Tungsten-based materials for acidic oxygen evolution reaction: Mechanistic insights and optimization strategies towards rational design

The proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE) technology faces significant challenges in cost and stability, primarily due to the heavy reliance of the anodic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) on scarce and expensive iridium. Consequently, developing high-performance acidic OER catalysts with low platinum-group-metals (PGMs) content has emerged as a central and urgent objective in the field. This review begins with the critical bottlenecks of PEMWE and the unique economic and performance merits of W-based catalysts, then systematically outlines their latest research progress. It highlights the performance enhancement mechanisms of both PGM and PGM-free W-based catalysts, and also discusses PEMWE device optimization and advanced synthesis methods of W-based catalysts. Finally, it presents key challenges and a future perspectives for rational design of low-cost acidic OER electrocatalysts.