Fig. 2. Brief history of ORR catalysts for (a) Pt-based and (b) N–C based catalysts (reprinted with permissions from [26] Copyright 1989 Springer, [29] Copyright 2008 Elsevier, [30] Copyright 2009 AAAS, [31] Copyright 2010 ACS).
Fig. 2. Brief history of ORR catalysts for (a) Pt-based and (b) N–C based catalysts (reprinted with permissions from [26] Copyright 1989 Springer, [29] Copyright 2008 Elsevier, [30] Copyright 2009 AAAS, [31] Copyright 2010 ACS).

Oxygen electrocatalysis that we first defined is considered as the most important phenomenon in almost all electrochemical industries because it is the most sluggish reaction that governs the overall reaction rate in electrochemical cells. In this review, we cover two main areas of oxygen–water electrocatalysis, oxygen reduction to water and oxygen evolution from water. In particular, it aims to provide the readers with an understanding of the critical scientific challenges facing the development of oxygen electrocatalysts, various unique attributes of recent novel catalysts, the latest developments in electrode construction and the outlook for future generation of oxygen electrocatalysts. This review will be of value to both electrochemists and other applied scientists interested in this field of electrocatalysis.

This article originally appeared in Current Applied Physics 13(2), 2013, Pages 309–321

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