Laser-engineered Crystalline Rutile-Type Iridium-Tantalum Oxide with Enhanced OER Activity and Stability
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Ir-M mixed-metal oxides with M = Ti, Nb, and Ta offer a route to reduce the use of scarce Ir while balancing activity and stability for the acidic oxygen evolution reaction (OER). However, conventional preparation routes yield either poorly controlled, unstable amorphous materials or highly crystalline, phase-separated oxides with low activity. Here, we report sub-3-nm crystalline nanoparticles of rutile-type IrTaOx. Ir selectively absorbs laser light, promoting rapid crystallization and atomic mixing with Ta under non-equilibrium conditions. With only 35 wt% Ir, the catalyst exhibits a mass activity of 449 mA mgIr-1 at 300 mV overpotential and a stability matching that of the most stable commercial IrO2 catalyst. Simulations attributed the stability to stronger Ta–O bonding at the IrO2(110) surface, reinforcing the oxide lattice and raising the energy required to form oxygen vacancies associated with Ir dissolution. This work demonstrates that laser-induced nanoengineering enables otherwise challenging crystalline, phase-homogeneous mixed oxides with improved noble-metal utilization.
Source: ChemRxiv
Institutions: Helmholtz Institute Erlangen-Nürnberg, Technical University of Munich, Institut Català d'Investigació Química, Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Federal Institute For Materials Research and Testing, Paul Scherrer Institute
Language: English
Field: Energy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funders: Government of the United Kingdom, UK Research and Innovation, Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, European Commission, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie, HORIZON EUROPE Framework Programme, Staatssekretariat für Bildung, Forschung und Innovation, Agencia Estatal de Investigación, H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, HORIZON EUROPE European Innovation Council
Awards: G103507813, G1072458704, G1105844351, G110640233, G1175115578, G1401168639, G143639328, G1455481585, G1550511538, G1801424329, G1855990336, G1938719665, G1971932983, G2262748287, G2309174360, G24120701, G252646220, RECYCLABLE MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT at ANALYTICAL RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURES, G2585926585, G2601397997, G2660406951, G294895050, G300979063, G3480869486, G3518538256, G366623013, G3681454997, G3878166139, G4042783231, G423104186, G425668148, G430777504, G4643134928, G4874208034, G4890640476, G491712853, G5004031848, G5049803760, G5071044280, G5080475149, G5084953685, G5195188938, G5209569390, G5421974903, G5451035857, G5611450946, G5635532810, G586857820, G593054264, G5940511203, G7084143925, SUstainable Photo-ElectRochemical VALorization of flue gases, G717256432, G7207111357, G7391727506, G7395345766, G7549035430, G7607031503, G7805626310, G7863371703, G8235390948, G8389516595, RECYCLABLE MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT at ANALYTICAL RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURES, G8497050386, G8575141037, G8667377315, Verbundvorhaben: KernKat - Kern-Schale Katalysatorsysteme für geringe Edelmetallbeladungen, hohe Umwandlungseffizienzen und hohe Lebensdauern in der Wasserelektrolyse mit saurer Polymerelektrolytmembran Teilvorhaben: Synthese von Supportstrukturen bei definierter Einstellung der Partikelgrößen, G99296377
OpenAlex ID: W7204911081