Advanced Materials for Water Splitting

Abstract submission deadline

31 October 2026

Manuscript submission deadline

31 December 2026

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Topic Information

Dear Colleagues,

With the accelerating global demand for clean and sustainable energy, water splitting has emerged as a cornerstone technology for green hydrogen production, positioning advanced materials at the forefront of next-generation energy research. The development of efficient, durable, and economically viable material systems is therefore a critical scientific and technological priority. Advanced materials, particularly nanostructured, low-dimensional, and atomically engineered functional materials, offer exceptional advantages, including large surface-to-volume ratios, tunable electronic structures, optimized adsorption energetics, accelerated charge-transfer kinetics, and enhanced structural stability under harsh electrochemical conditions. These attributes make them indispensable enablers for high-performance water-splitting systems. This Topic focuses on recent advances in the rational design, synthesis, characterization, and application of advanced materials for electrochemical and photoelectrochemical water splitting. Emphasis is placed on the development of earth-abundant and noble-metal-efficient electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER), as well as bifunctional catalysts for overall water splitting. Special attention is paid to structure–property–performance relationships, interface and heterostructure engineering, defect and strain modulation, electronic structure regulation, and stability enhancement under industrially relevant conditions. In addition, contributions addressing photoelectrode materials, catalyst–support interactions, electrolyte engineering, and scalable fabrication strategies for practical hydrogen production are strongly encouraged.

The primary objective of this Topic, entitled “Advanced Materials for Water Splitting”, is to provide a comprehensive and interdisciplinary platform for researchers to disseminate cutting-edge original research and authoritative review articles that bridge fundamental mechanisms and practical implementation. Studies integrating experimental investigations with theoretical modeling, operando/in situ characterization, or data-driven material design are particularly welcome to be submitted. Contributions demonstrating innovative material architectures, sustainable synthesis routes, long-term durability, and clear potential for scalability and commercialization will play a pivotal role in advancing water-splitting technologies toward real-world green hydrogen applications.

The topics of interest are listed as follows:

• Advanced nanostructured materials;
• Green hydrogen production;
• Water splitting (OER, HER, ORR, MOR, EOR);
• Electro/photocatalysis for hydrogen production;
• Photoelectrochemical water splitting;
• Air batteries with H₂ production;
• Natural resources-based sustainable materials;
• Interface and defect engineering;
• Molecular surface structure and interface chemistry.

Dr. Sankar Sekar
Dr. Balaji Murugan
Topic Editors

Keywords

Participating Journals

Journal Name	Impact Factor	CiteScore	Launched Year	First Decision (median)	APC
Energies energies	3.9	8.3	2008	16.7 Days	CHF 2600	Submit
International Journal of Molecular Sciences ijms	5.6	10.0	2000	17.5 Days	CHF 2900	Submit
Materials materials	3.7	7.0	2008	14.4 Days	CHF 2600	Submit
Nanomaterials nanomaterials	4.8	10.3	2010	12.5 Days	CHF 2400	Submit
Polymers polymers	5.8	11.0	2009	13.4 Days	CHF 2700	Submit

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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All Energies IJMS Materials Nanomaterials Polymers

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Supplementary material:
Supplementary File 1 (ZIP, 294 KB)

18 pages, 3864 KB  

Open AccessArticle

Tuning the Hydrogen Evolution Activity of Co₂NiO₄ via Precursor-Controlled Synthesis

by Abu Talha Aqueel Ahmed, Momin M. Mujtaba, Kafeel Ahmed Tufail Ahmed, Abu Saad Ansari, Sangeun Cho, Youngmin Lee, Sejoon Lee and Sankar Sekar

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2026, 27(3), 1584; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms27031584 - 5 Feb 2026

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 720

Abstract

The realization of efficient and durable earth-abundant electrocatalysts for alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is critical for scalable hydrogen production, yet remains limited by insufficient intrinsic activity. Herein, we demonstrate a precursor-controlled hydrothermal strategy that enables precise morphology and surface-state regulation of spinel [...] Read more.

The realization of efficient and durable earth-abundant electrocatalysts for alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is critical for scalable hydrogen production, yet remains limited by insufficient intrinsic activity. Herein, we demonstrate a precursor-controlled hydrothermal strategy that enables precise morphology and surface-state regulation of spinel Co₂NiO₄ directly grown on nickel foam, allowing a clear correlation between catalyst architecture and HER performance. By replacing urea with hexamethylenetetramine, an ultrathin, highly interconnected two-dimensional nanosheet network (CNO-HT) is obtained, which promotes efficient electron transport, rapid electrolyte penetration, and maximized exposure of catalytically active sites. Structural and spectroscopic analyses confirm the formation of phase-pure cubic Co₂NiO₄ with enriched mixed-valence Ni and Co species, favoring enhanced redox activity. The CNO-HT catalyst exhibits a low overpotential (86 mV at 10 mA cm⁻²) and a smaller Tafel slope (103 mV dec⁻¹), significantly outperforming the urea-derived counterpart. Importantly, the catalyst maintains stable HER operation for 96 h at both 10 and 100 mA cm⁻², with post-stability electrochemical analyses confirming preserved kinetics and interfacial properties. This work establishes precursor-regulated nanosheet engineering as general and scalable strategy to unlock the intrinsic catalytic potential of spinel metal oxides, offering actionable design principles for next-generation non-noble electrocatalysts for alkaline hydrogen production. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Advanced Materials for Water Splitting)

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