A cobalt-containing catalyst showed a lower reported oxygen-evolution overpotential than the iridium-oxide comparison electrode in one laboratory test—but the result was for a particular electrode at a low current density, not a complete hydrogen-making device. The approach used hydrophobic carbon paste to help stabilize the cobalt material in acid; the paste’s tendency to flake and uncertainty about the active cobalt species remain important caveats.
What the study tested—and what it did not
The work reported by Melissae Fellet in Chemistry World on 4 November 2017 concerned the oxygen-evolution half-reaction of water electrolysis. In this step, water is oxidized to produce oxygen and protons. It did not demonstrate a complete electrolyzer or a finished system producing hydrogen.
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The underlying study, “Polyoxometalate electrocatalysts based on earth-abundant metals for efficient water oxidation in acidic media,” was published in Nature Chemistry in 2018 by M. Blasco-Ahicart and colleagues (volume 10, pages 24–30; DOI 10.1038/nchem.2874). The catalyst was a cobalt-containing polyoxometalate (Co-POM): an anionic molecular cluster with a cobalt-oxide core bound by phosphotungstate ligands.
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How the cobalt material was used in acid
The researchers precipitated the Co-POM as a barium salt, then mixed the solid into carbon paste to form an electrode. Fellet’s report describes the paste as conductive black carbon held with a hydrocarbon grease binder. Its partially hydrophobic environment was intended to help keep the cobalt-containing material from dissolving in acidic conditions. The report says the paste stabilized the catalyst under the test conditions.
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This was a laboratory electrode formulation, not evidence that a ready-made commercial catalyst or consumer water-splitting product is available. The practical problem was mechanical: the carbon paste flaked into solution, so the report identified improving electrode stability with a different binder as a next step.
How the reported electrode comparison reads
At a current density of 1 mA/cm² in sulfuric acid, the Chemistry World report gave the following additional potentials needed for water oxidation:
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| Electrode in the reported comparison | Additional potential at 1 mA/cm² |
|---|---|
| Co-POM in carbon paste | 189 mV |
| Iridium-oxide-containing electrode | 379 mV |
| Cobalt oxide mixed with carbon paste | 221 mV |
These are the report’s figures for that electrode comparison and stated current density. They are not full-cell voltages, hydrogen-production efficiencies, or measures of commercial operating cost. The values indicate that the Co-POM electrode required less additional potential than the two stated comparison electrodes in this test; they do not establish performance at other operating conditions or in a complete electrolyzer.
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Which cobalt species did the catalysis?
The exact catalytically active species was not resolved in the cited report. Gary Brudvig, identified there as a Yale researcher who studies water-oxidation catalysts, noted that cobalt-containing polyoxometalates are known to decompose into cobalt oxide and questioned which species was active. That is an open mechanistic issue, not proof that this electrode decomposed during the experiment.
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Would the electrode hold together in longer use?
The reported flaking is a durability concern for the paste-based electrode. A favorable potential comparison at the stated current density does not answer how long the electrode would last, whether a different binder would preserve its performance, or how it would behave in an operating electrolyzer.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What later work adds
The ICIQ group page later described the Co-POM result as competitive with noble-metal catalysts and said the group applied the partially hydrophobic-support strategy to common transition-metal oxides in a 2022 Nature Communications paper (13, 4341). This is the group’s retrospective account and provides research context; it is not an independent replication of the 2017-reported electrode comparison or evidence of commercial readiness.
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