Development of structurally modified OER catalysts with enhanced performance and longevity for PEM-based electrolytic air dehumidification

Abstract PEM-based electrolytic air dehumidification is innovative in dehumidification that requires high precision and small space due to its high efficiency, compactness, and cleanness. However, the system dehumidification performance and durability are limited by using commercial Anatase-IrO2 catalysts. In this study, two types of structurally modified OER catalyst materials, ATO-IrO2 and ND-MnO2-IrO2, are developed to improve the performance of the system. System experiments showed that, compared to the commercial catalysts, the use of ATO-IrO2 and ND-MnO2-IrO2 as the anode catalyst can improve the dehumidification performance by 45% and 20%, respectively. Furthermore, in 50-h accelerated aging tests, the attenuation rates of the ATO-IrO2 and ND-MnO2-IrO2 systems are 3% and 8% respectively, which are far lower than the 35% attenuation of commercial catalyst. The results indicate that, as catalysts with a classic core-shell structure, ATO-IrO2 and ND-MnO2-IrO2 still have a significant impact on improving the performance of the electrolytic dehumidification systems.