New breakthroughs in oxygen evolution reaction for water electrolysis

In this episode of Innovate and React, we dive into the world of water electrolysis and how theoretical chemistry can help design better catalysts for clean hydrogen production. Mohammad Usama, a PhD researcher at the University of Duisburg-Essen, shares his unconventional journey from mechatronics and automotive engineering to electrochemistry and catalysis. We discuss his work on iridium dioxide surfaces for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER)—the bottleneck in water electrolysis—and the discovery of a novel Walden-type pathway. This finding helps us to better understand the reaction mechanism and could lead to the discovery of enhanced catalysts. We also touch on how AI and data-driven approaches are transforming catalyst discovery, from nitrogen oxidation research to the future of digital twins and automated labs.