Anodic Anti‐Corrosion Strategies and Interfacial Regulation in Seawater Electrolysis Toward Sustainable Hydrogen Production
ABSTRACT The global transition toward low‐carbon energy systems drives the urgent need for scalable green hydrogen production. Although water electrolysis is technologically mature, its reliance on freshwater limits large‐scale deployment. Direct seawater electrolysis therefore emerges as an attractive alternative, yet its practical implementation is hindered by chloride‐induced corrosion and the competing chlorine oxidation reaction at the anode. Overcoming these challenges requires moving beyond a sole focus on intrinsic catalytic activity toward a holistic design paradigm that integrates interface and microenvironment engineering. Recent multidimensional strategies, including physical protective layers, dynamic catalyst surface reconstruction, interlayer anion engineering, and electrolyte engineering, enable the construction of selectively permeable anode interfaces that suppress deleterious chloride interactions while sustaining efficient oxygen evolution. Beyond passive protection, an emerging research direction shifts from chlorine resistance to chlorine utilization, in which chloride species are deliberately incorporated as functional elements to synergistically enhance catalytic activity and facilitate stable operation. Looking forward, transformative progress is expected from interface designs that exploit cooperative mechanisms across multiple length scales, guided by theoretical insights and data‐driven methodologies. A mechanistic understanding of interfacial evolution under industrially relevant conditions will be essential for translating direct seawater electrolysis into a stable, efficient, and economically viable hydrogen production technology.
Authors
- Y Zhang
- Y Li
- Yun Kuang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2136-0350)
- Daojin Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8466-7413)
- Xiaoming Sun (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3831-6233)
- Yun Hu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9753-699X)
- Linlin Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0038-0106)
- Ende Yu
- Xinling Tian
- Zudong Shen
- Dan Kang
- Aiqing Cao
- Gang Ma
Institutions
- Southwest Petroleum University (CN)
- Tsinghua–Berkeley Shenzhen Institute (CN)
- Shandong Lianxing Energy Group (China) (CN)
- Beijing University of Chemical Technology (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Advanced Functional Materials
- Published
- 2026-07-08
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.76921
- Primary Topic
- Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Beijing Nova Program
- National Key Research and Development Program of China
- Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Program