Oxygen Evolution Reaction: Electron Correlations Engineer Catalytic Activity of Pyrochlore Iridates for Acidic Water Oxidation (Adv. Mater. 6/2019)

In article number 1805104, Shiming Zhou, Jie Zeng, and co-workers develop pyrochlore-type iridate oxides R2Ir2O7 (R = rare-earth-metal ions) as highly active and stable oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts for acidic water oxidation, overwhelmingly superior to the benchmark IrO2 nanoparticles. The increase of the ionic radius of the R species strengthens hybridization between the Ir 5d and O 2p orbitals, which is responsible for the high OER activity.