Rapid Scalable One‐step Production of Catalysts for Low‐Iridium Content Proton Exchange Membrane Water Electrolyzers
Suriya Venkatesan, Jens Mitzel, Sambal Shashank Ambu, Tobias Morawietz, Indro Biswas, Oscar Recalde, Esmaeil Adabifiroozjaei, Leopoldo Molina‐Luna, Deven P. Estes, Karsten Wegner, Pawel Gazdzicki, Aldo Saul Gago, K. Andreas Friedrich
Abstract
Abstract Proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE) is a promising technology for green hydrogen production, although its widespread development with state‐of‐the‐art loadings is threatened by the scarcity of iridium (Ir). Homogeneous dispersion of Ir in an immiscible electro‐ceramic matrix can enhance catalytic mass activity and structural stability. The study presents Ir y Sn 0.9(1− y ) Sb 0.1(1− y ) O x solid solutions produced by highly scalable flame spray pyrolysis (FSP) process as efficient anode electrocatalysts for PEMWE, containing only 0.2 mg cm −2 of Ir in the catalyst layer (CL). Intense mixing of metal vapor and large thermal gradients in the precursor‐derived high‐temperature flame aids stabilizing sub‐nanoscale entropic mixing within self‐preserved 4–6 nm particles. Detailed investigations confirm that the one‐step prepared solid solution electrocatalysts exhibit up to fourfold higher activity toward the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) compared to Ir black. The anode of a PEMWE utilizing this catalyst exhibits high performance and stability over 2000 h but with tenfold lower Ir loading than the state‐of‐art.