1f:T46e,Hot, coastal, hyper-arid regions with intense solar irradiation and strong on- and off-shore wind patterns are ideal locations for the production of renewable electricity using wind turbines or photovoltaics. Given ample access to seawater and scarce freshwater resources, such regions make the direct and selective electrolytic splitting of seawater into molecular hydrogen and oxygen a potentially attractive technology. The key catalytic challenge consists of the competition between anodic chlorine chemistry and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). This Perspective addresses some aspects related to direct seawater electrolyzers equipped with selective OER and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) electrocatalysts. Starting from a historical background to the most recent achievements, it will provide insights into the current state and future perspectives of the topic. This Perspective also addresses prospects of the combination of direct seawater electrolysis with hydrogen fuel cell technology (reversible seawater electrolysis) and discusses its suitability as combined energy conversion–freshwater production technology.20:T472,A fundamental understanding of the origin of oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activity of transition-metal-based electrocatalysts, especially for single precious metal atoms supported on layered double hydroxides (LDHs), is highly required for the design of efficient electrocatalysts toward further energy conversion technologies. Here, we aim toward single-atom Au supported on NiFe LDH (^sAu/NiFe LDH) to clarify the activity origin of LDHs system and a 6-fold OER activity enhancement by 0.4 wt % ^sAu decoration. Combining with theoretical calculations, the active behavior of NiFe LDH results from the in situ generated NiFe oxyhydroxide from LDH during the OER process. With the presence of ^sAu, ^sAu/NiFe LDH possesses an overpotential of 0.21 V in contrast to the calculated result (0.18 V). We ascribe the excellent OER activity of ^sAu/NiFe LDH to the charge redistribution of active Fe as well as its surrounding atoms causing by the neighboring ^sAu on NiFe oxyhydroxide stabilized by interfacial CO₃^2- and H₂O interfacing with LDH.

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