Essentials of High Performance Water Electrolyzers – From Catalyst Layer Materials to Electrode Engineering

Pham, Chuyen Van; Escalera‐López, Daniel; Mayrhofer, Karl Johann Jakob; Cherevko, Serhiy; Thiele, Simon

doi:10.1002/aenm.202101998

Cited by 147 publications

(105 citation statements)

References 142 publications

(220 reference statements)

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“…The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is central to emerging and future technologies 1,2 such as electrolyzers for H 2 production, 3,4 photoelectrochemical generation of carbon-and nitrogencontaining fuels and chemicals, 5−8 and air-breathing batteries. 9,10 We outline the challenges for OER catalyst discovery in acidic electrolytes, 11 which stand in stark contrast to alkaline electrolytes where there is little room to improve upon the stateof-the-art nonprecious metal catalysts with respect to isolated OER catalyst metrics.…”

Section: ■ Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is central to emerging and future technologies , such as electrolyzers for H 2 production, , photoelectrochemical generation of carbon- and nitrogen-containing fuels and chemicals, − and air-breathing batteries. , We outline the challenges for OER catalyst discovery in acidic electrolytes, which stand in stark contrast to alkaline electrolytes where there is little room to improve upon the state-of-the-art nonprecious metal catalysts with respect to isolated OER catalyst metrics. These most commonly reported metrics include OER activity and the stability thereof, although catalyst performance must ultimately be considered in the context of a specific target technology and device design, which inherently impose additional considerations and constraints compared to generic catalyst discovery.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Overcoming Hurdles in Oxygen Evolution Catalyst Discovery via Codesign

et al. 2022

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The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is central to several sustainable energy technologies. Catalyst development has largely focused on lowering the overpotential and eliminating reliance on precious metals, revealing stark differences in alkaline and acidic OER. In alkaline electrolyte, precious metal-free catalysts have approached the limiting overpotential from established free energy scaling relationships, and our survey of complex metal oxides shows that this limit can be approached with a broad range of catalysts. In acidic electrolyte, electrochemical instabilities create a dual challenge of a dearth of nonprecious metal OER catalysts with overpotential below 0.5 V and a high dissolved metals concentration for most precious metal-free catalysts. On device-relevant time scales, the high dissolved metals concentrations compromise device stability, for example, through a decrease of performance and due to metal exchange between anode and cathode catalysts due to finite permeability of ion exchange membranes. These considerations motivate a substantial increase in monitoring and reporting of dissolved metals concentrations in OER experiments. To facilitate durability-based screening in continued catalyst discovery campaigns, we introduce a durability descriptor based on the d-electron count of each metal element compared to that of its Pourbaix-stable oxidation state, which enables rapid down-selection of candidate metal oxide catalysts. We discuss the importance of a codesign approach to catalyst development, where a device architecture can set specific requirements for dissolved metals concentrations and/or cathode and anode catalysts can be designed to tolerate cross-contamination. This device-level guidance of basic science will facilitate deployment of new catalysts to meet the societal needs for accelerated sustainable technology development.

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Section: ■ Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Overcoming Hurdles in Oxygen Evolution Catalyst Discovery via Codesign

et al. 2022

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“…In efforts to achieve a significant reduction in Ir loading, it is important to increase the surface-to-volume ratio of these catalysts to better utilize the precious metals. The introduction of supports from rather cheap and abundant materials therefore appears to be an effective strategy to address this, where the demand for noble metals could be reduced, and a finely dispersed and highly active Ir oxide phase could be stabilized. ,, Low packing density of designed catalysts (described by the thickness factor) has been reported to be important, as it results in improved catalyst utilization.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Supported Ir-Based Oxygen Evolution Catalysts for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Water Electrolysis: A Minireview

2022

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Renewable energy sources are considered to play a key role in the future energy mix, with hydrogen being an important energy carrier as a long-term energy storage option. Polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) water electrolysis (WE) allows the relatively quick and convenient production of pure hydrogen from only water and electricity; thus it is considered as one of the most practical ways to consume renewable energy for green hydrogen production. The efficiency of water splitting largely depends on the intrinsic activity, selectivity, and stability of the oxygen evolution electrocatalysts, currently based on noble metals (e.g., Ir or Ru), for PEM technology. The utilization of various support materials has been proposed for decreasing the noble metal loading, reducing costs of the technology, and enhancing the catalytic activity and durability. This minireview addresses recent advances and research prospects in the area of Ir-based supported oxygen evolution catalysts. Besides addressing the intrinsic activity and durability of the supported catalysts, consideration is given to their applications in PEM WE cells. It concludes with mention of challenges and future perspectives.

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“…The EWS process can be powered by additional renewable energy from sources such as wind and solar [ 6 ]. Hydrogen generation by water electrolysis using a proton exchange membrane (PEM) is the most promising EWS method [ 7 ]. In contrast to alkaline water electrolysis for hydrogen generation, PEM water electrolysis for hydrogen production employs the solid electrolyte of perfluorosulfonic acid proton exchange membrane with superior chemical stability, proton conductivity, and gas separation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent Advances Regarding Precious Metal-Based Electrocatalysts for Acidic Water Splitting

Peng¹,

Liao

Ye³

et al. 2022

Nanomaterials

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Electrochemical water splitting has wide applicability in preparing high-density green energy. The Proton exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolysis system is a promising technique for the generation of hydrogen due to its high electrolytic efficiency, safety and reliability, compactness, and quick response to renewable energy sources. However, the instability of catalysts for electrochemical water splitting under operating conditions limits their practical applications. Until now, only precious metal-based materials have met the requirements for rigorous long-term stability and high catalytic activity under acid conditions. In this review, the recent progress made in this regard is presented and analyzed to clarify the role of precious metals in the promotion of the electrolytic decomposition of water. Reducing precious metal loading, enhancing catalytic activity, and improving catalytic lifetime are crucial directions for developing a new generation of PEM water electrolysis catalysts. A summary of the synthesis of high-performance catalysts based on precious metals and an analysis of the factors affecting catalytic performance were derived from a recent investigation. Finally, we present the remaining challenges and future perspectives as guidelines for practical use.

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Essentials of High Performance Water Electrolyzers – From Catalyst Layer Materials to Electrode Engineering

Abstract: The ORCID identification number(s) for the author(s) of this article can be found under https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.202101998.

Cited by 147 publications

References 142 publications

Overcoming Hurdles in Oxygen Evolution Catalyst Discovery via Codesign

Overcoming Hurdles in Oxygen Evolution Catalyst Discovery via Codesign

Supported Ir-Based Oxygen Evolution Catalysts for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Water Electrolysis: A Minireview

Recent Advances Regarding Precious Metal-Based Electrocatalysts for Acidic Water Splitting

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