Abstract
Electrode degradation, the process by which catalytic efficiency diminishes over time during operation, remains a critical yet frequently overlooked bottleneck in the laboratory development of electrocatalysts. Using water electrolysis as a prime example, many “novel” catalysts demonstrate initial activities that rival commercial benchmarks like RuO2, yet they suffer from rapid performance decay under continuous operation. Recent research reveals that this deactivation is driven by dynamic structural and chemical transformations of the catalyst within the complex, coupled environment of the electrolyte-electrode interface. Consequently, real-time in situ monitoring is crucial not only for identifying true active species, but also for uncovering specific deactivation pathways and their controlling factors. This seminar provides a systematic overview of common deactivation mechanisms in electrocatalysis and evaluates effective in situ electrochemical characterization strategies. Specifically, it will focus on how correlating techniques, such as in situ UV-vis spectroelectrochemistry, electrochemical mass spectrometry, atomic force microscopy, and time-resolved electrochemical impedance analysis, can provide a comprehensive understanding of electrocatalyst degradation. Lastly, the inherent limitations of these methods, including challenges in spatiotemporal resolution and signal attribution, will be highlighted to explain why such in situ information can be misleading and why multimodal and synergistic approaches are required.
Biography: Weiran Zheng is an associate professor at Guangdong Technion-Israel Institute of Technology (Shantou, China). His research interests focus on developing in situ/operando electroanalytical methods to study interfacial dynamics during electrochemical evolution, particularly the failure mechanisms of electrocatalysts, thereby enabling the prediction of catalyst lifetime and the rational design of durable electrocatalysts. He is also interested in fundamental electrochemical methods developments to ensure data integrity and enable meaningful benchmarking. He has published more than 60 papers, with around 4300 citations.