Interfacial Effects on the Catalytic Performance of Water-Splitting Electrocatalysts
- 1College of Physics Science and Technology, Shenyang Normal University, Shenyang 110034, China
Abstract
Electrochemical water splitting is a core component of clean and renewable energy technologies. Developing low-cost, highly active electrocatalysts is critical to enabling its large-scale deployment. Interfacial effects, which govern charge-transfer kinetics and the adsorption of reaction intermediates, play a decisive role in enhancing the activity and stability of water-splitting electrocatalysts. To clarify how interfacial effects regulate catalytic performance, this review summarizes the fundamental principles of interface engineering and recent advances in water-splitting electrocatalysis. In particular, it focuses on how interfacial structures tune the electronic structure of active sites and the adsorption behavior of intermediates through lattice strain, interfacial charge redistribution, and orbital hybridization. These mechanisms collectively enhance the performance of the hydrogen evolution reaction and oxygen evolution reaction. Finally, the review discusses the core challenges facing interface-engineered electrocatalysts for practical water electrolysis and outlines future research directions.
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BibTeX
@article{wang2026interfacial,
title = {{Interfacial Effects on the Catalytic Performance of Water-Splitting Electrocatalysts}},
author = {Yan Wang and Jiaqi Wei and Yanyan Wu and Yuan Lu},
journal = {Molecules},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/molecules31203710},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/31/20/3710},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Interfacial Effects on the Catalytic Performance of Water-Splitting Electrocatalysts
AU - Yan Wang
AU - Jiaqi Wei
AU - Yanyan Wu
AU - Yuan Lu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/16
JO - Molecules
DO - 10.3390/molecules31203710
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/31/20/3710
AB - Electrochemical water splitting is a core component of clean and renewable energy technologies. Developing low-cost, highly active electrocatalysts is critical to enabling its large-scale deployment. Interfacial effects, which govern charge-transfer kinetics and the adsorption of reaction intermediates, play a decisive role in enhancing the activity and stability of water-splitting electrocatalysts. To clarify how interfacial effects regulate catalytic performance, this review summarizes the fundamental principles of interface engineering and recent advances in water-splitting electrocatalysis. In particular, it focuses on how interfacial structures tune the electronic structure of active sites and the adsorption behavior of intermediates through lattice strain, interfacial charge redistribution, and orbital hybridization. These mechanisms collectively enhance the performance of the hydrogen evolution reaction and oxygen evolution reaction. Finally, the review discusses the core challenges facing interface-engineered electrocatalysts for practical water electrolysis and outlines future research directions.
SN - 1420-3049
ER -