Recent advances in electrocatalytic seawater splitting

Electrocatalytic water splitting as a green chemical process to evolve H-2 has increasingly attracted attention. Using fresh water as the proton source not only increases the cost but also significantly hinders the wide applications of electrocatalysis in H-2 production. Instead, seawater is more competitive compared to fresh water from the economic aspects, but more challenging from the technical aspects. Technically, insoluble solids and chloride ions in seawater significantly affect the electrocatalytic activity and stability of catalysts. Great efforts have been spared to develop highly effective electrocatalysts for seawater splitting, and various strategies have been raised. Herein, we categorized and discussed recently reported composites applied in electrocatalytic seawater splitting. Future perspectives for the advancement of seawater-based electrocatalysts have been proposed at the end. We hope to provide some new understanding and methods for the reasonable construction of state-of-the-art electrocatalysts to tackle the challenges of seawater splitting.

Automated summary

Electrocatalytic seawater splitting is a promising green chemical process for hydrogen production, but the presence of insoluble solids and chloride ions in seawater poses challenges to the activity and stability of catalysts. Researchers have made great efforts to develop effective electrocatalysts and proposed various strategies to overcome the challenges associated with seawater splitting.