Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion

Electrocatalysts are materials that speed up electrochemical reactions—such as splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen, or converting hydrogen and oxygen back into electricity in a fuel cell—without being consumed in the process. Developing efficient, affordable catalysts for these reactions is central to building energy systems that don't rely on fossil fuels, since the bottleneck is often not the energy source itself but the sluggish chemistry at the electrode surface. Much current research focuses on the oxygen reduction reaction, which limits fuel cell performance, and on the hydrogen evolution reaction, where scientists are working to replace costly platinum-group metals with nanomaterials built from earth-abundant elements. Open questions include how to maintain catalyst stability under real operating conditions and how atomic-scale structure at the catalyst surface governs reaction selectivity and efficiency.

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Keywords

ElectrocatalysisEnergy ConversionOxygen ReductionHydrogen EvolutionCatalystsWater Splitting