Probing trace Pt incorporated SrIrO3 perovskite for efficient and stable acidic water oxidation

Developing efficient and stable electrocatalysts for the acidic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is crucial yet challenging due to their sluggish kinetics and potential deactivation in harsh acidic environments. Herein, we propose an electronic regulation approach involving the incorporation of trace Pt into SrIrO3 perovskite to improve its activity and longevity for OER in acidic media. Both experimental and theoretical results reveal that trace Pt incorporation effectively regulates the electronic structure of SrIrO3, lowering the energy barrier of OER and mitigating the Ir overoxidation. The optimized 2%Pt-SrIrO3 electrocatalyst demonstrates an ultralow overpotential of 228 mV at 10 mA cm−2 and maintains stable over 50 h in 0.5 M H2SO4, rivaling most reported iridate perovskites. As a demonstration, the 2%Pt-SrIrO3||Pt/C based electrolytic cell exhibits high electrochemical performance and robustness for practical acidic water splitting. This protocol offers an attractive strategy for electronic structure manipulation in electrocatalysts towards electrocatalytic applications.