Electrocatalytic Processes in Hydrogen Generation

Electrocatalytic hydrogen generation relies on the efficient splitting of water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen gases via two half-reactions: the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) at the cathode and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) at the anode. At the core of these processes lie electrocatalysts that lower kinetic barriers, reduce overpotentials and enhance reaction rates. A wide array of materials has been investigated, including noble metals, transition-metal sulphides, phosphides, carbides, metal–organic frameworks, carbon-based nanostructures and single‐atom catalysts. Key strategies involve tuning electronic structure, engineering nanoscale porosity and controlling active sites to optimise adsorption energies of reaction intermediates. Recent advances have further exploited synergistic interactions in composite materials, surface functionalisation and the use of activated electrolytes. Scaling these developments promises to advance global efforts in renewable energy conversion, grid-scale energy storage and the realisation of a zero-carbon hydrogen economy.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Investigation of polymer-derived Si–B–C–N ceramics on reduced graphene oxide demonstrates that non-metallic, ultrathin ceramic systems can rival platinum catalysts in HER performance. By incorporating boron, nitrogen and oxygen into a silicon-carbon lattice supported on conductive graphene sheets, researchers achieved an onset potential of –340 mV and a Tafel slope of approximately 120 mV dec⁻¹, with remarkable stability over extended operation. This work highlights the potential of polymer-derived ceramics as robust, earth-abundant HER electrocatalysts.

An innovative approach utilises plasmon-activated liquid water to enhance HER efficiency on conventional electrodes. By disrupting hydrogen-bonded networks in water via hot-electron transfer, the strategy reduces the onset potential to –0.023 V versus RHE and increases current density on gold and platinum electrodes. This concept underscores the importance of electrolyte engineering alongside catalyst design, opening new avenues for high-efficiency hydrogen production across different pH regimes.

Electrocatalytic Processes in Hydrogen Generation publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in electrocatalytic processes in hydrogen generation across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Electrocatalyst: A material that increases the rate of an electrochemical reaction at an electrode surface.

Overpotential: The additional voltage required beyond the thermodynamic potential to drive a reaction at a specified rate.

Tafel slope: A parameter indicating how the overpotential changes with the logarithm of current density, reflecting reaction kinetics.

Water splitting: The electrochemical decomposition of water into hydrogen and oxygen gases.

Faradaic efficiency: The percentage of electrical charge that contributes to the desired chemical reaction relative to the total charge passed.

References

1. Investigation of polymer-derived Si–(B)–C–N ceramic/reduced graphene oxide composite systems as active catalysts towards the hydrogen evolution reaction. Scientific Reports (2020).
2. Innovative Strategy on Hydrogen Evolution Reaction Utilizing Activated Liquid Water. Scientific Reports (2015).
3. Bimetallic Co–Mo sulfide/carbon composites derived from polyoxometalate encapsulated polydopamine-decorated ZIF nanocubes for efficient hydrogen and oxygen evolution. Nanoscale (2022).
4. Polyoxometallates@zeolitic-imidazolate-framework derived bimetallic tungsten-cobalt sulfide/porous carbon nanocomposites as efficient bifunctional electrocatalysts for hydrogen and oxygen evolution. Electrochimica Acta (2020).
5. Highly efficient electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction on carbonized porous conducting polymers. Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry (2020).