Organic chemistry at anodes and photoanodes

Abstract

Solar-driven electrolytic water splitting is a promising means of storing renewable electricity, but the kinetic limitations of the anodic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) have impeded the deployment of electrolyzers that produce hydrogen fuels derived from water. In this review, we summarize alternative anodic chemistries being considered as a means of lowering the amount of electricity required to produce hydrogen at the cathode, or simply driving chemistry that forms products more valuable than oxygen at the anode. The potential for an organic oxidation reaction to instead occur at the anode presents a new opportunity for the production of value-added chemical products from cheap, readily available and, in some cases, renewable feedstocks.