Boosted Performance of Ir Species by Employing TiN as the Support toward Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Reducing the noble-metal loading without sacrificing the catalytic performance of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts is paramount yet highly challenging. Herein, IrO₂@Ir/TiN electrocatalysts employing TiN as the support have been developed and shown high efficiency toward OER. TiN is found not only to disperse the IrO₂@Ir nanoparticles effectively but also to exert the electronic modulation of Ir by downshifting its d-band center of 0.21 eV compared to pure IrO₂. Excitingly, TiN remarkably enhances the catalytic performance of Ir, where the overpotential to achieve the current density of 10 mA cm^-2 is only 265 mV for the IrO₂@Ir/TiN (60 wt %) catalyst. As a result, 71.7 wt % of the Ir metal can be saved to compare with the commercial Ir-black counterpart. Moreover, TiN can inhibit the aggregation and oxidative dissolution of Ir species, thereby enhancing the operational stability. The combined advantages of TiN open a new solution to reduce the anodic catalyst cost through boosting the catalytic activity and stability.