Water-hydroxide trapping in cobalt tungstate for proton exchange membrane water electrolysis

Abstract

The oxygen evolution reaction is the bottleneck to energy-efficient water-based electrolysis for the production of hydrogen and other solar fuels. In proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE), precious metals have generally been necessary for the stable catalysis of this reaction. In this work, we report that delamination of cobalt tungstate enables high activity and durability through the stabilization of oxide and water-hydroxide networks of the lattice defects in acid. The resulting catalysts achieve lower overpotentials, a current density of 1.8 amperes per square centimeter at 2 volts, and stable operation up to 1 ampere per square centimeter in a PEMWE system at industrial conditions (80°C) at 1.77 volts; a threefold improvement in activity; and stable operation at 1 ampere per square centimeter over the course of 600 hours.

Peer Reviewed

Article signat per 18 autors/es Ranit Ram, Lu Xia, Hind Benzidi, Anku Guha, Viktoria Golovanova, Alba Garzón Manjón, David Llorens Rauret, Pol Sanz Berman, Marinos Dimitropoulos, Bernat Mundet, Ernest Pastor, Veronica Celorrio, Camilo A. Mesa, Aparna M. Das, Adrián Pinilla-Sánchez, Sixto Giménez, Jordi Arbiol, Núria López, and F. Pelayo García de Arquer

Postprint (author's final draft)