The Significance of Properly Reporting Turnover Frequency in Electrocatalysis Research.

For decades, turnover frequency (TOF) has served as an accurate descriptor of the intrinsic activity of a catalyst, including those in electrocatalytic reactions involving both fuel generation and fuel consumption. Unfortunately, in most of the recent reports in this area, TOF is often not properly reported or not reported at all, in contrast to the overpotentials at a benchmarking current density. The current density is significant in determining the apparent activity, but it is affected by catalyst-centric parasitic reactions, electrolyte-centric competing reactions, and capacitance.

Electronic wastes: A near inexhaustible and an unimaginably wealthy resource for water splitting electrocatalysts.

E-wastes comprise complex combinations of potentially toxic elements that cause detrimental effects of the environmental contamination; besides their posing threat, most of the products also contain valuable and recoverable materials (Li, Au, Ag, W, Se, Te, etc.), which make them distinct from other forms of industrial wastes. Most of these value-added elements which are primarily employed in electronic goods are disposed of by incineration and land-filling.

Sodalite-type Cu-based Three-dimensional Metal-Organic Framework for Efficient Oxygen Reduction Reaction.

Inspired by copper-based oxygen reduction biocatalysts, we have studied the electrocatalytic behavior of a Cu-based MOF (Cu-BTT) for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline medium. This catalyst reduces the oxygen at the onset (E ) and half-wave potential (E ) of 0. 940 V and 0.

Oxygen evolution reaction electrocatalyzed on a Fenton-treated gold surface.

Hydroxyl radicals arising from the Fenton reagent remove metastable surface gold atoms (low coordinated high-energy surface atoms) on the Au surface, thus precluding the formation of stable oxides. The resultant smooth surface, upon hydroxyl-radical activation, electrocatalyzes oxygen evolution reaction in 0.1 M NaOH at overpotentials lowered by 190 mV @ 10 mA cm(-2).