Tuning Interfacial Structures for Better Catalysis of Water Electrolysis

Toward Realistic Models of the Electrocatalytic Oxygen Evolution Reaction

The electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) supplies the protons and electrons needed to transform renewable electricity into chemicals and fuels. However, the OER is kinetically sluggish; it operates at significant rates only when the applied potential far exceeds the reversible voltage. The origin of this overpotential is hidden in a complex mechanism involving multiple electron transfers and chemical bond making/breaking steps. Our desire to improve catalytic performance has then made mechanistic studies of the OER an area of major scientific inquiry, though the complexity of the reaction has made understanding difficult. While historically, mechanistic studies have relied solely on experiment and phenomenological models, over the past twenty years ab initio simulation has been playing an increasingly important role in developing our understanding of the electrocatalytic OER and its reaction mechanisms. In this Review we cover advances in our mechanistic understanding of the OER, organized by increasing complexity in the way through which the OER is modeled. We begin with phenomenological models built using experimental data before reviewing early efforts to incorporate ab initio methods into mechanistic studies. We go on to cover how the assumptions in these early ab initio simulations─no electric field, electrolyte, or explicit kinetics─have been relaxed. Through comparison with experimental literature, we explore the veracity of these different assumptions. We summarize by discussing the most critical open challenges in developing models to understand the mechanisms of the OER.

NiFe2O4 Material on Carbon Paper as an Electrocatalyst for Alkaline Water Electrolysis Module

NiFe2O4 material is grown on carbon paper (CP) with the hydrothermal method for use as electrocatalysts in an alkaline electrolyzer. NiFe2O4 material is used as the anode and cathode catalysts (named NiFe(+)/NiFe(-) hereafter). The results are compared with those obtained using CP/NiFe as the anode and CP/Ru as the cathode (named NiFe)(+)/Ru(-) hereafter). During cell operation with NiFe(+)/Ru(-), the current density reaches 500 mA/cm2 at a cell voltage of 1.79 V, with a specific energy consumption of 4.9 kWh/m3 and an energy efficiency of 66.2%. In comparison, for NiFe(+)/NiFe(-), the current density reaches 500 mA/cm2 at a cell voltage of 2.23 V, with a specific energy consumption of 5.7 kWh/m3 and an energy efficiency of 56.6%. The Faradaic efficiency is 96-99%. With the current density fixed at 400 mA/cm2, after performing a test for 150 h, the cell voltage with NiFe(+)/Ru(-) increases by 0.167 V, whereas that with NiFe(+)/NiFe(-) decreases by only 0.010 V. Good, long-term stability is demonstrated.

Bridging Trans-Scale Electrode Engineering for Mass CO2 Electrolysis

Electrochemical CO2 upgrade offers an artificial route for carbon recycling and neutralization, while its widespread implementation relies heavily on the simultaneous enhancement of mass transfer and reaction kinetics to achieve industrial conversion rates. Nevertheless, such a multiscale challenge calls for trans-scale electrode engineering. Herein, three scales are highlighted to disclose the key factors of CO2 electrolysis, including triple-phase boundaries, reaction microenvironment, and catalytic surface coordination. Furthermore, the advanced types of electrolyzers with various electrode design strategies are surveyed and compared to guide the system architectures for continuous conversion. We further offer an outlook on challenges and opportunities for the grand-scale application of CO2 electrolysis. Hence, this comprehensive Perspective bridges the gaps between electrode research and CO2 electrolysis practices. It contributes to facilitating the mixed reaction and mass transfer process, ultimately enabling the on-site recycling of CO2 emissions from industrial plants and achieving net negative emissions.

Self-standing 2D/2D Co3O4@FeOOH nanosheet arrays as promising catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction

The rational design of a highly efficient oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is crucial for the practical applications of water electrolysis. Herein, a hybrid Co₃O₄@FeOOH/NF electrode was fabricated by loading FeOOH sheets on the surface of Co₃O₄ nanosheet arrays via a newly developed chemical deposition protocol. The decoration of FeOOH on Co₃O₄ nanosheet arrays not only endows a strong electronic interaction between the two components but also offers sufficient active sites for the OER process. Benefitting from these advantages, Co₃O₄@FeOOH/NF exhibited outstanding OER activity in terms of a low overpotential of 209 mV at 10 mA cm^-2 and a low Tafel slope of 48.9 mV dec^-1. Moreover, nearly steady state operation current and negligible change in the phase and morphology of the catalyst also indicate remarkable stability. This work may provide an important guide for the design of high-performance electrocatalysts for energy conversion applications.

Recent Development of Oxygen Evolution Electrocatalysts in Acidic Environment

The proton exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolysis is one of the most promising hydrogen production techniques. The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) occurring at the anode dominates the overall efficiency. Developing active and robust electrocatalysts for OER in acid is a longstanding challenge for PEM water electrolyzers. Most catalysts show unsatisfied stability under strong acidic and oxidative conditions. Such a stability challenge also leads to difficulties for a better understanding of mechanisms. This review aims to provide the current progress on understanding of OER mechanisms in acid, analyze the promising strategies to enhance both activity and stability, and summarize the state-of-the-art catalysts for OER in acid. First, the prevailing OER mechanisms are reviewed to establish the physicochemical structure-activity relationships for guiding the design of highly efficient OER electrocatalysts in acid with stable performance. The reported approaches to improve the activity, from macroview to microview, are then discussed. To analyze the problem of instability, the key factors affecting catalyst stability are summarized and the surface reconstruction is discussed. Various noble-metal-based OER catalysts and the current progress of non-noble-metal-based catalysts are reviewed. Finally, the challenges and perspectives for the development of active and robust OER catalysts in acid are discussed.

Ultrathin-shell IrCo hollow nanospheres as highly efficient electrocatalysts towards the oxygen evolution reaction in acidic media

Improving the utilization of Ir electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) to significantly reduce their loading is essential for low-cost hydrogen production in proton exchange membrane water electrolysis. Herein, IrCo hollow nanospheres featuring a novel structure with ultrathin continuous shells which have only eleven atomic layers (2.26 nm) were synthesized by a facile sequential reduction route using NaBH₄ as a reducing agent at room temperature. It is revealed that the key intermediate in the formation of hollow nanospheres is amorphous cobalt boride formed between Co²⁺ and NaHB₄ in the first reducing step. The average diameter of the IrCo nanospheres was found to be 73.71 nm with the atomic ratio of 47.1% and 52.9% for Co and Ir, respectively. The IrCo hollow nanospheres exhibit highly efficient OER activity and long-term durability with a low overpotential of 284 mV at 10 mA cm^-2 (32.5 μg_Ir cm^-2) and a high mass activity of 8.49 A mg^-1 (5.7 times higher than that of commercial IrO₂ (1.49 A mg^-1) at 1.7 V. The performance is also proved using an overall water splitting device with the overpotential of 318 mV to achieve 10 mA cm^-2 as well as a 17 mV shift at 5 mA cm^-2 after 14 h. This improvement is critically attributed to the advantages of the hollow structure, ultrathin continuous shells which are oxidized into IrO_xin situ and strong lattice strain effects induced by the specific hollow structure and alloying Co into Ir crystal lattices (1.6% against metallic iridium). These characteristics endow the hollow nanospheres with great potential to minimize the Ir loading dramatically for practical applications, compared to other previously reported structures like nanoparticles, nanoneedles and nanowires.

Ru-Doping Enhanced Electrocatalysis of Metal-Organic Framework Nanosheets toward Overall Water Splitting

An Ru-doping strategy is reported to substantially improve both hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalytic activity of Ni/Fe-based metal-organic framework (MOF) for overall water splitting. As-synthesized Ru-doped Ni/Fe MIL-53 MOF nanosheets grown on nickel foam (MIL-53(Ru-NiFe)@NF) afford HER and OER current density of 50 mA cm^-2 at an overpotential of 62 and 210 mV, respectively, in alkaline solution with a nominal Ru loading of ≈110 μg cm^-2 . When using as both anodic and cathodic (pre-)catalyst, MIL-53(Ru-NiFe)@NF enables overall water splitting at a current density of 50 mA cm^-2 for a cell voltage of 1.6 V without iR compensation, which is much superior to state-of-the-art RuO₂ -Pt/C-based electrolyzer. It is discovered that the Ru-doping considerably modulates the growth of MOF to form thin nanosheets, and enhances the intrinsic HER electrocatalytic activity by accelerating the sluggish Volmer step and improving the intermediate oxygen adsorption for increased OER catalytic activity.

Ternary Sn-Ti-O Electrocatalyst Boosts the Stability and Energy Efficiency of CO2 Reduction

Simultaneously improving energy efficiency (EE) and material stability in electrochemical CO₂ conversion remains an unsolved challenge. Among a series of ternary Sn-Ti-O electrocatalysts, 3D ordered mesoporous (3DOM) Sn_0.3 Ti_0.7 O₂ achieves a trade-off between active-site exposure and structural stability, demonstrating up to 71.5 % half-cell EE over 200 hours, and a 94.5 % Faradaic efficiency for CO at an overpotential as low as 430 mV. DFT and X-ray absorption fine structure analyses reveal an electron density reconfiguration in the Sn-Ti-O system. A downshift of the orbital band center of Sn and a charge depletion of Ti collectively facilitate the dissociative adsorption of the desired intermediate COOH* for CO formation. It is also beneficial in maintaining a local alkaline environment to suppress H₂ and formate formation, and in stabilizing oxygen atoms to prolong durability. These findings provide a new strategy in materials design for efficient CO₂ conversion and beyond.

Understanding the effect of interfacial interaction on metal/metal oxide electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution and hydrogen oxidation reactions on the basis of first-principles calculations

Interfacial M–O and M–TM interactions of M/TMO contribute differently to the surface properties and HER/HOR pathway.

A review on fundamentals for designing oxygen evolution electrocatalysts

Electricity-driven water splitting can facilitate the storage of electrical energy in the form of hydrogen gas. As a half-reaction of electricity-driven water splitting, the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is the major bottleneck due to the sluggish kinetics of this four-electron transfer reaction. Developing low-cost and robust OER catalysts is critical to solving this efficiency problem in water splitting. The catalyst design has to be built based on the fundamental understanding of the OER mechanism and the origin of the reaction overpotential. In this article, we summarize the recent progress in understanding OER mechanisms, which include the conventional adsorbate evolution mechanism (AEM) and lattice-oxygen-mediated mechanism (LOM) from both theoretical and experimental aspects. We start with the discussion on the AEM and its linked scaling relations among various reaction intermediates. The strategies to reduce overpotential based on the AEM and its derived descriptors are then introduced. To further reduce the OER overpotential, it is necessary to break the scaling relation of HOO* and HO* intermediates in conventional AEM to go beyond the activity limitation of the volcano relationship. Strategies such as stabilization of HOO*, proton acceptor functionality, and switching the OER pathway to LOM are discussed. The remaining questions on the OER and related perspectives are also presented at the end.

Nonmetal Doping as a Robust Route for Boosting the Hydrogen Evolution of Metal-Based Electrocatalysts

Recently, nonmetal doping has exhibited its great potential for boosting the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) of transition-metal (TM)-based electrocatalysts. To this end, this work overviews the recent achievements made on the design and development of the nonmetal-doped TM-based electrocatalysts and their performance for the HER. It is also shown that by rationally doping nonmetal elements, the electronic structures of TM-based electrocatalysts can be effectively tuned and in turn the Gibbs free energy of the TM for adsorption of H* intermediates (ΔG_H* ) optimized, consequently enhancing the intrinsic activity of TM-based electrocatalysts. Notably, we highlight that concurrently doping two nonmetal elements can continuously and precisely regulate the electronic structures of the TM, thereby maximizing the activity for HER. Moreover, nonmetal doping also accounts for enhancing the physical properties of the TM (i.e. surface area). Therefore, nonmetal doping is a robust strategy for simultaneous regulation of the chemical and physical features of the TM.