A non-precious metal-based high-efficiency catalyst has been presented in the water electrolysis industry, where reliance on precious metal catalysts has been inevitable. As an oxygen evolution (OER) catalyst optimized for anion exchange membrane water electrolysis (AEMWE) has been verified for both performance and durability at the unit cell level, it is assessed that the potential for commercializing low-cost green hydrogen production technology has expanded.

On February 25, the Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS) announced that a research team led by Dr. Seungmok Choi of the Energy and Environmental Materials Research Division, in collaboration with a research team led by Professor Seunghwa Lee of Changwon National University, independently designed and developed a layered non-precious metal OER catalyst.

AEM water electrolysis has the advantage of operating under alkaline conditions, allowing for the application of relatively inexpensive catalysts. However, in actual systems, the lack of non-precious metal catalysts capable of stable operation over long periods has prevented the complete elimination of dependence on precious metals. Existing transition metal catalysts have revealed durability limitations, such as structural collapse, metal leaching, and reduced activity.

The research team designed a cobalt-iron-based oxyhydroxide (CoFeOOH) with a layered structure and introduced a strategy to simultaneously control the electronic structure of the catalytic active surface and the reaction pathway. In particular, the electronic state of the cobalt center was controlled through iron doping, and the energy barrier during the adsorption and desorption steps of the reaction intermediate was lowered. This enabled high current density even at low overpotentials.

In addition, chemical oxidation treatment was applied to the catalyst surface to suppress corrosion and structural collapse that may occur during the doping process. As a result, it was confirmed that structural stability is maintained even under long-term operating conditions.

The research team directly applied the catalyst to an anion exchange membrane water electrolysis unit cell and verified its performance and durability in an actual system environment, going beyond the level of a half-cell. This demonstrates the practical applicability of non-precious metal OER catalysts and is expected to contribute to the construction of water electrolysis systems that minimize the use of precious metals.

Principal Researcher Choi Seung-mok, the research leader, explained that this is a case where the limitations of non-precious metal catalysts were overcome through structural design, and stated that they plan to continue follow-up research to accelerate the commercialization of AEM-based green hydrogen production technology.

This research was conducted with support from the National Hydrogen Research Center of the National Research Foundation of Korea, including the 'H2 NEXT ROUND', and the results were published online in the international academic journal 'ACS Nano' on December 1, 2025.