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A cobalt-containing molecular catalyst paired with carbon paste required 189 mV of additional potential to drive water oxidation at 1 mA/cm² in the comparison reported by Chemistry World in 2017. That was below the reported values for an iridium-oxide-containing electrode and a cobalt-oxide electrode tested at the same current density. The result is a laboratory electrode comparison—not evidence of a complete, commercially ready hydrogen-producing system.
What the catalyst does—and what it does not do
The study concerns the oxygen-evolution half-reaction of water electrolysis. In acidic conditions, water oxidation produces oxygen and protons. A complete electrolyzer must also carry out the hydrogen-evolution reaction and integrate both reactions into a working cell; the reported catalyst result does not establish that whole-system performance.
The material is a cobalt-containing polyoxometalate, or Co-POM: an anionic molecular cluster with a cobalt-oxide core surrounded by phosphotungstate ligands. The researchers precipitated it as a barium salt and mixed the solid into carbon paste to form an electrode. Melissae Fellet’s 4 November 2017 report in Chemistry World describes the paste as conductive black carbon with a hydrocarbon-grease binder.
How the cobalt material was protected in acid
The design relied on a partly hydrophobic binder-and-support environment. The idea was to help keep an earth-abundant cobalt material from dissolving in acidic electrolyte. In the reported tests, the carbon paste stabilized the cobalt-based catalyst under the conditions used.
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This is a support strategy, not evidence that cobalt itself is inherently immune to acid. The electrode’s carbon paste flaked into solution, creating a mechanical-stability problem. The report says another binder would be needed to improve that aspect of the electrode.
How its reported overpotential compared
At a current density of 1 mA/cm² in sulfuric acid, Chemistry World reported the following additional potentials for water oxidation:
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| Electrode described in the report | Additional potential at 1 mA/cm² |
|---|---|
| Co-POM mixed with carbon paste | 189 mV |
| Iridium-oxide-containing electrode | 379 mV |
| Cobalt oxide mixed with carbon paste | 221 mV |
These figures are the reported electrode comparison at that current density and in sulfuric acid. They are not full-cell voltages, measures of hydrogen-production efficiency, or evidence of commercial operating cost. Comparisons are meaningful only when the current density, electrolyte and other test conditions match.
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The exact catalytically active species was not resolved in the 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 raises a mechanistic question; it does not prove that the Co-POM decomposed during these experiments.
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Brudvig’s assessment, as quoted by Chemistry World, was: “The combination of a cobalt-containing polyoxometalate and carbon paste looks like a promising new development.” The report also quoted group leader J. R. Galán-Mascarós on the broader support concept: “The idea of using a hydrophobic binder to stabilise a catalyst may extend to other water oxidation catalysts too.”
What the later work adds
The Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ) later described the Co-POM result as competitive with noble-metal catalysts. Its research page also says the group applied the partly hydrophobic-support strategy to common transition-metal oxides in a 2022 Nature Communications paper, volume 13, article 4341. This is ICIQ’s retrospective summary and research context, not an independent replication of the earlier comparison or proof of commercial readiness. ICIQ’s Galán-Mascarós Group page provides that account.
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What the result means for practical hydrogen production
The experiment offers a promising way to investigate earth-abundant materials for the oxygen-making side of electrolysis in acid. Its reported potential values suggest the Co-POM/carbon-paste electrode compared favorably with the two stated electrodes at the specified current density. But flaking, the unresolved active species and the half-reaction scope matter: the result alone does not show a durable electrode, a complete electrolyzer, or a commercially viable hydrogen system.
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