Chapter 5: Evaluating Electrocatalysts for Solar Water-splitting Reactions

Standardization in evaluating and reporting electrocatalytic performance for the oxygen evolution reaction and hydrogen evolution reaction is crucial to the development of new catalysts for solar-water splitting devices. The goal of the Benchmarking project at the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis was to propose standard protocols for evaluating water-splitting catalysts that facilitate cross-comparison of catalytic activity and stability. In this chapter, we provide an overview of the evaluation and reporting methods developed by the Benchmarking project and summarize our studies evaluating solid-state, heterogeneous electrocatalysts for electrocatalytic water splitting. The chapter will specifically overview the choice of appropriate electrochemical apparatus and electrodes for conducting electrocatalytic studies, provide details regarding the use and limitations of the benchmarking protocols used in our studies to evaluate catalyst activity and stability, and summarize the general results of our investigations of catalyst performance.