Reframing Electrocatalytic Active-Site Design: Measurement Chains and Validation Design

Abstract

Two distinct lines of inquiry—chalcogenide-anion regulation of Ni2Mo6Te8 stability and nitrate-to-ammonia selectivity and cooperative atomically dispersed Fe-N4 and Sn-Nx coordination sites for oxygen reduction—converge on a practical question for electrocatalytic active-site design: what evidence is needed before a reported advantage becomes a defensible basis for explanation, comparison, or deployment? The review draws on two focal records and 12 established sources already present in the project evidence cache. Its comparative framework links coordination structure, adsorption energetics, and selectivity to downstream questions of operando evidence and durability. Across the evidence base, the decisive issue is alignment: coordination structure shapes what is observed, adsorption energetics shapes how it is compared, and durability governs whether the conclusion can be transferred. Uncertainty is most informative when reported as part of the result rather than treated as a postscript. The article concludes with a research agenda built around transparent comparators, targeted stress tests, and evidence records that can be reused without overstating causal or practical reach.