Bridging Classical Concepts and Modern Advances in Electrode Processes: A Tutorial Review

Abstract

Electrochemistry is becoming increasingly crucial due to its central role in energy conversion/storage and the production of high-value chemicals via renewable energy. As these technologies advance, students and researchers, particularly those entering the field from adjacent disciplines, are confronted with the intricate physicochemical phenomena at electrode-electrolyte interfaces, whose fundamental understandings are essential for the rational design of efficient, selective, and robust electrocatalytic systems. In addition, several simple and practical methods have been developed in recent years to try to address the existing stability issues in electrocatalysis. Aiming to link the multifaceted history of electrochemistry with its promising future for diverse applications, in this Tutorial Review, which focuses on electrode processes, starting from a brief history, we provide representative discussion on microkinetic modelling with/without assumption of rate-determining step, demonstrate mass transport effects by reactants/products, analyse electrode material reconstruction, and explore microkientic models for depicting degradation processes. An alternative perspective on reaction mechanisms is presented based on graph theory. Next, we introduce a data-driven approach to facilitate the understanding of electrode reactions including both activity description and stability issue. Finally, we propose a heuristic framework via matrix to organise electrode states in electrode processes. We hope this Tutorial Review will provide fundamental and useful insights into processes at the electrified electrode-electrolyte interface, inspiring the rational design of highly efficient electrochemical reactions for green chemistry in the near future.