Nanosized IrO x –Ir Catalyst with Relevant Activity for Anodes of Proton Exchange Membrane Electrolysis Produced by a Cost‐Effective Procedure

• Published in: Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2016-01, Vol.55 (2), p.742-746
• Main Authors: Lettenmeier, Philipp, Wang, Li, Golla‐Schindler, Ute, Gazdzicki, Pawel, Cañas, Natalia A., Handl, Michael, Hiesgen, Renate, Hosseiny, Seyed S., Gago, Aldo S., Friedrich, Kaspar A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1433-7851; 1521-3773
• DOI: 10.1002/anie.201507626

We have developed a highly active nanostructured iridium catalyst for anodes of proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis. Clusters of nanosized crystallites are obtained by reducing surfactant‐stabilized IrCl 3 in water‐free conditions. The catalyst shows a five‐fold higher activity towards oxygen evolution reaction (OER) than commercial Ir‐black. The improved kinetics of the catalyst are reflected in the high performance of the PEM electrolyzer (1 mg Ir  cm −2 ), showing an unparalleled low overpotential and negligible degradation. Our results demonstrate that this enhancement cannot be only attributed to increased surface area, but rather to the ligand effect and low coordinate sites resulting in a high turnover frequency (TOF). The catalyst developed herein sets a benchmark and a strategy for the development of ultra‐low loading catalyst layers for PEM electrolysis.