Article Synopsis
- Despite promising potential, the lack of universal design rules for 3D nanostructured catalysts in oxygen evolution reactions has hindered performance maximization.
- The study demonstrates that woodpile-structured iridium (Ir) nanowires, created through 3D printing, significantly enhance oxygen evolution reaction mass activity by improving the active surface area.
- Systematic geometry control and theoretical analyses reveal that better gas bubble transport contributes to a 30-fold increase in mass activity compared to traditional nanoparticle catalysts in single-cell polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolyzers.
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Article Abstract
Despite highly promising characteristics of three-dimensionally (3D) nanostructured catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolyzers (PEMWEs), universal design rules for maximizing their performance have not been explored. Here we show that woodpile (WP)-structured Ir, consisting of 3D-printed, highly-ordered Ir nanowire building blocks, improve OER mass activity markedly. The WP structure secures the electrochemically active surface area (ECSA) through enhanced utilization efficiency of the extended surface area of 3D WP catalysts. Moreover, systematic control of the 3D geometry combined with theoretical calculations and various electrochemical analyses reveals that facile transport of evolved O gas bubbles is an important contributor to the improved ECSA-specific activity. The 3D nanostructuring-based improvement of ECSA and ECSA-specific activity enables our well-controlled geometry to afford a 30-fold higher mass activity of the OER catalyst when used in a single-cell PEMWE than conventional nanoparticle-based catalysts.
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| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7529785 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-18686-0 | DOI Listing |
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