Spin Matters: A Multidisciplinary Roadmap to Understanding Spin Effects in Oxygen Evolution Reaction During Water Electrolysis

Abstract A central challenge in water electrolysis lies with the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) where the formation of molecular oxygen (O 2 ) is hindered by the constraint of angular momentum conservation. While the reactants OH − or H 2 O are diamagnetic (DM), the O 2 product has a paramagnetic (PM) triplet ground state, requiring a change in spin configuration when being formed. This constraint has prompted interest in spin‐selective catalysts as a means to facilitate OER. In this context, the roles of magnetism and chirality‐induced spin selectivity (CISS) in promoting the OER reaction have recently been investigated through both theoretical and experimental studies. However, pinpointing the key principles and their relative contribution in mediating spin‐enhancement remains a significant challenge. This roadmap offers a forward‐looking perspective on current experimental trends and theoretical developments in spin‐enhanced OER electrocatalysis and outlines strategic directions for integrating incisive experiments and operando approaches with computational modeling to disentangle key mechanisms. By providing a conceptual framework and identifying critical knowledge gaps, this perspective aims to guide researchers toward dedicated experimental and computational studies that will deepen the understanding of spin‐induced OER enhancement and accelerate the development of next‐generation catalysts.

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Publication Details

Journal
Advanced Energy Materials
Published
2025-10-10
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.202503556
Citations
4
Primary Topic
Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
1.45

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article

Spin Matters: A Multidisciplinary Roadmap to Understanding Spin Effects in Oxygen Evolution Reaction During Water Electrolysis

Christoph Baeumer, Ulrike I. Kramm, Jeffrey McCord, Narcis Avarvari et al.
4 citations
Advanced Energy Materials
Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion
1.45
article

Spin Matters: A Multidisciplinary Roadmap to Understanding Spin Effects in Oxygen Evolution Reaction During Water Electrolysis

Christoph Baeumer, Ulrike I. Kramm, Jeffrey McCord, Narcis Avarvari, Georgios Katsoukis, Emma van der Minne, Felix Gunkel, Jan Behrends, Magalı́ Lingenfelder, Zhichuan Jason Xu, Priscila Vensaus, S. S. Dhesi, Lingmei Ni, David H. Waldeck, Eva Pavarini, Ramsundar Rani Mohan, Piero Torelli, Rossitza Pentcheva, Cesare Franchini, Michael Verhage, Yury V. Kolen’ko, Qianqian Lan, Silvia Mauri, Jonas Fransson, Anja Bieberle‐Hütter, Seenivasan Hariharan, Yang Li, Anke Yu, Florian Gossing, Vadim Ratovskii
article en
4 citations

Abstract

Abstract A central challenge in water electrolysis lies with the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) where the formation of molecular oxygen (O 2 ) is hindered by the constraint of angular momentum conservation. While the reactants OH − or H 2 O are diamagnetic (DM), the O 2 product has a paramagnetic (PM) triplet ground state, requiring a change in spin configuration when being formed. This constraint has prompted interest in spin‐selective catalysts as a means to facilitate OER. In this context, the roles of magnetism and chirality‐induced spin selectivity (CISS) in promoting the OER reaction have recently been investigated through both theoretical and experimental studies. However, pinpointing the key principles and their relative contribution in mediating spin‐enhancement remains a significant challenge. This roadmap offers a forward‐looking perspective on current experimental trends and theoretical developments in spin‐enhanced OER electrocatalysis and outlines strategic directions for integrating incisive experiments and operando approaches with computational modeling to disentangle key mechanisms. By providing a conceptual framework and identifying critical knowledge gaps, this perspective aims to guide researchers toward dedicated experimental and computational studies that will deepen the understanding of spin‐induced OER enhancement and accelerate the development of next‐generation catalysts.

Advanced Energy MaterialsVol. 16(4)
Uppsala University (SE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), University of Vienna (AT), Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (NL), University of Pittsburgh (US), Forschungszentrum Jülich (DE), Nanyang Technological University (SG), National University of General San Martín (AR), University of Cambridge (GB), Ernst Ruska Centre (DE), Diamond Light Source (GB), Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften Kiel (DE), Pro Helvetia (CH), Technische Universität Darmstadt (DE), Osservatorio astronomico di Bologna (IT), QuSoft (NL), Istituto Officina dei Materiali (IT), Delta Institute for Theoretical Physics (NL), Universidad Nacional de San Martín (PE), MAX IV Laboratory (SE), Institut des Sciences et Technologies Moléculaires d'Angers (FR), International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (PT), Dutch Institute for Fundamental Energy Research (NL), École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (CH), University of Duisburg-Essen (DE), Freie Universität Berlin (DE), Eindhoven University of Technology (NL), University of Bologna (IT), University of Twente (NL)
European Commission, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Agence Nationale de la Recherche, University of Twente, Austrian Science Fund, Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Universite Angers, HORIZON EUROPE Framework Programme, Toyota Motor Europe, CHIST-ERA
Openalex Percentile: Top 17%
Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion
1.45
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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