Developing an active and stable anode catalyst for the proton exchange membrane water electrolyzer (PEM-WE) is a critical objective to enhance the economic viability of green hydrogen technology. However, the expensive iridium-based electrocatalyst remains the sole practical material with industrial-level stability for the acidic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) at the anode. Ruthenium-based catalysts have been proposed as more cost-effective alternatives with improved activity, though their stability requires enhancement. The current urgent goal is to reduce costs and noble metal loading of the OER catalyst while maintaining robust activity and stability. In this study, we design a Ru-based OER catalyst incorporating Pb as a supporting element. This electrocatalyst exhibits an OER overpotential of 201 mV at 10 mA·cm⁻², simultaneously reducing Ru noble metal loading by ∼ 40%. Normalization of the electrochemically active surface area unveils improved intrinsic activity compared to the pristine RuO₂ catalyst. During a practical stability test in a PEM-WE setup, our developed catalyst sustains stable performance over 300 h without notable degradation, underscoring its potential for future applications as a reliable anodic catalyst.

为质子交换膜水电解槽（PEM-WE）开发活性稳定的阳极催化剂是提高绿色氢技术经济可行性的关键目标。然而，昂贵的铱基电催化剂仍然是阳极酸性析氧反应（OER）中唯一具有工业级稳定性的实用材料。钌基催化剂已被提议作为更具成本效益的替代品，具有更高的活性，但其稳定性需要增强。目前的紧迫目标是降低 OER 催化剂的成本和贵金属负载量，同时保持强劲的活性和稳定性。在这项研究中，我们设计了一种以 Pb 作为支撑元素的 Ru 基 OER 催化剂。该电催化剂在10 mA·cm ^-2下表现出201 mV的OER过电势，同时将Ru贵金属负载量减少约40%。与原始 RuO ₂催化剂相比，电化学活性表面积的标准化揭示了内在活性的提高。在 PEM-WE 设置中进行的实际稳定性测试中，我们开发的催化剂能够保持稳定的性能超过 300 小时，而没有明显的退化，这突显了其作为可靠的阳极催化剂在未来应用中的潜力。