Understanding Composition-Dependent Oxygen Evolution Reaction Activity and Stability of (101)-Oriented RuxTi1-xO2
6 affiliations
- 1Department of Chemical Engineering and Material Science
- 2University of Minnesota
- 3Advanced Light Source
- 4Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
- 5Department of Physics
- 6Hankuk University of Foreign Studies
Abstract
Rutile RuO 2 is a highly active catalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) but hindered by its high rates of dissolution under reaction conditions. Substitution with elements forming more stable oxides, such as Ti, is an appealing strategy to increase stability. In such solid solutions, the intrinsic activity (and stability) of a given active site is expected to depend on its local environment and the identity of neighboring metal centers. We considered (101)-oriented Ru x Ti 1-x O 2 epitaxial thin films, which enable quantitative consideration of the number and composition of surface coordinatively undersaturated active sites. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations revealed a slight decrease in oxygen binding strength at Ru sites with Ti incorporation, and notable stabilization of oxygen at Ti sites due to charge transfer from Ru. The intrinsic OER activity per Ru site was comparable to that of pure RuO 2 at an intermediate Ru composition (x Ru =0.78), while the stability was significantly higher for all extents of Ti incorporation investigated here. Moderate amounts of Ti doping exhibited reduced Ru dissolution over time, whereas substantial Ti incorporation (x Ru =0.39) lost most surface Ru sites to dissolution with minimal changes to OER activity, supporting calculations that indicate subsurface Ru activates surface Ti sites. Together these findings highlight that the OER activity and stability of Ru sites is dependent on the number of neighboring Ti atoms, but also that Ti sites can contribute appreciably to OER activity depending on their local environment. This work demonstrates that rational design of Ru-Ti coordination is key for durable and active Ru-based oxide catalysts for acidic water electrolysis.
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BibTeX
@misc{zaki2026understanding,
title = {{Understanding Composition-Dependent Oxygen Evolution Reaction Activity and Stability of (101)-Oriented RuxTi1-xO2}},
author = {Mohammad A. Zaki and Shinnosuke Kamohara and Skyler B. Kauffman and Ethan J. Crumlin and Juhi Parikh and Seung Gyo Jeong and Bharat Jalan and Matthew Neurock and Kelsey A. Stoerzinger},
howpublished = {ChemRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.26434/chemrxiv.15008238/v1},
url = {https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15008238/v1},
note = {CC BY-NC},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Understanding Composition-Dependent Oxygen Evolution Reaction Activity and Stability of (101)-Oriented RuxTi1-xO2
AU - Mohammad A. Zaki
AU - Shinnosuke Kamohara
AU - Skyler B. Kauffman
AU - Ethan J. Crumlin
AU - Juhi Parikh
AU - Seung Gyo Jeong
AU - Bharat Jalan
AU - Matthew Neurock
AU - Kelsey A. Stoerzinger
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/03
PB - ChemRxiv
DO - 10.26434/chemrxiv.15008238/v1
UR - https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15008238/v1
AB - Rutile RuO 2 is a highly active catalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) but hindered by its high rates of dissolution under reaction conditions. Substitution with elements forming more stable oxides, such as Ti, is an appealing strategy to increase stability. In such solid solutions, the intrinsic activity (and stability) of a given active site is expected to depend on its local environment and the identity of neighboring metal centers. We considered (101)-oriented Ru x Ti 1-x O 2 epitaxial thin films, which enable quantitative consideration of the number and composition of surface coordinatively undersaturated active sites. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations revealed a slight decrease in oxygen binding strength at Ru sites with Ti incorporation, and notable stabilization of oxygen at Ti sites due to charge transfer from Ru. The intrinsic OER activity per Ru site was comparable to that of pure RuO 2 at an intermediate Ru composition (x Ru =0.78), while the stability was significantly higher for all extents of Ti incorporation investigated here. Moderate amounts of Ti doping exhibited reduced Ru dissolution over time, whereas substantial Ti incorporation (x Ru =0.39) lost most surface Ru sites to dissolution with minimal changes to OER activity, supporting calculations that indicate subsurface Ru activates surface Ti sites. Together these findings highlight that the OER activity and stability of Ru sites is dependent on the number of neighboring Ti atoms, but also that Ti sites can contribute appreciably to OER activity depending on their local environment. This work demonstrates that rational design of Ru-Ti coordination is key for durable and active Ru-based oxide catalysts for acidic water electrolysis.
ER -