· 논문명 : Nd Doping Enables Efficient and Durable Manganese- Based Water Oxidation Catalysts 

                under Acidic Conditions

· 저  자 : Hyeongoo Kim, Jinhyeong Jo, Junghwan Woo, Yunseok Kang, Suhwan Park, Hanseok Lee, 

                Hyeok Park, Jeeho Ha, Seok Ju Kang, Sung Gu Kang, Jun Hee Lee*, Jungki Ryu* 

· 게재지 : Nature Communications (2026, 17, 9499)

· 초록

Mn oxides are attractive non-noble-metal catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction in proton exchange membrane water 

electrolyzers, but their performance is limited by unstable Jahn–Teller-active Mn3+ centers and a narrow potential window. 

Here, we show that Nd doping stabilizes Jahn–Teller-active Mn3+ centers within a mixed-phase Mn oxide catalyst. The catalyst

requires an overpotential of 404 mV to reach 100 mA cm–2 and remains stable for more than 1000 h at 200 mA cm–2. A proton

exchange membrane water electrolyzer employing this catalyst operates stably for more than 600 h at 100 mA cm–2. In situ 

Raman and X-ray spectroscopy, together with isotope-labeling experiments, support an oxide path mechanism and suppressed

Mn overoxidation and dissolution. Phase-enriched reference experiments and density functional theory calculations show that 

Nd-doped α-Mn2O3 favors the oxide path mechanism through structural Mn3+ motifs, whereas β/R-MnO2-rich domains provide

structural robustness. Nd-induced 4f–2p–3 d orbital coupling enhances Mn–O covalency and stabilizes Mn3+ centers, thereby

improving the activity–stability balance of Mn-based acidic oxygen evolution catalysts.