Recent Development of External Magnetic Field Assisted Oxygen Evolution Reaction‐A Mini Review

Abstract

The environmental pollution caused by the extensive use of fossil fuels has seriously affected the living environment of human beings, and it is extremely urgent to find alternative new energy sources. Hydrogen energy is an ideal new energy, but the by‐products of traditional industrial hydrogen production will still cause pollution. Hydrogen energy prepared by electrolysis of water is green and environmentally friendly. Hydrogen production by electrolysis of water consists of two half‐reactions. Oxygen Evolution Reaction (OER) on the anode is hindered by thermodynamics and kinetics and the required applied voltage is far greater than the theoretical value. The voltage required for the reaction can be reduced by using catalysts, and different catalysts behave differently. At present, many strategies such as element doping, heterojunction construction, and substrate loading has been used to optimize catalysts, and excellent results have been achieved. However, with a large number of explorations, the optimization of traditional modification strategies has fallen into a bottleneck. It is a new idea to use an external field to assist OER. It has been reported that electric field, magnetic field, gravitational field, strain, and other auxiliary OER have achieved good results. The external magnetic field can accelerate the rate of electrochemical reaction, release the adhesion of bubbles on the electrode, promote mass transfer and change the reaction path. The combination of magnetic field and electrolytic water has the advantages of simplicity, continuity, dynamics, and reversibility. This paper summarizes the recent articles on magnetic field‐assisted water electrolysis, summarizes and classifies the effects of magnetic field‐assisted water electrolysis, and puts forward some conclusions and prospects, hoping to better understand and develop the application of magnetic field in OER.

Application progress of NiMoO4 electrocatalyst in basic oxygen evolution reaction

“…The electrochemical water decomposition process is an effective method of hydrogen production, which consists of two half-reactions: HER and OER. 2,3 The OER process is characterized by a high energy requirement for the reaction and a four-electron reaction mechanism, resulting in higher reaction overpotential, slower reaction rate, and higher energy loss, 4–6 which lead to lower hydrogen efficiency of the cathode. Thus, creating an efficient and stable OER catalyst is a crucial step in overcoming the technical limitations of hydrogen production through the electrolysis of water.…”

Built-in electric fields and extra electric fields in the oxygen evolution reaction

“…[27][28][29] On the other hand, extra enhancements involve the application of extra energy sources, including photonic, [30][31][32] thermal, 33,34 and magnetic elds. [35][36][37] Notably, electric elds can be applied not only from an extra source but can also be inherently engineered within the catalyst structure itself. The built-in electric eld is caused by the uneven distribution of electrons inside a material or at interfaces, resulting in a potential difference or electric eld.…”