Breaking the Bottleneck of Activity and Stability of RuO2-Based Electrocatalysts for Acidic Oxygen Evolution

Electrochemical acidic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is an important part for water electrolysis utilizing a proton exchange membrane (PEM) apparatus for industrial H₂ production. RuO₂ has garnered considerable attention as a potential acidic OER electrocatalyst. However, the overoxidation of Ru active sites under high potential conditions is usually harmful for activity and stability, thereby posing a challenge for large-scale commercialization, which needs effective strategies to circumvent the leaching of Ru and further activate Ru sites. Herein, a Mini-Review is presented to summarize the recent developments regarding the activation and stabilization of the Ru active sites and lattice oxygen through the modulation of the d-band center, coordination environment, bridged heteroatoms, and vacancy engineering, as well as structural protection strategies and reaction pathway optimization to promote the acidic OER activity and stability of RuO₂-based electrocatalysts. This Mini-Review offers a profound understanding of the design of RuO₂-based electrocatalysts with greatly enhanced acidic OER performances.