Selenate Oxyanion Engineering of RuO₂ Breaks the Activity-Stability Trade-Off for Acidic Oxygen Evolution

Authors

• Qisheng Zeng, Department of Chemistry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, China; Joint Institute of Advanced Materials and Green Energy Research, Great Bay University, Dongguan, Guangdong Province, 523000, China.
• Qian Lu, Department of Chemistry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, China.
• Birou Huang, Department of Chemistry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, China.
• Zhuohan Chen, Department of Chemistry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, China.
• Weixing Wu, Department of Chemistry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, China.
• Ying Wang, Department of Chemistry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, China; Joint Institute of Advanced Materials and Green Energy Research, Great Bay University, Dongguan, Guangdong Province, 523000, China.Follow

Document Type

Article

Corresponding Author(s)

Ying Wang([email protected])

Abstract

Anion engineering has emerged as an effective strategy for improving the activity and stability of RuO₂ catalysts toward acidic oxygen evolution reaction (OER). However, the relatively low oxidation potentials of most anionic dopants render them prone to over-oxidation and dissolution under OER conditions, limiting their long-term effectiveness. Herein, we present a surface oxyanion-engineering strategy by anchoring selenate (SeO₄^2-), a thermodynamically stable oxyanion, onto RuO₂ through interfacial Se-O-Ru linkages. Mechanistic investigations reveal that surface-bound SeO₄^2- functions as an electron-withdrawing regulator, increasing the oxidation state of Ru-O bonds, which suppresses excessive lattice oxygen participation and Ru over-oxidation during OER, ultimately enhancing catalyst durability. Simultaneously, SeO₄^2- modification promotes water dissociation and proton-transfer kinetics, leading to accelerated OER kinetics. Benefiting from these synergistic effects, the optimized SeO₄-RuO₂ exhibits substantially enhanced activity and long-term stability in acidic media and delivers excellent performance in a proton exchange membrane water electrolyzer. This work demonstrates that stable oxyanion functionalization can preserve the advantages of anion regulation while avoiding oxidation-induced structural instability, providing a new strategy for overcoming the activity–stability trade-off of RuO₂ catalysts for acidic oxygen evolution.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords

Oxyanion, Acidic OER, RuO2 catalyst, Selenate modification, Activity-stability trade-off

DOI

10.61558/2993-074X.3628

Online Date

9-29-2026

Recommended Citation

Qisheng Zeng, Qian Lu, Birou Huang, Zhuohan Chen, Weixing Wu, Ying Wang. Selenate Oxyanion Engineering of RuO₂ Breaks the Activity-Stability Trade-Off for Acidic Oxygen Evolution[J]. Journal of Electrochemistry, doi: 10.61558/2993-074X.3628.