Simple and Scalable Introduction of Single-Atom Mn on RuO2 Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Evolution Reaction with Long-Term Activity and Stability

Electrochemical oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is the bottleneck for realizing renewable powered green hydrogen production through water splitting due to the challenges of electrode stability under harsh oxidative environments and electrolytes with extreme acidity and basicity. Here, we introduce a single-atom manganese-incorporated ruthenium oxide electrocatalyst via a facile impregnation approach for catalyzing the OER across a wide pH range, while solving the stability issues of RuO2. The modified catalyst maintains stability for over 1000 h, delivering a current density of 10 mA cm-2 at a 213 mV overpotential in acid (pH 0), 570 mV in potassium bicarbonate (pH 8.8), and 293 mV in alkaline media (pH 14), demonstrating exceptional durability under various conditions. When used as an anode for realistic water-splitting systems, Mn-modified RuO2 performs at 1000 mA cm-2 with a voltage of 1.69 V (Nafion 212 membrane) for proton-exchange membrane water electrolysis, and 1.84 V (UTP 220 diaphragm) for alkaline water electrolysis, exhibiting low degradation and verifying its substantial potential for practical applications.