Unraveling oxygen vacancy site mechanism of Rh-doped RuO2 catalyst for long-lasting acidic water oxidation

Abstract Exploring durable electrocatalysts with high activity for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in acidic media is of paramount importance for H 2 production via polymer electrolyte membrane electrolyzers, yet it remains urgently challenging. Herein, we report a synergistic strategy of Rh doping and surface oxygen vacancies to precisely regulate unconventional OER reaction path via the Ru–O–Rh active sites of Rh-RuO 2 , simultaneously boosting intrinsic activity and stability. The stabilized low-valent catalyst exhibits a remarkable performance, with an overpotential of 161 mV at 10 mA cm −2 and activity retention of 99.2% exceeding 700 h at 50 mA cm −2 . Quasi in situ/operando characterizations demonstrate the recurrence of reversible oxygen species under working potentials for enhanced activity and durability. It is theoretically revealed that Rh-RuO 2 passes through a more optimal reaction path of lattice oxygen mediated mechanism-oxygen vacancy site mechanism induced by the synergistic interaction of defects and Ru–O–Rh active sites with the rate-determining step of *O formation, breaking the barrier limitation (*OOH) of the traditional adsorption evolution mechanism.