Electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction: mechanism, innovative strategies, and beyond

Abstract

Electrocatalytic water splitting is widely considered a promising method for generating renewable and sustainable hydrogen energy, but it has been limited by the high overpotential required for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in the process, which poses a bottleneck for large-scale hydrogen production. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop efficient and stable OER catalysts to overcome this challenge. This review provides a comprehensive review of recent advances in OER catalyst design concerning the kinetics and stability of OER catalysts, including single-phase modulation and multi-phase modulation, as well as the catalytic mechanism and evaluation criteria of the OER, and stresses the importance of incorporating a fundamental understanding of the mechanism and structure–property relationship of OER catalysts in the rational design of OER catalysts. Furthermore, this review summarizes innovative strategies for electrolytic water splitting coupled with organic oxidation and new designs of electrolyzer structures to promote the industrialization of electrocatalytic hydrogen production technology. Finally, this review forecasts the development prospects and challenges for the practical application of OER catalysts in electrocatalytic water splitting to support the practical application of electrocatalytic water splitting technology for large-scale hydrogen production.