Bioinspired O ₂ ‐Evolution Catalysts with Proton‐Coupled Electron Transfer Pathway for Portable Oxygen Generation

Abstract

Abstract Producing high‐purity oxygen (O 2 ) has a wide range of applications across diverse sectors, such as medicine, tunnel construction, the chemical industry, and fermentation. However, current O 2 production methods are burdened by complexity, heavy equipment, high energy consumption, and limited adaptability to harsh environments. Here, to address this grand challenge, the de novo design of Ru‐doped metal hydroxide is proposed to serve as bioinspired O 2 ‐evolution catalysts with proton‐coupled electron transfer (PCET) pathway for low‐energy, environmentally friendly, cost‐effective, and portable O 2 generation. The comprehensive studies confirm that the lattice H species in Ru‐Co(OH) x ‐based O 2 ‐evolution catalyst can trigger a PCET pathway to optimize Ru‐oxygen intermediates interactions, thus ultimately reducing reaction energy barriers and improving the activities and durabilities. Consequently, the prepared Ru‐Co(OH) x ‐loaded membrane catalysts exhibit rapid and long‐term stable O 2 production capabilities. Furthermore, the proposed material design strategy of lattice H‐species shows remarkable universality and adaptability to broad Ru‐doped metal hydroxides. This efficient, portable, and cost‐effective O 2 generation technique is suggested to ensure an uninterrupted O 2 supply during emergencies and in regions with limited O 2 availability or air pollution, thus offering significant societal benefits in broad applications.