Microwave-assisted deposition techniques for water splitting electrocatalysts: Advances, strategies, and challenges

Extensive research into cutting-edge water splitting technologies has been prompted by the growing demand for sustainable hydrogen production. Electrochemical water splitting, consisting of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER), is a promising method but remains constrained by high energy input due to kinetic limitations. Despite having exceptional catalytic activity, noble metals like Pt and Ru/Ir are difficult to use on a large scale due to their high cost and scarcity. In response, the development of cost-effective and efficient electrocatalysts has become a major research focus. Microwave-assisted synthesis is one of the newer fabrication methods that has garnered a lot of attention because it can quickly trigger chemical reactions in mild environments, providing benefits like faster reaction times, better structural control, and improved catalytic performance. This review provides an in-depth examination of microwave-assisted methods for electrocatalyst fabrication, exploring their underlying principles, synthetic strategies, and recent material developments. It also discusses recent design innovations enabled by microwave technology and outlines current challenges for advancing this technique toward efficient and economical hydrogen production.