Study on supported IrO2 catalysts for high performance PEM water electrolysis

Abstract

Proton Exchange Membrane Water Electrolysis (PEMWE) can be delivered can obtain a high current density of 1.5 A/cm2 in due to the low activation energy 1.6V due to the high ionic conductivity and a noble metal catalyst of a Proton exchange membrane. The large energy loss in the PEM water electrolysis device is the loss of activity of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) at the anode. In order to reduce the loss of activity of the anode, a catalyst capable of reducing the activation energy of the oxygen generating reaction is required. In addition, a catalyst support is very important for the anode of PEMWE. The reason why the catalyst support is important is that the catalyst is supported on the support to prevent the catalysts from agglomeration and to increase the active area of the catalyst. Nevertheless, many stable catalyst support have not been reported under the conditions of the anode. The anode of PEMWE needs a material that is stable to high potential and acidity and has conductivity. Materials satisfying these conditions are very difficult to find, and although some studies have been conducted on titanium or tin oxide-based materials, the applicable level of technology has not yet been developed. In this study, Pt was used as a support for IrO2, an OER catalyst, and the material was loaded into a Ti-PTL (Porous Transport Layer) using Pt for chemical deposition and IrO2 for electrochemical deposition to prepare an Pt@IrO2 electrode. Through the performance evaluation, it was confirmed that this electrode has high efficiency in the PEM water electrolysis.