The acidic OER is central to green hydrogen production but is constrained by the limited activity and stability of RuO 2 -based catalysts, which suffer from the inherent scaling relationship of the AEM. Activating the more efficient OPM on RuO 2 has been impeded by the large Ru–Ru distance (>3.1 Å) that disfavors direct O – O coupling.
Here, we develop an interpenetrated RuO 2 /Co 3 O 4 heterostructure that overcomes this barrier. The asymmetric Ru–O–Co bridges at the interface, with a short Ru–Co distance (<2.4 Å), selectively trigger the OPM by enabling low-energy O–O coupling, while non-interface Ru–O–Ru and Co–O–Co sites follow the AEM. This spatial and functional synergy breaks the single-mechanism limit, accelerates deprotonation, and enhances the antioxidant capacity of Ru.
As a result, the catalyst achieves an overpotential of only 196 mV at 10 mA cm -2 and 370 mV at 500 mA cm -2 , with a mass activity 7.1 times higher than commercial RuO 2 and operates steadily for over 100 h at 500 mA cm -2 . This work provides a general interfacial design strategy for activating complementary reaction pathways. The work titled “ Asymmetric Ru–O–Co sites Coupled Adsorbate Evolution and Oxide Pathway Mechanisms for Enhanced Acidic Water Oxidation ”, was published in Advanced Powder Materials (available online on 1 July 2026).
Advanced Powder Materials
Experimental study
Not applicable
Asymmetric Ru–O–Co sites Coupled Adsorbate Evolution and Oxide Pathway Mechanisms for Enhanced Acidic Water Oxidation
1-Jul-2026