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Role of Electrocatalysts in Water Electrolysis

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Handbook of Energy Materials

Abstract

Water electrolysis is a perspective technology of hydrogen production, which requires only water and electricity as input resources. The cost of hydrogen produced by water electrolysis should be reduced to make this approach competitive with other technologies of hydrogen production, such as steam methane reforming and coal gasification. Electrocatalysts loaded on electrolyzer electrodes determine the large part of the cost of produced hydrogen because the amount of electricity consumed by electrolyzer per volume of produced hydrogen is defined by the efficiency of the catalysts. Moreover, noble metal-based electrocatalysts are the most expensive components of electrolyzers. From this point of view, the development of active and low-cost electrocatalysts is an essential prerequisite for achieving the efficient hydrogen production by water electrolysis.

This chapter starts with the basics of water electrolysis describing the principles of electrolyzers operation and reaction mechanisms of the two half-cell reactions: hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). The decisive role of HER and OER electrocatalysts in elecrolyzer’s performance is emphasized. General approaches to catalytic activity increasing, as well as descriptors of catalytic activity for HER and OER, such as overpotential, Tafel slope, and exchange current density, are introduced. The chapter is devoted to advances in design and fabrication of electrocatalysts for HER and OER. Strategies in designing active sites ranging from single-crystal noble metals to single-atom catalysts are discussed. The connection between activity and stability of OER electrocatalysts is outlined and discussed in terms of adsorbate evolution and lattice oxygen-mediated mechanisms.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Physics, Faculty of Science, P. J. Safarik University, Kosice, Slovak Republic

    Vladimir Komanicky & Vitalii Latyshev

Authors
  1. Vladimir Komanicky
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  2. Vitalii Latyshev
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Vladimir Komanicky .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Chemistry Department, Pittsburg State University, Pittsburg, KS, USA

    Ram Gupta

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Chemistry, University of Zululand, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

    Neerish Revaprasadu

  2. Chemistry Department, Pittsburg State University, Pittsburg, USA

    Ram Gupta

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Komanicky, V., Latyshev, V. (2022). Role of Electrocatalysts in Water Electrolysis. In: Gupta, R. (eds) Handbook of Energy Materials. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-4480-1_56-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-4480-1_56-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-981-16-4480-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-16-4480-1

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