Atomically thin high-entropy oxides via naked metal ion self-assembly for proton exchange membrane electrolysis

Here, we develop a self-assembly technique to synthesize 1-nm-thick rutile-structured high-entropy oxides (RuIrFeCoCrO₂) from naked metal ions assembly and oxidation at air-molten salt interface. The RuIrFeCoCrO₂ only requires an overpotential of 185 mV at 10 m A cm⁻² and maintains the high activity for over 1000 hours in an acidic electrolyte via the adsorption evolution mechanism. In this dataset, we calculated the desolvation coefficient (D) of various cations in aqueous solution and molten salt. In molten salt, the corresponding D for metal ions is higher by several orders of magnitude compared to that in water, which allows metal ions to become freely moving ions. We also conducted DFT calculations to gain insight to the structural stability and reaction mechanism of this HEO. The results show that the reaction mechanism changes from LOM (RuO₂) to AEM (RuIrFeCoCrO₂).