Substrate-adaptive sacrificial corrosion strategy enables 700 mV oxygen evolution window for enhanced seawater...

Area of Science:

• Electrochemistry
• Materials Science
• Sustainable Energy

Background:

• Seawater electrolysis is crucial for sustainable hydrogen production but faces challenges from chloride ions.
• Chloride oxidation competes with oxygen evolution, reducing efficiency and anode stability.
• Developing robust, efficient anode materials is vital for industrial seawater electrolysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a universal strategy for creating highly active and durable anode materials for seawater electrolysis.
• To address the limitations of existing anode materials in corrosive seawater environments.
• To investigate and quantify anode selectivity for oxygen evolution.

Main Methods:

• A substrate-adaptive sacrificial corrosion strategy was employed for anode material synthesis.
• The optimized electrode was tested for performance and stability in 10 M KOH seawater.
• An oxygen evolution window was proposed and measured to assess anode selectivity.

Main Results:

• The optimized electrode demonstrated an overpotential of 182 mV at 10 mA/cm².
• The electrode sustained high current density (500 mA/cm²) for 1000 hours in seawater.
• An oxygen evolution window of 700 mV was measured, exceeding the thermodynamic limit and indicating kinetic control.

Conclusions:

• The substrate-adaptive sacrificial corrosion strategy enables the scalable production of high-performance anodes for seawater electrolysis.
• The developed electrodes offer exceptional durability and selectivity, overcoming chloride-induced degradation.
• This work provides a pathway for designing next-generation industrial seawater electrolyzers.