Electrocatalytic Water Splitting Using Biomass-Derived Catalysts

Electrocatalytic water splitting offers a sustainable route to hydrogen production by driving the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) at electrode surfaces. Biomass-derived catalysts—prepared from agricultural residues, wood fibres or other renewable plant materials—combine low cost, abundant availability and inherent porosity with tailored surface chemistry. Thermal or chemical treatment transforms biomass into carbon-rich frameworks that can be doped with heteroatoms (such as nitrogen, phosphorus or oxygen) and decorated with non-precious metal nanoparticles or phosphides. The resulting electrocatalysts display hierarchical pore architectures for enhanced mass transport, abundant active sites for proton and hydroxide adsorption/desorption, and strong metal–carbon interactions that lower overpotentials and improve long-term stability. Recent advances demonstrate that rational design of biomass precursors and controlled incorporation of metal species yield bifunctional catalytic electrodes capable of efficient overall water splitting under alkaline, neutral and acidic conditions. Through a balance of conductivity, surface area and adsorption energy tuning, these green catalysts are closing the performance gap with noble-metal systems, paving the way for scalable, low-carbon hydrogen generation.

Research from Nature Portfolio

A foundational study introduced freestanding nanoporous graphitic carbon membranes, synthesised via a bottom-up polymerization–carbonization strategy to yield single-crystal-like graphitic order and hierarchical porosity. Nitrogen doping during synthesis endowed the framework with enhanced conductivity and anchoring sites for cobalt nanoparticles. When tested as a non-precious-metal electrocatalyst for overall water splitting, this composite exhibited low cell voltages for both HER and OER, robust current densities and sustained operation over extended cycles. The work highlighted how precise control of membrane architecture and heteroatom incorporation can optimise electron transfer pathways, active site dispersion and gas-bubble release, providing a blueprint for next-generation carbon-based electrocatalysts.

Electrocatalytic Water Splitting Using Biomass-Derived Catalysts publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in electrocatalytic water splitting using biomass-derived catalysts across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Electrocatalysis: Acceleration of electrochemical reactions at electrode surfaces by catalysts.

Biomass-derived catalyst: Catalytic material obtained from plant-based feedstocks via carbonization and activation.

Hydrogen evolution reaction (HER): Electrochemical half-reaction in water splitting that produces hydrogen gas.

Oxygen evolution reaction (OER): Electrochemical half-reaction in water splitting that generates oxygen gas.

Overpotential: Extra potential required beyond the thermodynamic voltage to drive an electrochemical reaction at a given rate.

Bifunctional electrocatalyst: A catalyst capable of efficiently driving both HER and OER processes.

References

1. Synthesis of single-crystal-like nanoporous carbon membranes and their application in overall water splitting. Nature Communications (2017).
2. Heterostructured Mo2N–Mo2C Nanoparticles Coupled with N‐Doped Carbonized Wood to Accelerate the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction. Small Structures (2023).
3. Heterostructure catalyst coupled wood-derived carbon and cobalt-iron alloy/oxide for reversible oxygen conversion. Biochar (2024).