| Summary: | The development of efficient and stable catalysts with high mass activity is crucial for acidic oxygen evolution reaction (OER). In this study, CeO<sub>2</sub>-Ir heterojunctions supported on carbon nanotubes (CeO<sub>2</sub>-Ir/CNTs) are synthesized using a solvothermal method based on the heterostructure strategy. CeO<sub>2</sub>-Ir/CNTs demonstrate remarkable effectiveness as catalysts for acidic OER, achieving 10.0 mA cm<sup>−2</sup> at a low overpotential of only 262.9 mV and maintaining stability over 60.0 h. Notably, despite using an Ir dosage 15.3 times lower than that of c-IrO<sub>2</sub>, CeO<sub>2</sub>-Ir/CNTs exhibit a very high mass activity (2542.3 A g<sub>Ir</sub><sup>−1</sup>@1.53 V), which is 58.8 times higher than that of c-IrO<sub>2</sub>. When applied to acidic water electrolyzes, CeO<sub>2</sub>-Ir/CNTs display a prosperous potential for application as anodic catalysts. X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS) analysis reveals that the chemical environment of Ir nanoparticles (NP) can be effectively modulated through coupling with CeO<sub>2</sub>. This modulation is believed to be the key factor contributing to the excellent OER catalytic activity and stability observed in CeO<sub>2</sub>-Ir/CNTs.
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