The increased demand for green renewable energy has made hydrogen a viable option for energy storage. Hydrogen produced by proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers produces storable hydrogen with only water and electricity and can provide a chemical feedstock that will lower total carbon emissions within multiple manufacturing sectors . Electrocatalysts for the anodic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) have sluggish kinetics, stability challenges, and currently require expensive and rare Ir-based catalysts. Ruthenium oxide (RuO2) provides a higher activity and lower cost compared to iridium oxide; however, RuO2 is less stable than IrO2. We recently reported that substitution of titanium into RuO2 provides OER catalysts with improved stability. In addition to the effects of Ti, the thermal processing conditions impact structure and performance. In this study, the effects of thermal treatment temperature and atmosphere on the structure, OER activity, and stability of ruthenium-titanium oxide electrocatalysts were determined. Ruthenium-titanium oxides using an 80:20 atomic ratio of Ru:Ti (notated as Ru0.80Ti0.20O2) were prepared using a hydrothermal synthesis route, thermally treated at various temperatures and atmospheres, and characterized by x-ray diffraction, nitrogen physisorption, and rotating disk electrode measurements. Lowering the treatment temperature increased the catalyst’s Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area. Treatment in oxygen atmosphere significantly increased the initial OER mass and specific activity compared to Ru0.80Ti0.20O2 treated in air at the same temperature. Accelerated durability tests showed that the stability of the catalyst was improved using a lower thermal treatment temperature. The results of this study further the understanding of OER catalyst design and provide a path developing OER catalysts with improved activity and stability, and lower cost that contribute to the goal of realizing a widespread hydrogen-based economy.

Effects of thermal treatment temperature and atmosphere on ruthienium-titanium oxide oxygen evolution reaction electrocatalysts

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