Tafel slope analysis, first proposed by Julius Tafel in 1905 and supported by the Butler–Volmer equation, is widely used to elucidate electrocatalytic mechanisms and evaluate kinetics. However, some misuses still frequently occur in the literature, calling for rigorous mechanistic investigations at single-crystal electrodes and under well defined mass-transport conditions.
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The authors acknowledge the other members of the Yang group — S. Kim, S. Liu, J. Choi, W. Li, Z. Zhang and H. Zhang — for discussions and assistance in the finalization of the manuscript.
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Briega-Martos, V., Guzman-Soriano, R., Jiang, J. et al. The (mis)uses of Tafel slope. Nat Catal 8, 863–866 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41929-025-01397-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41929-025-01397-4
