Major challenges still need to be resolved on the way towards a sustainable energy scenario. A future vision comprises the development of electrocatalysts, refraining from using scarce noble metals, for electrocatalytic key processes, such as hydrogen and oxygen evolution and reduction reactions or CO₂ reduction. Hitherto, the focus was set on the investigation of electrode materials, whereas only little emphasis was put on the electrolyte solution. Recently, it was reported that, under non‐acidic pH conditions, the composition of the electrolyte solution has a non‐negligible effect on the activity of electrocatalytic processes: this outcome puts forth the idea of electrolyte engineering, a promising strategy that, besides the study of enhanced electrode materials, should be put in the focus of future research investigations in electrocatalysis.

中文翻译：

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电解质工程是迈向可持续能源方案的关键战略？

在迈向可持续能源方案的道路上，仍然需要解决主要挑战。未来的愿景包括开发电催化剂，避免使用稀有的贵金属进行电催化关键过程，例如氢和氧的生成和还原反应或CO ₂还原。迄今为止，焦点集中在电极材料的研究上，而电解质溶液只得到很少的重视。最近，据报道，在非酸性pH条件下，电解质溶液的组成对电催化过程的活性具有不可忽略的影响：这一结果提出了电解质工程学的思想。除了在增强电极材料方面的研究外，应将其作为一种有前途的策略，并将其作为未来电催化研究的重点。