The Activity–Stability Paradox of Ruthenium Oxide in Acidic Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Hussein A. Younus; Chundong Wang

doi:10.53941/dn.2026.100006

Abstract

Ruthenium dioxide (RuO₂) is among the most active catalysts for the acidic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and remains a leading candidate for proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers. However, its exceptional activity is often accompanied by rapid degradation, creating a long-standing activity–stability paradox that limits practical deployment. Increasing evidence suggests that this tradeoff is not merely coincidental but often arises from the same structural and electronic features that promote OER kinetics, including strong Ru–O covalency, lattice oxygen participation, oxygen-vacancy formation, oxidation-state evolution, and surface reconstruction. This Perspective studies the mechanistic origins of RuO₂ degradation and highlights how catalytic activity and instability are coupled under acidic OER conditions. Recent advances demonstrate that durable RuO₂ catalysts are unlikely to emerge from maximizing activity or stability independently. Instead, this Perspective suggests that durable RuO₂ catalysts should be designed through controlled metastability, where electronic structure, Ru–O bonding, oxygen-lattice dynamics, defect/vacancy chemistry, surface reconstruction, and interfacial interactions are regulated within a controlled and preferably reversible operating window. This approach provides a practical framework for balancing catalytic activity and long-term stability in RuO₂-based acidic OER catalysts.

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