A major challenge of the energy transition is to store clean electricity so it can be used when and where it is needed. Electrochemistry offers a powerful solution: convert renewable electricity into molecules such as green hydrogen or other sustainable fuels and chemicals. These molecules can be transported, stored, and used across industry and transport. Electrocatalysis enables this conversion. While research has traditionally focused on designing better catalysts, this Perspective highlights how the electrolyte can control reaction rates, product selectivity, and catalyst stability.
This work proposes a unified framework for understanding electrolyte effects in key electrocatalytic reactions such as hydrogen evolution and CO2 conversion. It brings together three “schools of thought” that are often treated separately and shows how they are fundamentally connected. First, electrolyte ions and solvent molecules can modulate the binding of reaction intermediates at the surface. Second, the interfacial electric field and charge distribution can stabilize polar species and transition states. Third, water structure and noncovalent interactions can influence the availability and transfer of protons. By treating the electrolyte as a design parameter, this work provides principles to engineer more efficient and selective electrochemical routes to renewable fuels and chemicals, accelerating the development of scalable technologies for a sustainable future.
