Iridium-based materials are less studied in proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers (PEMWEs), which are crucial for the generation of green hydrogen, due to their rarity and high cost. Herein, doping Cr with cobalt oxide resulted in rich oxygen vacancies with the Co²⁺/Cr³⁺ redox couples and surface hydroxyl groups, which considerably enhance the capacity of the material to adsorb and activate oxygen intermediates. Due to its structural and electrical characteristics, CrCo₈O_x has proven to be a stable and effective catalyst for acidic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and high-performance PEMWEs applications. A high current density of 100 mA·cm⁻² was attained by the CrCo₈O_x anode catalyst and maintained for 130 h, whereas a current density of 300 mA·cm⁻² was maintained for 20 h. In situ Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy combined with density functional theory (DFT) calculations corroborate the oxide path mechanism (OPM) over pristine Co₃O₄ rather than the associative electron mechanism (AEM) over Cr-doped CrCo₈O_x composites. Such outstanding results indicate a bright future for industrial deployment and provide broad recommendations for developing PEMWEs with high efficiency.

Tin-oxo clusters (TOCs) are promising candidates for next-generation extreme ultraviolet (EUV) photoresist materials due to their strong EUV absorption properties and small molecular sizes. The surface ligands are critical to the photolithographic patterning process; however, the precise regulatory mechanisms governing their functionality require further investigation. Building upon our previously reported Sn4-oxo clusters, Sn4–Me–C10 and Sn4–Bu–C10, which incorporate butyl and methyl groups, respectively, this study presents the synthesis of a novel cluster, Sn4-MB, which integrates both butyl and methyl groups within the same Sn4-oxo core. This new compound demonstrates superior patterning performance compared to both Sn4–Me–C10 and Sn4–Bu–C10, as well as their mixed formulations. The enhanced performance is attributed to the intramolecular hybridization between Sn–methyl and Sn–butyl moieties in Sn4-MB, which facilitates radical feedback regulation, thereby minimizing energy dissipation and suppressing the extent of reaction diffusion during pattern formation. In electron beam lithography (EBL) exposure experiments, optimization of the developer and reduction of film thickness allowed Sn4-MB to achieve lines with a critical dimension (CD) of 17 nm. Furthermore, during EUV exposure, Sn4-MB produced 75 nm pitch lines at a dose of 150 mJ cm⁻², with a line CD of 33 nm. This study provides an effective molecular design strategy for enhancing the lithographic performance of TOC photoresists, highlighting their substantial potential for next-generation EUV lithography applications.