The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is the key electrocatalytic process in many electrochemical systems, including water splitting and metal–air batteries. Because of the acid-aggressive and strongly corrosive media, the development of electrocatalysts for OER applications that could efficiently operate over the long term is an outstanding problem. Zhang et al. developed a sodium-doped amorphous, crystalline RuO2 with rich oxygen vacancies that displays high catalytic stability and competitive OER activity over a wide pH range, including strongly acidic conditions. Density functional theory calculations revealed that the underlying mechanism is possible in other similar systems, implying that this work offers a new pathway with which to develop efficient OER electrocatalysts under pH-universal conditions.
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl. 60, 18821 (2021).
