Efficient Integrated Electrode Enables High-Current Operation and Excellent Stability for Green Hydrogen Production

Generating green hydrogen through proton exchange membraneelectrolyzercells (PEMECs) is promising to build future sustainable energy systems.Operating PEMECs at high current densities with high efficiency isa realistic strategy to reduce the capital costs of PEMECs and increasetheir sustainability. Herein, an Ir-integrated electrode was developedvia facile electrodeposition as an efficient anode for PEMECs, successfullyachieving high-current operation of up to 6 A/cm(2). Moreimportantly, the electrode shows excellent stability under an ultrahighcurrent density of 5 A/cm(2), showing almost no performanceloss after the stability test. Further studies indicate that a platinumprotection layer on Ti substrates plays a crucial role in superiorperformance and stability, which not only provides electrodes withimproved electrical conductivity resulting in improved catalyst activitybut also enhances the crack-free catalyst layer achieving catalysts'adhesion improvement to the substrate and prevents substrate oxidation.With platinum, the cell voltage can be improved by 33, 59, and 87mV at current densities of 2, 4, and 6 A/cm(2), respectively.Overall, considering efficient high-current operation capability,remarkable stability, and significantly simplified and low-cost fabricationprocess with easy scalability, the developed integrated electrodesare believed to have great potential in future sustainable energysystems. An efficient Ir-integratedelectrode was developed for PEMECs,achieving high-current operation and remarkable stability under 5A/cm(2) with almost no performance loss.