Heterostructured electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction

Abstract

In recent years, with the global response to the emission reduction pressure caused by climate change, global awareness of green hydrogen has progressively grown. Electrolysis of water is the only way to create green hydrogen. Among them, one of the semi-reactions of the electrolysis of water is the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). One of the bottlenecks limiting the total energy efficiency of green hydrogen production from water electrolysis is its intricate four-electron transfer process. Developing highly efficient oxygen evolution catalysts is essential to increasing the efficiency of the water electrolysis process. Therefore, researchers have been exploring high-performance OER catalysts. In recent years, heterostructured electrocatalysts have shown surprisingly good performance in OER processes due to their unique structural characteristics, including synergistic effects, strain effects, and electronic interactions. This paper reviews the reaction mechanism of the OER in various pH environments, highlights the advantages of heterostructure catalysts, and provides an overview of OER heterostructure electrocatalysts. This review focuses mainly on the overall facilitating effect of heterostructures on the OER process. The aim is to emphasize the advantages of heterostructure catalysts over one-component catalysts. The paper discusses the preparation of heterostructures and explores the relationship between their structures and electrochemical properties. By providing new insights into the interfacial chemistry of OER heterostructure electrocatalysts, this review sheds light on the future opportunities and challenges for developing OER heterostructure catalysts, both in terms of fundamental understanding and practical applications.