erlangen, Germany * E-mail: m.schalenbach@mpie.de, k.mayrhofer@fz-juelich.de

Catalyst Stability Benchmarking for the Oxygen Evolution Reaction: The Importance of Backing Electrode Material and Dissolution in Accelerated Aging Studies

In searching for alternative oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts for acidic water splitting, fast screening of the material intrinsic activity and stability in half-cell tests is of vital importance. The screening process significantly accelerates the discovery of new promising materials without the need of time-consuming real-cell analysis. In commonly employed tests, a conclusion on the catalyst stability is drawn solely on the basis of electrochemical data, for example, by evaluating potential-versus-time profiles. Herein important limitations of such approaches, which are related to the degradation of the backing electrode material, are demonstrated. State-of-the-art Ir-black powder is investigated for OER activity and for dissolution as a function of the backing electrode material. Even at very short time intervals materials like glassy carbon passivate, increasing the contact resistance and concealing the degradation phenomena of the electrocatalyst itself. Alternative backing electrodes like gold and boron-doped diamond show better stability and are thus recommended for short accelerated aging investigations. Moreover, parallel quantification of dissolution products in the electrolyte is shown to be of great importance for comparing OER catalyst feasibility.

Electrifying model catalysts for understanding electrocatalytic reactions in liquid electrolytes

Electrocatalysis is at the heart of our future transition to a renewable energy system. Most energy storage and conversion technologies for renewables rely on electrocatalytic processes and, with increasing availability of cheap electrical energy from renewables, chemical production will witness electrification in the near future1–3. However, our fundamental understanding of electrocatalysis lags behind the field of classical heterogeneous catalysis that has been the dominating chemical technology for a long time. Here, we describe a new strategy to advance fundamental studies on electrocatalytic materials. We propose to ‘electrify’ complex oxide-based model catalysts made by surface science methods to explore electrocatalytic reactions in liquid electrolytes. We demonstrate the feasibility of this concept by transferring an atomically defined platinum/cobalt oxide model catalyst into the electrochemical environment while preserving its atomic surface structure. Using this approach, we explore particle size effects and identify hitherto unknown metal–support interactions that stabilize oxidized platinum at the nanoparticle interface. The metal–support interactions open a new synergistic reaction pathway that involves both metallic and oxidized platinum. Our results illustrate the potential of the concept, which makes available a systematic approach to build atomically defined model electrodes for fundamental electrocatalytic studies.Fundamental understanding of electrocatalysis is key to a transition to renewable energy systems. A strategy to ‘electrify’ complex oxide-based model catalysts is now proposed to explore electrocatalytic reactions in liquid electrolytes.

The stability number as a metric for electrocatalyst stability benchmarking

Reducing the noble metal loading and increasing the specific activity of the oxygen evolution catalysts are omnipresent challenges in proton-exchange-membrane water electrolysis, which have recently been tackled by utilizing mixed oxides of noble and non-noble elements. However, proper verification of the stability of these materials is still pending. Here we introduce a metric to explore the dissolution processes of various iridium-based oxides, defined as the ratio between the amounts of evolved oxygen and dissolved iridium. The so-called stability number is independent of loading, surface area or involved active sites and provides a reasonable comparison of diverse materials with respect to stability. The case study on iridium-based perovskites shows that leaching of the non-noble elements in mixed oxides leads to the formation of highly active amorphous iridium oxide, the instability of which is explained by the generation of short-lived vacancies that favour dissolution. These insights are meant to guide further research, which should be devoted to increasing the utilization of highly durable pure crystalline iridium oxide and finding solutions to stabilize amorphous iridium oxides.The proper verification of the stability of metal oxide catalysts for water electrolysis in acid electrolyte remains unresolved. Here, the ‘stability number’ is introduced to evaluate the dissolution mechanisms of various iridium-based oxides and to facilitate benchmarking of catalysts independent of loading, surface area or involved active sites.

Cyclodextrin inhibits zinc corrosion by destabilizing point defect formation in the oxide layer

Corrosion inhibitors are added in low concentrations to corrosive solutions for reducing the corrosion rate of a metallic material. Their mechanism of action is typically the blocking of free metal surface by adsorption, thus slowing down dissolution. This work uses electrochemical impedance spectroscopy to show the cyclic oligosaccharide β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) to inhibit corrosion of zinc in 0.1M chloride with an inhibition efficiency of up to 85%. Only a monomolecular adsorption layer of β-CD is present on the surface of the oxide covered metal, with Raman spectra of the interface proving the adsorption of the intact β-CD. Angular dependent X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (ADXPS) and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) were used to extract a band-like diagram of the β-CD/ZnO interface, showing a large energy level shift at the interface, closely resembling the energy level alignment in an n–p junction. The energy level shift is too large to permit further electron transfer through the layer, inhibiting corrosion. Adsorption hence changes the defect density in the protecting ZnO layer. This mechanism of corrosion inhibition shows that affecting the defect chemistry of passivating films by molecular inhibitors maybe a viable strategy to control corrosion of metals.