Promoting electrocatalysts design combining general thermodynamic evaluation and specific kinetic study

Abstract

Electrochemical synthesis of chemicals has attracted much research interest in recent years. The rational design of the electrocatalysts is of great importance in improving the reaction activity. To this end, the Reaction Phase Diagram (RPD), with a comprehensive consideration of all possible reaction mechanisms, has offered a valid tool for the thermodynamic evaluation of catalysts. However, facile thermodynamics is merely a prerequisite of high activity, not a sufficient condition. The kinetics should also be considered for further catalyst design, which can be achieved by the method of electric field controlling constant potential (EFC-CP) for electrochemical barrier calculation. In this perspective, we proposed an efficient strategy for electrocatalyst design via general thermodynamic evaluation and specific kinetic study based on the above methods. The application of this strategy in the development of electrocatalysts for NH₃ synthesis from NO was also introduced.