Publication date: 15th December 2025
The dependence of polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolyzers on the precious metal iridium is among the major materials bottlenecks of the green energy transition. Any non-noble substitute would have to be simultaneously stable, conductive and active for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) under the harsh operating conditions of the PEM anode. Catalytic activity is controlled by the surface of the material, which should in principle preclude the use of inert protective overlayers. However, in this work, we show that titanium dioxide surface (TiO2) layers up to several atomic layers thick can reduce dissolution of the underlying material while preserving its activity. We demonstrate this for TiO2 on several underlying non-precious OER catalyst materials, all mixed-metal oxides synthesized by electrodeposition. Density functional theory calculations explain the observation, revealing how, under certain conditions, an overlayer can effectively “channel” the activity of the substrate below to the surface while still providing protection against dissolution. This talk will explore the mechanistic implications and the design paradigms opened up by this phenomenon.
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