Advances in electrode synthesis and fabrication for electrochemical water splitting

Research into electrochemical water splitting for the development of working electrodes using a variety of fabrication methods has aroused significant interest. Tremendous recent strategies and materials have been established and used to obtain working electrodes with optimum surface geometry, surface nature, sustainability and durability, which are essential elements of working electrodes for electrochemical water splitting devices. In this review, state-of-the-art of the essential and potential methods in fabricating the working electrodes; including the general synthesis procedure, the formation mechanism, operations, applicable conditions as well as the favorable characteristics of materials, were reported and classified under chemical and physical methods. The published work in SCOPUS database since 1924 was analyzed in order to show the past, current and future research direction in this field. This contribution concludes with critical assessments of the advantages and disadvantages of the reported fabrication methods.