Upgrading the Detection of Electrocatalyst Degradation During the Oxygen Evolution Reaction

TL;DR

This paper reviews methods for detecting and understanding degradation in earth-abundant electrocatalysts during the oxygen evolution reaction, aiming to improve their durability for sustainable energy applications.

Contribution

It summarizes common degradation processes, introduces electrochemical and physical characterization techniques, and discusses challenges and future directions for studying electrocatalyst degradation.

Findings

Electrocatalyst degradation involves multiple complex processes.

Combining electrochemical and physical methods enhances understanding.

Identifies key challenges and promising research directions.

Abstract

Electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) are an important component for the transition from fossil to sustainable energy. Commercialization of cost-effective earth-abundant electrocatalysts is in large parts hindered by their degradation. In this short review, I identify common processes leading to a decrease in electrocatalyst activity, followed by an introduction of staple methods to determine degradation electrochemically and by additional physical characterization, which has the potential to remove ambiguities of purely electrochemical studies. I conclude by a summary of the key challenges for an accurate determination of degradation processes and highlight interesting directions to advance the understanding of degradation processes on electrocatalysts.