Electronic Structure of Ni-Based Reconstructed Surface for Electrocatalytic Alkaline Oxygen Evolution Reaction

The sluggish kinetics of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in alkaline water electrolysis lead to high overpotentials, limiting cost-effective green hydrogen production. Ni-based catalysts, recognized as promising OER electrocatalysts, require electronic structure modulation to enhance performance. However, under oxidizing conditions, Ni-based materials undergo surface reconstruction with significant electronic alterations, rendering bulk-phase studies less practical. Recent efforts focus on regulating reconstructed surface electronic structures for improved efficiency, underscoring the need for a systematic review on this critical topic. This review highlights the fundamental progress regarding the electronic structure regulation of reconstructed surface of Ni-based OER electrocatalysts for better understanding the surface reconstruction process and the structure-activity relationship, including the basic understanding of OER mechanism and surface reconstruction of Ni-based materials, the principles and practical applications of key electronic structure descriptors with their respective advantages and limitations, and recent advancements and developing bottle-necks in surface reconstruction chemistry across diverse Ni-based OER catalyst systems. Finally, the challenges facing surface reconstruction of Ni-based OER catalysts are summarized, and several future prospects are proposed to guide the in-depth analysis of the reconstruction mechanism and the rational design of Ni-based OER catalysts.