Proximal redox coupling enables oxidation damping for stable water electrolysis

Titelangaben

Chen, Tengyu ; Wang, Kaiwen ; Xia, Lu ; Jiang, Wulyu ; Ferreira Gomes Lobo, Bruna ; Yang, Linlin ; Zhao, Kaiqi ; Huang, Hao ; Lobo, Carlos M. S. ; Ram, Ranit ; Chen, Junmei ; He, Ren ; Garzón Manjón, Alba ; Gupta, Kapil ; Zhu, Zhouhao ; Dimitropoulos, Marinos ; Golovanova, Viktoria ; Gimenes Vernasqui, Laís ; Hörnig, Sven ; Haldar, Prathama ; Polesso, Bárbara ; Das, Aparna M. ; Kadam, Sunil ; Cabot, Andreu ; Arbiol, Jordi ; García de Arquer, F. Pelayo:
Proximal redox coupling enables oxidation damping for stable water electrolysis.
In: Nature Materials. (12 November 2026) .
ISSN 1476-4660
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41563-026-02783-4

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Abstract

The design of atomically precise catalysts requires strategies that regulate their electronic and structural dynamics under operating conditions. While conventional doping can effectively tune bulk materials, it translates poorly to single-atom catalysts (SACs), in which isolated atoms lack extended coordination and are prone to oxidative instability. Here we design atomically dispersed Ru−O−Cr motifs that enable oxidation damping during acidic oxygen evolution. In situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy shows attenuated Ru oxidation synchronized with anticorrelated and partially reversible Cr redox evolution, consistent with proximity-dependent redox coupling. This buffered redox response is accompanied by bounded and partially reversible changes in the local metal−oxygen coordination environment. These coupled dynamics support proximity-coupled Ru−O−Cr redox units, enabling a 55.7-fold increased resistance against oxidation-induced Ru dissolution compared with conventional SACs. In proton exchange membrane water electrolysis, catalysts incorporating proximal Ru−O−Cr configurations exhibit degradation rates that are 6.8-fold and 14.4-fold lower than those of Ru SACs and commercial RuO2, respectively, at 1 A cm−2. These results suggest proximal oxidation damping as a potential design principle for stabilizing atomically precise electrocatalysts.