Component leaching of water oxidation electrocatalysts

Most electrocatalysts are known to experience structural change during the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) process. Considerable endeavors have been dedicated thus far to comprehending the catalytic process and uncovering the underlying mechanism. During the dynamic evolution of catalyst structure, component leaching of electrocatalysts is the most common phenomenon. This article offers a concise overview of recent findings and developments related to the leaching phenomena in the OER process in terms of fundamental understanding of leaching, advanced characterization techniques used to investigate leaching, leaching of inactive components, and leaching of active components. Leaching behaviors and the induced effects in various kinds of OER catalysts are discussed, progress in manipulating leaching amount/degree toward a tunable surface evolution is spotlighted, and finally, three representative types of structure transformations induced by leaching metastable species in OER condition are proposed. By understanding the process of component leaching in the OER, it will provide more guidance for the rational design of superior electrocatalysts.