Increasing electrochemical reaction rates using treated water with reduced hydrogen bonds

Plasmon-activated water (PAW) with reduced hydrogen-bonded (HB) structure is created from conventional deionized (DI) water. Compared to DI water, PAW owns distinctly higher diffusion coefficient and electron transfer rate constant for electrochemical reactions. In this work, we discuss the more efficient oxygen (or hydrogen) evolution reaction (OER or HER) performed in PAW solutions, as compared to DI water solutions, in different concentrations of electrolytes at different applied potentials. Basically, the higher recorded currents based on PAW solutions are more significant when experiments are performed in lower concentrations of electrolytes and at lower applied overpotentials. Interestingly, the increased current density in percentage for OERs and HERs performed in PAW solutions compared to experiments performed in DI water solutions is less significant as the applied overpotential is increased. These interesting findings suggest that utilizing PAW with higher diffusion coefficient and electron transfer rate constant for more efficient electrochemical reactions is suitable in well diffusion- and kinetics-controlled systems. Also, in the Randles-Sevcik reaction, using the PAW solution takes more advantages in a lower concentration of K ₃ Fe(CN) ₆ at a lower scan rate. This innovative concept has emerged as a promising strategy for effectively utilizing PAW in electrochemical reactions.