A review of advanced electrocatalysts for polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolysis

IF 20.4 Q1 CHEMISTRY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY

EnergyChem Pub Date : 2026-03-01 Epub Date: 2026-02-28 DOI:10.1016/j.enchem.2026.100186

Ruiwen Zhang, Dongfang Wen, Shiming Zhang, Jiujun Zhang

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Abstract

Electrocatalytic polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE), including both proton and anion exchange membrane water electrolysis, involves oxygen evolution reaction (OER) at the anode and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) at the cathode, but still faces significant technical bottlenecks such as sluggish reaction kinetics and poor operational stability. To address these limitations, designing advanced electrocatalysts and understanding their electrocatalytic mechanisms are imperative for accelerating the technological progress of PEMWE. This review provides a comprehensive overview of electrocatalytic reaction mechanisms in both acidic and alkaline media, together with an in-depth analysis of recent advances in non-carbon/carbon-based electrocatalysts and bifunctional electrocatalysts for both the OER and HER. The synthesis strategies, advanced characterization techniques, and performance evaluation metrics of these electrocatalysts are systematically discussed. Key technical challenges are critically analyzed, and future research directions are proposed to guide the innovative design of next-generation electrocatalysts and expedite their practical applications in PEMWE systems.

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高分子电解质膜水电解的新型电催化剂研究进展

电催化聚合物电解质膜电解（PEMWE）包括质子交换膜电解和阴离子交换膜电解，其阳极涉及析氧反应（OER），阴极涉及析氢反应（HER），但仍面临反应动力学缓慢、操作稳定性差等重大技术瓶颈。为了解决这些问题，设计先进的电催化剂并了解其电催化机理是加速PEMWE技术进步的必要条件。本文综述了酸性和碱性介质中电催化反应机理的全面概述，并深入分析了OER和HER中非碳/碳基电催化剂和双功能电催化剂的最新进展。系统地讨论了这些电催化剂的合成策略、先进的表征技术和性能评价指标。对关键技术挑战进行了批判性分析，并提出了未来的研究方向，以指导下一代电催化剂的创新设计，加快其在PEMWE系统中的实际应用。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

EnergyChem Multiple-

CiteScore

40.80

自引率

2.80%

发文量

审稿时长

40 days

期刊介绍： EnergyChem, a reputable journal, focuses on publishing high-quality research and review articles within the realm of chemistry, chemical engineering, and materials science with a specific emphasis on energy applications. The priority areas covered by the journal include:Solar energy,Energy harvesting devices,Fuel cells,Hydrogen energy,Bioenergy and biofuels,Batteries,Supercapacitors,Electrocatalysis and photocatalysis,Energy storage and energy conversion,Carbon capture and storage