Electrocatalysis: Fundamental Mechanistic Understanding and Applications

Dear Colleagues,

Conventional fossil fuel engineering processes make the products that form the foundation of modern society. However, these processes release a considerable amount of CO₂ into the atmosphere and consume a large amount of Earth's non-renewable resources. Electrocatalysis is the key to address this challenge by realizing a sustainable future. For example, by advanced electrocatalytic methods, we can make full use of clean energy sources (e.g., solar, wind, and tide energies) and convert cheap feedstocks (e.g., CO₂, H₂O, and N₂) into value-added products such as chemicals, fuels, materials, and fertilizers. Meanwhile, H₂ can be produced by electrolysis, which is a green energy source that can be used in advanced fuel cells. Besides, H₂ can be treated as a reducing agent used in thermal catalysis such as thermal hydrogenation and water treatment.

However, many challenges regarding electrocatalysis remain to be fully addressed. Firstly, looking for highly active electrocatalysts is challenging. Secondly, the long-term stability of many electrocatalysts has been a big issue. In addition, many highly effective electrocatalysts heavily rely on expensive raw materials (e.g., Pt-group metals). In order to design effective electrocatalysts, the electrocatalytic mechanism of each reaction should be well understood. In particular, looking for the bottlenecks and limitations of each class of materials for electrocatalysis is an essential topic. 

This Special Issue aims at covering the research and review articles regarding the understanding and applications of electrocatalysis using state-of-the-art methods. Both experimental and theoretical studies are welcomed. The keywords of the Special Issue include but are not limited to:

• Computational electrocatalysis;
• Experimental electrocatalysis;
• Catalyst design;
• Digital catalysis (catalysis with AI);
• Machine learning and data-mining;
• Kinetic modeling;
• Fuel cell;
• Electrolysis;
• Oxygen reduction reaction;
• Hydrogen evolution reaction;
• Oxygen evolution reaction;
• CO₂ reduction reaction;
• Nitrogen reduction reaction;
• Nitrite/nitrate reduction;
• Fluoride decomposition;
• Hydrogen production and storage.

Dr. Hao Li
Dr. Zhao Ding
Dr. Weijie Yang
Guest Editors

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