Vertically Stacked Amorphous Ir/Ru/Ir Oxide Nanosheets for Boosted Acidic Water Splitting

Abstract

Integrating multiple functional components into vertically stacked heterostructures offers a prospective approach to manipulating the physicochemical properties of materials. The synthesis of vertically stacked heterogeneous noble metal oxides remains a challenge. Herein, we report a surface segregation approach to create vertically stacked amorphous Ir/Ru/Ir oxide nanosheets (NSs). Cross-sectional high-angle annular darkfield scanning transmission electron microscopy images demonstrate a three-layer heterostructure in the amorphous Ir/Ru/Ir oxide NSs, with IrO_<i>x</i> layers located on the upper and lower surfaces, and a layer of RuO_<i>x</i> sandwiched between the two IrO_<i>x</i> layers. The vertically stacked heterostructure is a result of the diffusion of Ir atoms from the amorphous IrRuO_<i>x</i> solid solution to the surface. The obtained A-Ir/Ru/Ir oxide NSs display an ultralow overpotential of 191 mV at 10 mA cm^-2 toward acid oxygen evolution reaction and demonstrate excellent performance in a proton exchange membrane water electrolyzer, which requires only 1.63 V to achieve 1 A cm^-2 at 60 °C, with virtually no activity decay observed after a 1300 h test.