Enhanced Electrocatalytic Performances by Spatially Confined Aqueous Electrolytes

Electrocatalysis is an important energy conversion and storage technology that has made significant progress in areas such as fuel cells, hydrogen production from electrolyzed water and electrochemical synthesis. In practical applications, the efficiency and stability of electrocatalytic processes remain challenging. Spatially confined (or called domain‐limited) water refers to the immobilization of water molecules in a limited region near the catalyst surface to form a specific aqueous phase environment. This domain‐limited aqueous phase environment can greatly influence the electrocatalytic efficacy by enhancing adsorption and lowering the proton transport and solvent diffusion energy barriers in the reaction. In recent years, the goal of improving electrocatalytic performance has been successfully achieved through interfacial domain‐limited, microporous domain‐limited and nanoreactor domain‐limited. Spatially domain‐limited water as a novel strategy can significantly enhance the activity and selectivity of electrocatalytic reactions, but understanding its mechanism of action remains a challenge. With a deeper understanding of domain‐limited water and further development of the technology, it is believed that it will bring greater breakthroughs and application prospects in the field of electrocatalysis. Enhanced electrocatalytic performances by spatially confined water, including atomic‐site confined, microporous confined, nanoreactor confined, and interfacial confined models, are summarized in this review paper.