Metal

Catalysis

Oxygen evolution

Phase (matter)

Engineering

Electrochemistry

Materials science

Gas phase

In situ

Inorganic chemistry

Chemical engineering

Electrolysis of water

Physical chemistry

Nanotechnology

Organic chemistry

Oxygen

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

Chemistry

Electrode

Electrolyte

Electrolysis

Platinum

Angewandte Chemie International Edition

Chasing down the active state: Near-ambient-pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to study the surface of a Pt electrode during the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). A hydrated Pt metal phase with dissolved oxygen in the near-surface region is OER-active and considered to be the precursor of the analytically detected PtO2 , which is in fact the deactivation product of the electrode.

In Situ Study of the Gas‐Phase Electrolysis of Water on Platinum by NAP‐XPS