Morphological control and structural modification of RuO₂-based materials for boostng electrochemical oxygen evolution

Wen-Jing Feng

1,2

Xiu Wang

1,2

Ling-Xian Wang

2,3

Huan Yang

2,3

Cheng-Zong Yuan

2,*

Xiaomeng Zhang

2,3,4,*

Ruixiang Wang

1,*

Affiliation +

*Correspondence to: Cheng-Zong Yuan, Ganjiang Innovation Academy, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ganzhou 341119, Jiangxi, China. E-mail: czyuan@mail.ustc.edu.cn
Xiaomeng Zhang, Ganjiang Innovation Academy, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ganzhou 341119, Jiangxi, China; University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, Anhui, China; State Key Laboratory of Mesoscience and Engineering, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China. E-mail: xmzhang@gia.cas.cn
Ruixiang Wang, Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Green and Low Carbon Metallurgy for Strategic Nonferrous Metals, Jiangxi University of Science and Technology, Ganzhou 341000, Jiangxi, China. E-mail: wrx9022@163.com

Smart Mater Devices. 2027;3:202633. 10.70401/smd.2026.0049

Received: July 02, 2026Accepted: September 17, 2026Published: September 20, 2026

This article belongs to the Special lssue Smart Electrocatalysts and Interfaces for Efficient Energy Conversion

This manuscript is made available in its unedited form to allow early access to the reported findings. Further editing will be completed before final publication. As such, the content may include errors, and standard legal disclaimers are applicable.

Abstract

Proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE) is regarded as a practical hydrogen production method due to its advantages such as smaller resistance loss, higher current density, and higher hydrogen purity. However, the efficiency of PEMWE technology is severely hindered by the slow kinetics and the high reaction barrier of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Therefore, developing cost-effective, efficient, and stable OER electrocatalysts is urgently needed. The RuO₂-based elec-trocatalysts have been proven to be promising alternatives to Ir-based catalysts due to their excellent electrocatalytic activity and high adaptability in acidic environ-ments. This review comprehensively summarizes and discusses the morphological control strategies, advanced modification strategies, and structural synergy of RuO₂ catalysts. Furthermore, the composition and industrial development status of PEMWE are elaborated, along with the current research progress of RuO₂ as an an-ode in electrolysis. Finally, relevant suggestions for RuO₂ research and practical ap-plications are presented, the challenges facing practical deployment are analyzed, and future research directions are outlined.

Keywords

RuO₂-based electrocatalyst, structure engineering, modification strate-gies, oxygen evolution reaction, proton exchange membrane water electrolysis, fun-damentals

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Feng WJ, Wang X, Wang LX, Yang H, Yuan CZ, Zhang X, et al. Morphological control and structural modification of RuO₂-based materials for boostng electrochemical oxygen evolution. Smart Mater Devices. 2027;3:202633. https://doi.org/10.70401/smd.2026.0049

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Morphological control and structural modification of RuO₂-based materials for boostng electrochemical oxygen evolution

Wen-Jing Feng

Xiu Wang

Ling-Xian Wang

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Morphological control and structural modification of RuO₂-based materials for boostng electrochemical oxygen evolution