High Valence M‑Incorporated PdCu Nanoparticles (M = Ir, Rh, Ru) for Water Electrolysis in Alkaline Solution

The high-valence metal catalysts show extraordinary talent in various electrochemical reactions. However, there is no facile method to synthesize high-valence noble metal-based materials. Herein, we synthesized the different high valence noble metal M-incorporated PdCu nanoparticles (M = Ir, Ru, Rh) by the assistant of Fe3+ and exhibit excellent performance for water electrolysis. In 0.1 M KOH, the OER and HER mass activities of Ir16–PdCu/C were 50.5 and 16.5 times as much as PdCu/C, and achieved a current density of 10 mA cm–2 at 1.63 V when worked for overall water splitting. DFT calculation revealed that the incorporating of high valence Ir could optimize the binding energy of the intermediate products, and promote the evolution of oxygen and hydrogen. Ex situ XPS shows that the huge amount of oxidized Ir (V) formed in OER could promote the formation of OO bonds.