Oxidized iridium nanodendrites as catalysts for oxygen evolution reactions

Iridium nanodendrites were synthesized using tetradecyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (TTAB) as an organic capping agent, and the electrocatalytic activity toward oxygen evolution reaction (OER) was evaluated. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed that an anodically grown iridium oxide film was created on the Ir dendrite through a repeated potential sweep between 0.04 and 1.54 V vs. SHE. The highly branched structure of the Ir dendrites with a particle size of similar to 10 nm provides an increased active facet area that is available for OER in comparison to a commercial Ir catalyst, resulting in enhanced activity toward OER. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.