Surface and Interfacial Engineering of Electrocatalysts for Seawater Electrolysis

ConspectusBy tapping Earth’s most abundant water resource, seawater electrolysis offers a promising route to hydrogen production while reducing reliance on freshwater. However, in natural seawater and at industrial current densities (j), complex ion–catalyst interactions at the interface can accelerate activity decay and undermine long-term durability. On the anode, halide attack dominated by Cl– can shift selectivity from the oxygen evolution reaction toward the chlorine evolution reaction and trigger the metal-chloride/hydroxide corrosion pathway, causing loss of active sites and poor oxygen selectivity. On the cathode, the local pH increase induced by the hydrogen evolution reaction can drive Mg2+/Ca2+…