Role of Electrocatalysts for Water Electrolysis

The study of electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in water electrolysis is a rapidly advancing field, often utilizing noble metal-based materials. The chapter begins with an introduction to water electrolysis and then a current understanding of the two half-cell reactions, namely the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER), with a focus on their reaction mechanisms in both alkaline and acidic media. This chapter offers a comprehensive overview of fundamental knowledge related to the use of catalysts for the OER in water electrolysis. The discussion covers various categories of catalysts, including noble metals-based catalysts, transition metals-based catalysts, carbon nanotube-based metal/metal oxides catalysts, carbon nanotube-based metal-free electrocatalysts, and perovskite oxides electrocatalysts.