Developing porous electrocatalysts to minimize overpotential for the oxygen evolution reaction

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Catalysis

Background:

• Electrocatalysts are critical for efficient electrochemical water-splitting to produce green hydrogen.
• The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is a key bottleneck in water-splitting efficiency.
• Porous electrocatalyst design is essential for optimizing OER performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review advances in the precise design of inorganic- and organic-based porous electrocatalysts for OER.
• To explore strategies for enhancing OER activity through chemical composition, nanostructure, and modifications.
• To survey the current status of OER performance and identify challenges.

Main Methods:

• Review of literature on porous electrocatalyst design strategies.
• Analysis of the relationship between catalyst structure (porosity, composition) and OER activity.
• Survey of modifications such as metal doping and organic molecule embedding.

Main Results:

• Porous structures enhance active site accessibility and reactant diffusion for improved OER.
• Tailoring chemical composition and framework modifications optimize binding energies and OER performance.
• Progress in bifunctional catalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and seawater utilization is highlighted.

Conclusions:

• Precise design of porous electrocatalysts is key to advancing efficient water-splitting and green hydrogen production.
• Further research is needed to overcome existing challenges and improve OER activity.
• Porous electrocatalysts show promise for bifunctional applications and seawater electrolysis.