Research progress and prospect of anionic exchange membrane electrolyzer and OER electrocatalysts

<p indent="0mm">Hydrogen production from electrolytic water technology enables the mutual conversion of hydrogen and electricity, making it one of the effective solutions to address energy crisis and environmental problems. In the current mainstream electrolysis hydrogen production technologies, anion exchange membrane water electrolysis (AEMWE) combines the advantages of alkaline electrolysis of water and proton exchange membrane water electrolysis. It offers high hydrogen purity and lower production cost, positioning itself as an up-and-coming technology for electrolysis hydrogen production technologies. However, AEMWE is currently in laboratory stage and faces challenges in achieving industrial application due to insufficient intrinsic activity and stability of oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts at industrial-scale current densities. Therefore, developing efficient and stable electrocatalysts for OER is crucial. This paper introduces the structural composition and reaction mechanism of AEMWE, analyzes the research status of OER electrocatalysts, and discusses the reconstruction phenomenon occurring in the catalysts during the OER process. Finally, it addresses challenges of OER catalyst faced by AEMWE in industrial development along with future directions.