Island-Type Hybrid Catalysts Applied for Anion Exchange Membrane Water Electrolysis

Abstract

A rapid, productive, and efficient process was invented to produce hybrid catalysts for transition metal oxide water electrolysis. The microwave-assisted hydrothermal method was applied to synthesize transition metal oxide catalysts by controlling the amount of cobalt and iron. This work solves the cracking problem for the catalytic layer during the water electrolysis. It uses Fe2O3 as the support and covers a catalytic layer outside it and a nanoscale gap between each catalyst, which can help to remove the gas and fill up the water. The unique structure of the catalysts can prevent them from accumulating gas and increasing their efficiency for long-term water electrolysis. By using unique catalysts in the water electrolyzer, the current density reaches higher than 200 mA cm−2 at 2.0 V and does not show a significant decay even after 200 h.