Metastable Hexagonal Ir Based Porous Transport Electrode for Durable and Efficient Oxygen Evolution Reaction in Acidic Media

Metastable Hexagonal Ir Based Porous Transport Electrode for Durable and Efficient Oxygen Evolution Reaction in Acidic Media | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Metastable Hexagonal Ir Based Porous Transport Electrode for Durable and Efficient Oxygen Evolution Reaction in Acidic Media Hyuksu Han, Kwangsoo Kim, DongGyun Yoo, Byeong-Seon An, Seoung Hyun Park, and 17 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7200960/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The acidic oxygen evolution reaction remains a bottleneck in proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers due to sluggish kinetics and catalyst degradation. Here, we report a novel design strategy for one-dimensionally nanostructured, self-standing Ir-based porous transport electrodes featuring a metastable hexagonal Ir phase. This metastable structure is stabilized by dynamic rhenium (Re) dopants with multivalent oxidation states, which not only preserve phase stability but also balance catalytic activity and durability under acidic conditions. The catalyst has exceptional catalytic activity, with a minimal overpotential of 210 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm-2. Combined first-principles and in situ analyses reveal that Re incorporation facilitates dual oxygen evolution pathways via surface reconstruction to IrO₂, enabling synergistic enhancement of both activity and stability. The metastable Ir-based porous transport electrode achieves a high current density of 3.13 A cm-2 at 1.8 V and an exceptionally low degradation rate of 1.34 μV h-1 at 1 A cm-2, where the hierarchical pore networks and highly interconnected catalyst domains are responsible for the exceptional cell performance. Physical sciences/Materials science/Materials for energy and catalysis/Electrocatalysis Physical sciences/Energy science and technology/Renewable energy/Hydrogen energy Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files SIV1.docx Supporting Information Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7200960","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":501094632,"identity":"0daa7477-560b-4345-aec9-b22a0720e955","order_by":0,"name":"Hyuksu 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Here, we report a novel design strategy for one-dimensionally nanostructured, self-standing Ir-based porous transport electrodes featuring a metastable hexagonal Ir phase. This metastable structure is stabilized by dynamic rhenium (Re) dopants with multivalent oxidation states, which not only preserve phase stability but also balance catalytic activity and durability under acidic conditions. The catalyst has exceptional catalytic activity, with a minimal overpotential of 210 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm-2. Combined first-principles and in situ analyses reveal that Re incorporation facilitates dual oxygen evolution pathways via surface reconstruction to IrO₂, enabling synergistic enhancement of both activity and stability. 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