Tackling activity-stability paradox of reconstructed NiIrOx electrocatalysts by bridged W-O moiety

One challenge remaining in the development of Ir-based electrocatalyst is the activity-stability paradox during acidic oxygen evolution reaction (OER), especially for the surface reconstructed IrOx catalyst with high efficiency. To address this, a phase selective Ir-based electrocatalyst is constructed by forming bridged W-O moiety in NiIrOx electrocatalyst. Through an electrochemical dealloying process, an nano-porous structure with surface-hydroxylated rutile NiWIrOx electrocatalyst is engineered via Ni as a sacrificial element. Despite low Ir content, NiWIrOx demonstrates a minimal overpotential of 180 mV for the OER at 10 mA·cm−2. It maintains a stable 300 mA·cm−2 current density during an approximately 300 h OER at 1.8 VRHE and shows a stability number of 3.9 × 105 noxygen · nIr−1. The resulting W – O–Ir bridging motif proves pivotal for enhancing the efficacy of OER catalysis by facilitating deprotonation of OER intermediates and promoting a thermodynamically favorable dual-site adsorbent evolution mechanism. Besides, the phase selective insertion of W-O in NiIrOx enabling charge balance through the W-O-Ir bridging motif, effectively counteracting lattice oxygen loss by regulating Ir-O co-valency. One challenge remaining in the electrocatalysts for acidic water electrolysis is the activity-stability paradox. Here, the authors report a facile approach to tackle the challenge by introducing a bridged W-O moiety in NiIrOx electrocatalyst, enhancing the efficacy and stability simultaneously.