Transition metal based heterogeneous electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction at near-neutral pH.

The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is considered as a major bottleneck of water splitting for hydrogen generation. It is highly desired to develop high performance OER catalysts in near-neutral operating environments because of mild corrosion and pollution. This review summarized the recent development of heterogeneous catalysts containing transition metals (TM) for the OER at near-neutral pH. Specifically, we focus on some effective strategies to achieve a high OER performance for TM (e.g., Co, Mn, Ni, Cu, Fe, and binary TM)-based catalysts in near-neutral media. The progress and perspectives are discussed, which might provide some insights into the rapid promotion of the electrocatalytic performance for future applications in hydrogen production.