Accelerating water dissociation in bipolar membranes and for electrocatalysis

Easing water apart Traditional setups for splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen operate either in acid or in base. A bipolar membrane can potentially enhance efficiency by bridging acidic hydrogen evolution to basic oxygen evolution. Oener et al. undertook a systematic study of how catalysts paired with such a membrane might accelerate the preliminary step of water dissociation into protons and hydroxide ions. Using insights from this study for optimal catalyst integration, they were able to substantially lower the overpotential of a bipolar membrane electrolyzer. Science , this issue p. 1099