Highly effective Ir(x)Sn(1-x)O2 electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction in the solid polymer electrolyte water electrolyser.

We developed an advanced surfactant-assistant method for the Ir(x)Sn(1-x)O(2) (0 < x ≤ 1) nanoparticle (NP) preparation, and examined the OER performances by a series of half-cell and full-cell tests. In contrast to the commercial Ir black, the collective data confirmed the outstanding activity and stability of the fabricated Ir(x)Sn(1-x)O(2) (x = 1, 0.67 and 0.52) NPs, which could be ascribed to the amorphous structure, good dispersion, high pore volume, solid-solution state and Ir-rich surface for bi-metal oxides, and relatively large size (10-11 nm), while Ir(0.31)Sn(0.69) exhibited poor electro-catalytic activity because of the separated two phases, a SnO(2)-rich phase and an IrO(2)-rich phase. Furthermore, compared with highly active IrO(2), the improved durability, precious-metal Ir utilization efficiency and correspondingly reduced Ir loading were realized by the addition of Sn component. When the Ir(0.52)Sn(0.48)O(2) cell operated at 80 °C using Nafion® 115 membrane and less than 0.8 mg cm(-2) of the noble-metal Ir loading, the cell voltages we achieved were 1.631 V at 1000 mA cm(-2), and 1.821 V at 2000 mA cm(-2). The IR-free voltage at the studied current density was very close to the onset voltage of oxygen evolution. The only 50 μV h(-1) of voltage increased for the 500 h durability test at 500 mA cm(-2). In fact, these results are exceptional compared to the performances for OER in SPEWE cells known so far. This work highlights the potential of using highly active and stable IrO(2)-SnO(2) amorphous NPs to enhance the electrolysis efficiency, reduce the noble-metal Ir loading and thus the cost of hydrogen production from the solid polymer electrolyte water electrolysis.