Recently, the research group led by Professor Tu Zhengkai and Associate Professor Li Song from School of Energy and Power Engineering, together with the team of Professor Xiong Wei from the School of Optical and Electronic Information, achieved significant breakthroughs in proton exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolysis for hydrogen generation. Their research findings, entitled Laser Co-Patterning Redefines Interface Engineering for High-Efficiency and Durable Water Electrolysis, were published online on April 12 in Advanced Energy Materials with an Impact Factor of 26.

This study proposes a laser co-patterning strategy. For the first time, both the GDL-CL and PEM-CL interfaces are patterned simultaneously within a single electrolyzer. Combined with acidification treatment to restore and boost the proton conductivity of the proton exchange membrane, the strategy constructs continuous mass transport channels across interfaces, delivering remarkable advances in both the efficiency and long-term durability of water electrolysis.

Chen Long, a postgraduate student from the China-EU Institute for Clean and Renewable Energy, serves as a co-first author of this work. The research was completed in collaboration with the Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics of HUST and Professor Christian Beauger from Mines-PSL, France.

DOI Link: https://advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aenm.70947