The exploitation of anode electrocatalysts with high activity and stability remains an enormous challenge in proton exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolyzer. Here we doped Mn to activate Ir site in IrO2 through the molten salt sealing method, and the optimized Mn0.1Ir0.9O2 exhibited superior OER performance. Mn doping optimized the electronic structure and dominant crystal planes of IrO2, as evidenced by our complementary characterizations. Impressively, the Mn0.1Ir0.9O2 exhibits superior performance in the PEM water electrolyzer, only requiring 1.79 V to attain 1 A cm−2 and offering long-term stability over 1200 h (attenuated only 17.5 μV h−1 compared to 1.27 mV/h for the original sample). DFT calculation shows Mn doping could activate Ir site, thus reducing the energy barrier of the rate-determining step for promoting OER. This work provides a strategy to design high-tolerance catalysts for the PEM water electrolyzer in actual working conditions.

中文翻译：

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基于 IrO2 催化剂的铱位点活化为高度稳定的 PEM 水电解槽


在质子交换膜 （PEM） 水电解槽中，开发具有高活性和稳定性的阳极电催化剂仍然是一个巨大的挑战。本文通过熔盐封接法掺杂 Mn 以激活 IrO2 中的 Ir 位点，优化后的 Mn0.1Ir0.9O2 表现出优异的 OER 性能。Mn 掺杂优化了 IrO2 的电子结构和主要晶面，我们的互补表征证明了这一点。令人印象深刻的是，Mn0.1Ir0.9O2 在 PEM 水电解槽中表现出卓越的性能，只需要 1.79 V 即可达到 1 A cm-2，并在 1200 小时内提供长期稳定性（衰减仅为 17.5 μV h-1，而原始样品为 1.27 mV/h）。DFT 计算表明，Mn 掺杂可以激活 Ir 位点，从而降低促进 OER 的速率确定步骤的能量势垒。本研究为在实际工况下为 PEM 水电解槽设计高耐受性催化剂提供了一种策略。