Electrochemical water splitting (electrolysis)—driven by renewable electricity—offers a sustainable route for energy storage in hydrogen. Significant research has been undertaken to catalyze the kinetically hindered oxidation half reaction in water electrolysis, the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), with most studies focusing on improving electrocatalytic activity of OER. However, dynamic transformations of electrocatalyst surfaces during OER pose a challenge for understanding the intrinsic active sites. In this review, detection methods for surface transformations including electron microscopy, vibration spectroscopy, core-level spectroscopy, and x-ray diffraction-based methods are discussed. Novel in situ and operando surface science techniques, multimodal characterization, and systematic experimental design will provide insight into the true active surface and OER mechanisms. Knowledge of electrocatalyst surface transformation pathways will lay the foundation for engineering pre-catalyst materials for scalable water electrolysis and support a sustainable energy future.
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Surface transformations of electrocatalysts during the oxygen evolution reaction
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June 2023
Review Article|
May 24 2023
Surface transformations of electrocatalysts during the oxygen evolution reaction

Molly E. Vitale-Sullivan
;
Molly E. Vitale-Sullivan
(Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing)
1
School of Mechanical, Industrial, and Manufacturing Engineering, Oregon State University
, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, USA
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Alvin Chang
;
Alvin Chang
(Conceptualization, Writing – review & editing)
1
School of Mechanical, Industrial, and Manufacturing Engineering, Oregon State University
, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, USA
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Kuan-Hsun Chou
;
Kuan-Hsun Chou
(Conceptualization)
2
School of Chemical, Biological, and Environmental Engineering, Oregon State University
, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, USA
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Zhenxing Feng
;
Zhenxing Feng
a)
(Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Supervision, Writing – review & editing)
2
School of Chemical, Biological, and Environmental Engineering, Oregon State University
, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, USA
a)Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed: zhenxing.feng@oregonstate.edu and kelsey.stoerzinger@oregonstate.edu
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Kelsey A. Stoerzinger
Kelsey A. Stoerzinger
a)
(Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Supervision, Writing – review & editing)
2
School of Chemical, Biological, and Environmental Engineering, Oregon State University
, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, USA
3
Physical and Computational Sciences Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
, Richland, Washington 99354, USA
a)Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed: zhenxing.feng@oregonstate.edu and kelsey.stoerzinger@oregonstate.edu
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a)Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed: zhenxing.feng@oregonstate.edu and kelsey.stoerzinger@oregonstate.edu
Chem. Phys. Rev. 4, 021309 (2023)
Article history
Received:
December 21 2022
Accepted:
April 20 2023
Connected Content
A companion article has been published:
Understanding the electrolysis bottleneck for producing green hydrogen fuel
Citation
Molly E. Vitale-Sullivan, Alvin Chang, Kuan-Hsun Chou, Zhenxing Feng, Kelsey A. Stoerzinger; Surface transformations of electrocatalysts during the oxygen evolution reaction. Chem. Phys. Rev. 1 June 2023; 4 (2): 021309. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0139558
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