Song Jiajia, Wei Chao, Huang Zhen-Feng, Liu Chuntai, Zeng Lin, Wang Xin, Xu Zhichuan J
Institute of Molecular Aggregation Science, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, P. R. China and School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Drive, Singapore 639798, Singapore.
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Drive, Singapore 639798, Singapore.
Chem Soc Rev. 2020 Apr 7;49(7):2196-2214. doi: 10.1039/c9cs00607a.
Electricity-driven water splitting can facilitate the storage of electrical energy in the form of hydrogen gas. As a half-reaction of electricity-driven water splitting, the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is the major bottleneck due to the sluggish kinetics of this four-electron transfer reaction. Developing low-cost and robust OER catalysts is critical to solving this efficiency problem in water splitting. The catalyst design has to be built based on the fundamental understanding of the OER mechanism and the origin of the reaction overpotential. In this article, we summarize the recent progress in understanding OER mechanisms, which include the conventional adsorbate evolution mechanism (AEM) and lattice-oxygen-mediated mechanism (LOM) from both theoretical and experimental aspects. We start with the discussion on the AEM and its linked scaling relations among various reaction intermediates. The strategies to reduce overpotential based on the AEM and its derived descriptors are then introduced. To further reduce the OER overpotential, it is necessary to break the scaling relation of HOO* and HO* intermediates in conventional AEM to go beyond the activity limitation of the volcano relationship. Strategies such as stabilization of HOO*, proton acceptor functionality, and switching the OER pathway to LOM are discussed. The remaining questions on the OER and related perspectives are also presented at the end.
电驱动水分解有助于以氢气的形式存储电能。作为电驱动水分解的半反应，析氧反应（OER）由于该四电子转移反应的动力学缓慢而成为主要瓶颈。开发低成本且稳健的OER催化剂对于解决水分解中的效率问题至关重要。催化剂设计必须基于对OER机理和反应过电位起源的基本理解。在本文中，我们总结了在理解OER机理方面的最新进展，包括从理论和实验两个方面的传统吸附质演化机理（AEM）和晶格氧介导机理（LOM）。我们首先讨论AEM及其在各种反应中间体之间的关联标度关系。然后介绍基于AEM及其衍生描述符降低过电位的策略。为了进一步降低OER过电位，有必要打破传统AEM中HOO和HO中间体的标度关系，以超越火山关系的活性限制。讨论了诸如稳定HOO*、质子受体功能以及将OER途径切换到LOM等策略。最后还提出了关于OER的剩余问题及相关观点。
