Back Cover Image, Volume 8, Number 3, March 2026

Back cover image: The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) has long been the bottleneck in water splitting for green hydrogen production—sluggishness, intensive energy and prone to catalyst degradation. This review explores a paradigm shift in OER catalysis through the recently discovered Oxide Path Mechanism (OPM). Unlike conventional mechanisms (AEM or LOM) that suffer from either poor activity or rapid catalyst degradation (Scaling relation or Lattice Oxygen involvement), OPM enables direct O-O radical coupling while maintaining catalyst integrity. Through systematic integration of advanced in-situ characterization techniques—including ICP-MS, In-Situ XPS, In-Situ FTIR and Mössbauer spectroscopy—researchers can now observe these mechanisms under operational conditions. The review demonstrates how OPM-based catalysts achieving long term stability, offer a practical solution to the longstanding activity-stability trade-off, bringing industrial-scale green hydrogen production closer to economic viability.