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Electrolysers produce hydrogen. Fuel cells, in turn, generate electricity from hydrogen. Both technologies are considered key building blocks of the energy transition, offering well-established solutions for storing, transporting and producing renewable energy. However, there is a challenge: the platinum catalysts often used in these systems gradually lose performance under high operating loads. In a sense, they “wear out” too quickly, increasing the costs of hydrogen technologies.
A research team involving DESY has now, for the first time, observed in real time how an oxide layer forms on a platinum surface under electrical voltage. The findings could help pave the way for more durable hydrogen technologies. The results have now been published in Nature Communications.
Platinum is one of the most important materials used in electrolysers and fuel cells. The precious metal acts as a catalyst, accelerating chemical reactions required, for example, to produce or use hydrogen. Under high voltages, however, the material’s surface changes and gradually loses catalytic activity.
An international research team has now investigated these changes at the atomic level using high-resolution X-ray methods at DESY’s PETRA III X-ray source. The measurements show that a thin oxide layer gradually forms on the platinum surface under electrical voltage, altering the material’s internal structure.
“We are seeing a balancing act between stability and activity,” says Andreas Stierle, leading scientist at DESY and Professor at the University of Hamburg. “Oxidation partially protects the platinum surface from further material loss, but at the same time makes the catalyst less efficient. Better understanding these processes is crucial for developing more durable materials for electrolysers and fuel cells.”
The researchers also observed that oxidation proceeds layer by layer and forms a disordered platinum oxide layer at high voltages. For the experiments, the team combined three complementary X-ray methods for the first time to simultaneously investigate the atomic structure of the platinum surface, the thickness of the oxide layer and its chemical composition – all under realistic operating conditions.
“The key advance was combining state-of-the-art synchrotron radiation techniques with a well-established method from fundamental electrochemistry,” says first author Leon Jacobse, who carried out the work at the Centre for X-ray and Nano Science (CXNS) at DESY. “This allowed us to follow changes at the atomic scale while the reaction was actually taking place.”
Vedran Vonk from Andreas Stierle’s team adds: “The new combination of methods allows us to track structural changes in catalysts in real time under realistic operating conditions. This enables us to directly link material performance with ageing processes.”
An important step forward: only by understanding the tiny processes occurring at the level of platinum atoms can researchers develop new strategies to counteract degradation. Vedran Vonk adds: “This also opens up new possibilities for other electrochemical processes, including battery technologies, where similar ageing effects occur.”
Future studies will investigate how catalyst materials closer to real-world applications – such as platinum nanoparticles – change under operating conditions. In the long term, the findings could help researchers develop more resource-efficient and affordable materials for electrolysers, contributing to more efficient and economically viable hydrogen technologies.
The study involved researchers from the Centre for X-ray and Nano Science (CXNS) at Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, the University of Hamburg, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg and Justus Liebig University Giessen.
Leon Jacobse, Ralf Schuster, Mona Kohantorabi, Silvan Dolling, Johannes Pfrommer, Xin Deng, Tim Weber, Olof Gutowski, Ann-Christin Dippel, Olaf Brummel, Yaroslava Lykhach, Heshmat Noei, Herbert Over, Jörg Libuda, Vedran Vonk und Andreas Stierle:
Platinum Oxide Formation under Oxygen Evolution Reaction Conditions
Nature Communications, 2026.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-72954-z
How platinum ages: The illustration shows an oxidised Pt(111) surface covered by a thin platinum oxi ...
Copyright: DESY, Vedran Vonk
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Bauwesen / Architektur, Energie, Maschinenbau, Physik / Astronomie, Werkstoffwissenschaften
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How platinum ages: The illustration shows an oxidised Pt(111) surface covered by a thin platinum oxi ...
Copyright: DESY, Vedran Vonk
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