Research progress in improving the oxygen evolution reaction by adjusting the 3d electronic structure of transition metal catalysts.

Nanoscale

Key Laboratory of Functional Inorganic Material Chemistry, Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Heilongjiang University, Harbin 150080, China.

Published: April 2022

AI Article Synopsis

  • Hydrogen is a promising clean energy alternative to fossil fuels, with water electrolysis being a key method for its production due to its efficiency and sustainability.
  • The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) at the anode is crucial for effective hydrogen generation, but traditional noble metal catalysts used for OER have limitations such as high costs and stability issues.
  • The review focuses on recent advancements in developing non-noble metal catalysts by tweaking the electronic structures of transition metals, exploring their performance, mechanisms, and future challenges in hydrogen production.

Article Abstract

As a clean and renewable energy carrier, hydrogen (H) has become an attractive alternative to dwindling fossil fuels. The key to realizing hydrogen-based energy systems is to develop efficient and economical hydrogen production methods. The water electrolysis technique has the advantages of cleanliness, sustainability, and high efficiency, which can be applied to large-scale hydrogen production. However, the electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) at the anode plays a decisive role in the efficiency of hydrogen evolution during water splitting. Generally, noble metal catalysts (such as ruthenium and iridium) are considered to exhibit the best OER performance; however, they exhibit disadvantages such as high costs, limited reserves, and poor stability. Therefore, the research on highly efficient non-noble metal catalysts that can replace their noble metal counterparts has always been important. This review presents the recent advances in the preparation of high-performance OER electrocatalysts by regulating the electronic structure of 3d transition metals. First, we introduce the reaction mechanism of water splitting and the OER, which reveals the high requirement of the complex four-electron process of the OER. Second, the electron transfer mode and development progress of highly active transition metal electrocatalysts are used to summarize the research situation of transition metal OER catalysts in water splitting. Finally, the future development direction and challenges of transition metal catalysts are prospected based on the current research progress.

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Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/d2nr00522kDOI Listing

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