Front cover of Energy & Environmental Science (Vol. 19, No. 6, March 2026) featuring the IrFe/C electrocatalyst research. Credit: POSTECH
Imagine a catalyst that can heal itself after being damaged. A POSTECH-led research team has developed an electrocatalyst that regenerates its own metallic surface after oxidation, much like how a wound heals naturally. This breakthrough addresses one of the most critical challenges in hydrogen energy technology: the irreversible degradation of catalysts during operation.
Professor Yong-Tae Kim from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Graduate Institute of Ferrous & Eco Materials Technology at Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), together with Professor Sang-Hoon You of the Department of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering at Kongju National University, Professor Jeong Woo Han of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Seoul National University, and Dr. Kug-Seung Lee of the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory, developed an iridium-iron alloy catalyst (IrFe/C) that overcomes the irreversible degradation of electrocatalysts through dynamic segregated-surface reconstruction. Their research was published as the front cover of the journal Energy & Environmental Science.
