Improving the performance stability of direct seawater electrolysis: from catalyst design to electrode engineering

Direct seawater electrolysis opens a new opportunity to lower the cost of hydrogen production from current water electrolysis technologies. To facilitate its commercialization, the challenges of long-term performance stability of electrochemical devices need to be first addressed and realized. This minireview summarised the common causes of performance decline during seawater electrolysis, from chemical reactions at the electrode surface to physical damage to the cell. The problems triggered by the impurities in seawater are specifically discussed. Following these issues, we further outlined the ongoing effort of counter-measurements: from electrocatalyst optimization to electrode engineering and cell design. The recent progress in selectivity tuning, surface protection, gas diffusion, and cell configuration is highlighted. In the final remark, we emphasized the need for a consensus on evaluating the stability of seawater electrolysis in the current literature.

Automated summary

Direct seawater electrolysis offers a new opportunity to reduce the cost of hydrogen production, but challenges in long-term performance stability must be addressed. Common causes of performance decline during seawater electrolysis are discussed, along with ongoing efforts in counter-measurements such as electrocatalyst optimization and cell design. The need for a consensus on evaluating the stability of seawater electrolysis is emphasized.