Recent progress in advanced in situ/operando characterization techniques for the oxygen evolution reaction

Area of Science:

• Electrochemistry
• Materials Science
• Catalysis

Background:

• The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is critical for electrochemical water splitting but is kinetically limited.
• Understanding OER mechanisms and catalyst dynamics under operating conditions is challenging with traditional methods.
• Ex situ techniques cannot capture transient intermediates or surface reconstruction during OER.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review recent advancements in in situ/operando characterization techniques for OER.
• To highlight how these techniques probe OER mechanisms in various electrolytes.
• To guide the rational design of high-performance OER catalysts.

Main Methods:

• Attenuated total reflectance surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy (ATR-SEIRAS)
• Raman spectroscopy
• X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS)
• Differential electrochemical mass spectrometry (DEMS)
• Electrochemical atomic force microscopy (EC-AFM)

Main Results:

• In situ/operando methods provide real-time insights into catalyst structure and active sites.
• These techniques elucidate reaction intermediates and gaseous products.
• Structure-performance relationships for OER catalysts are revealed.

Conclusions:

• Advanced characterization techniques are essential for understanding OER mechanisms.
• Future work should focus on improving spatial/time resolution and multi-technique integration.
• These advances will accelerate the development of efficient energy conversion systems.