抄録
Hydrogen is increasingly recognized as a cornerstone of future low-carbon energy systems owing to its pivotal role in renewable energy storage, sector coupling, and deep decarbonization. Among emerging hydrogen production pathways, seawater electrolysis has attracted considerable attention as a sustainable alternative to freshwater-dependent processes, particularly in regions facing growing freshwater constraints. However, the complex chemical composition of seawater introduces substantial challenges, including electrode corrosion, competing chlorine evolution, catalyst deactivation, interfacial fouling, and reduced energy efficiency, which collectively limit large-scale implementation. This review provides a comprehensive synthesis of recent advances in seawater hydrogen production by establishing a unified analytical framework that integrates direct seawater electrolysis, desalination-assisted electrolysis, and indirect solar-driven routes, including photocatalytic and photoelectrochemical hydrogen production. These technological pathways are comparatively evaluated with respect to reaction mechanisms, catalyst and electrode design, electrolyzer configurations, system integration, energy efficiency, technology maturity, and engineering deployment potential. The review further elucidates the complementarities and trade-offs among different hydrogen production strategies, highlighting their respective advantages, limitations, and application scenarios from both scientific and engineering perspectives. Key challenges are identified, including insufficient understanding of corrosion and interfacial reaction mechanisms, inadequate standardized protocols for performance, durability, and techno-economic assessment, and the lack of long-term validation under realistic marine operating conditions. Finally, future research priorities are proposed, emphasizing highly selective and corrosion-resistant electrocatalysts, integrated renewable-powered hydrogen production systems, artificial intelligence-enabled materials discovery, digital optimization, and scalable offshore engineering deployment. By bridging fundamental electrochemical science with systems engineering, this review provides a systematic research roadmap and decision framework for accelerating the development and commercialization of next-generation seawater hydrogen production technologies.
