Strategies of Anode Design for Seawater Electrolysis: Recent Development and Future Perspective

Area of Science:

• Electrochemistry
• Materials Science
• Sustainable Energy

Background:

• Direct seawater electrolysis presents significant challenges compared to freshwater splitting, including competing oxygen evolution reactions (OER), chlorine chemistry, corrosion, and ion/particulate interference.
• Overcoming these hurdles is crucial for realizing the revolutionary potential of using abundant seawater for energy and environmental applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review and summarize effective strategies for developing high-performance anodes for direct seawater electrolysis.
• To provide insights into the rational design of catalysts with enhanced selectivity, activity, and durability for seawater electrolysis.

Main Methods:

• Summarizing current effective strategies: electronic modulation, oxygen vacancy creation, amorphous/porous structure design, corrosion-resistant passive layer decoration, and catalyst-support interactions.
• Analyzing the impact of chloride ions and particulates on catalyst performance and durability.

Main Results:

• Identified key strategies that address the challenges of direct seawater electrolysis.
• Highlighted the importance of catalyst design for selectivity, activity, and resistance to corrosion and fouling.

Conclusions:

• Effective anode design is critical for advancing direct seawater electrolysis.
• The reviewed strategies offer a pathway toward massive and sustainable hydrogen fuel production from seawater.