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Electron–phonon coupling and coherent energy superposition induce spin-sensitive orbital degeneracy for enhanced acidic water oxidation

Author

Listed:
  • Yanfeng Shi

    (Qingdao University
    Nanjing University)

  • Lupeng Wang

    (Qingdao University)

  • Miao Liu

    (Qingdao University)

  • Zuozheng Xu

    (Nanjing University)

  • Peilin Huang

    (Nanjing University)

  • Lizhe Liu

    (Nanjing University)

  • Yuanhong Xu

    (Qingdao University)

Abstract

The development of acid-stable water oxidation electrocatalysts is crucial for high-performance energy conversion devices. Different from traditional nanostructuring, here we employ an innovative microwave-mediated electron–phonon coupling technique to assemble specific Ru atomic patterns (instead of random Ru-particle depositions) on Mn0.99Cr0.01O2 surfaces (RuMW-Mn1-xCrxO2) in RuCl3 solution because hydrated Ru-ion complexes can be uniformly activated to replace some Mn sites at nearby Cr-dopants through microwave-triggered energy coherent superposition with molecular rotations and collisions. This selective rearrangement in RuMW-Mn1-xCrxO2 with particular spin-differentiated polarizations can induce localized spin domain inversion from reversed to parallel direction, which makes RuMW-Mn1-xCrxO2 demonstrate a high current density of 1.0 A cm−2 at 1.88 V and over 300 h of stability in a proton exchange membrane water electrolyzer. The cost per gallon of gasoline equivalent of the hydrogen produced is only 43% of the 2026 target set by the U.S. Department of Energy, underscoring the economic significance of this nanotechnology.

Suggested Citation

  • Yanfeng Shi & Lupeng Wang & Miao Liu & Zuozheng Xu & Peilin Huang & Lizhe Liu & Yuanhong Xu, 2025. "Electron–phonon coupling and coherent energy superposition induce spin-sensitive orbital degeneracy for enhanced acidic water oxidation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-13, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-56315-w
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-56315-w
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