New breakthroughs in oxygen evolution reaction for water electrolysis 

In this episode of Innovate and React, we dive into the world
of water electrolysis and how theoretical chemistry can help design
better catalysts for clean hydrogen production. Mohammad Usama, a
PhD researcher at the University of Duisburg-Essen, shares his
unconventional journey from mechatronics and automotive engineering
to electrochemistry and catalysis. We discuss his work on iridium
dioxide surfaces for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER)—the
bottleneck in water electrolysis—and the discovery of a novel
Walden-type pathway. This finding helps us to better understand the
reaction mechanism and could lead to the discovery of enhanced
catalysts. We also touch on how AI and data-driven approaches are
transforming catalyst discovery, from nitrogen oxidation research
to the future of digital twins and automated labs.