Construction and Prospect of Noble Metal‐Based Catalysts for Proton Exchange Membrane Water Electrolyzers

Abstract

Engineering noble metal‐based electrocatalysts (NMEs) with high activity is of vital importance to accelerate the hydrogen production from proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers (PEMWEs). However, the poor stability and high price of NMEs greatly restrict the practical application. In this review, a series of strategies are summarized to boost the activity and reduce the cost of NMEs under acidic condition from the perspective of composition and structure optimization. The composition regulation through doping of metals or nonmetals can effectively inspire alloy effect or cocktail effect of NMEs, which provides an essential guidance to reduce the cost and enhance the stability of NMEs. Meanwhile, the structure optimization also directly improves the intrinsic activity of NMEs, which is comprehensively elaborated based on size, defect, and geometric effects. In addition, to extend the industrial application of PEMWEs, critical scientific issues behind the formulating of electrocatalyst slurry and coating method–PEMWEs performance relationships are fully clarified. Finally, the challenges for survivability of active center, catalytic mechanism research, and construction of membrane electrode are concluded. This review offers comprehensive and targeted guidelines for the rational design of NMEs for PEMWEs application.

Single Entity Electrocatalysis

“…41,489,490 While these catalysts demonstrate inherently superior activities and stabilities, noble metals present an unsustainable material with a high associated cost, making them unideal for industrial scale up. 491 Nevertheless, catalysts comprised of noble metals are still a focus of studies at the nanoscale. 37,492 These electrocatalysts are also a common model system for development of methods for single-entity e l e c t r o c a t a l y s t c h a r a c t e r i z a t i o n a s d i s c u s s e d above.…”

“…Noble metal-based electrocatalysts, specifically Pt-based catalysts, are considered the gold standard for HER, and as such are heavily represented in HER electrocatalysis literature. ,, While these catalysts demonstrate inherently superior activities and stabilities, noble metals present an unsustainable material with a high associated cost, making them unideal for industrial scale up . Nevertheless, catalysts comprised of noble metals are still a focus of studies at the nanoscale. , These electrocatalysts are also a common model system for development of methods for single-entity electrocatalyst characterization as discussed above. ,,,, Of noble metal catalysts, Pt is considered as the best preforming as it has the highest intrinsic activity .…”