Neutron diffraction study of temperature-treated iridate electrocatalysts used for water splitting

The development of effective electrocatalysts to bring about the splitting of water to yield hydrogen and oxygen is of great contemporary importance. In an electrolyser, the anodic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is a major limiting step in improving efficiency and acid-resilient electrocatalysts are needed to bring about the effective operation of such devices. We will study some newly developed examples of such materials that have been exposed to acid conditions and subsequently dehydrated at elevated temperature to remove surface and/or structural water. The aim is to use the sensitivity of neutron diffraction to examine the proton environment to better understand the stability and mode of operation of these important energy materials.