Electrocatalysis Goes Nuts

While searching for new nanoelectrocatalysts with outstanding performance, researchers often disregard the complexity and true usability of such materials. Here, it is argued that the chemical and structural complexity of electrocatalytic materials and electrodes reported in numerous studies significantly exceeds the quality of their characterization, making meaningful interpretation of the data impossible and providing little (or no) scientific insight as a result. It is suggested that the experiments should be designed with the aim of obtaining an interpretable electrochemical response by minimizing the complexity of electrode materials. A greater recognition of the worrisome state of the field will help improve the quality of research in electrocatalysis.

Automated summary

Researchers often overlook the complexity and usability of nanoelectrocatalysts with outstanding performance, leading to a lack of meaningful interpretation and scientific insight in previous studies. This article suggests that experiments should be designed to minimize the complexity of electrode materials in order to obtain interpretable electrochemical responses. Greater recognition of the challenges in this field will help improve the quality of research in electrocatalysis.