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Recent advances in rational design of efficient electrocatalyst for full water splitting across all pH conditions

  • Nanomaterials for Electrochemical Water Splitting
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Abstract

The electrochemical reaction that involves the splitting of water into hydrogen and oxygen gas is the superior technique for sustainable energy conversion and storage without the environmentally damaging effects of fossil fuels. To date, a large number of electrocatalysts have been used for electrochemical water splitting (EWS). Nowadays, the quest for a universal pH stable bifunctional electrocatalyst that can efficiently enhance the hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions (HERs and OERs) is gaining significant interest in the research community. This approach avoids the divergence in the pH of the electrolyte for OER and HER activity and effectively reduces the difficulty and system cost in practical EWS. This article highlights engineering strategies and challenges in designing prospective universal pH-stable electrocatalysts with feasible OER and HER pathways for full water splitting over a wide pH range.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge this work supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea Grant funded by the Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning, Republic of Korea (2018R1C1B6001267) and the Human Resources Development program of the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP) Grant funded by the Korea government Ministry of Trade (20194030202470).

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  1. These authors contributed equally.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Chonnam National University, South Korea

    Gnanaprakasam Janani, Hyeonuk Choi, Subramani Surendran & Uk Sim

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  1. Gnanaprakasam Janani
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Correspondence to Gnanaprakasam Janani.

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Janani, G., Choi, H., Surendran, S. et al. Recent advances in rational design of efficient electrocatalyst for full water splitting across all pH conditions. MRS Bulletin 45, 539–547 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1557/mrs.2020.166

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