Anion-exchange membrane (AEM) water electrolyzers (AEMWEs) and fuel cells (AEMFCs) are technologies that, respectively, achieve transformation and utilization of renewable resources in the form of green hydrogen (H₂) energy. The significantly reduced cost of their key components (membranes, electrocatalysts, bipolar plates, etc.), quick reaction kinetics, and fewer corrosion problems endow AEM water electrolyzers and fuel cells with overwhelming superiority over their conventional counterparts (e.g., proton-exchange membrane water electrolyzer/fuel cells and alkaline water electrolyzer/fuel cells). Limitations in our fundamental understanding of AEM devices, however, specifically in key components, working management, and operation monitoring, restrict the improvement of cell performance, and they further impede the deployment of AEM water electrolyzers and fuel cells. Therefore, a panoramic view to outline the fundamentals, technological progress, and future perspectives on AEMWEs and AEMFCs is presented. The objective of this review is to (1) present a timely overview of the market development status of green hydrogen technology that is closely associated with AEMWEs (hydrogen production) and AEMFCs (hydrogen utilization); (2) provide an in-depth and comprehensive analysis of AEMWEs and AEMFCs from the viewpoint of all key components (e.g., membranes, ionomers, catalysts, gas diffusion layers, bipolar plates, and membrane electrode assembly (MEA)); (3) summarize the state-of-the-art technologies for working management of AEMWEs and AEMFCs, including electrolyte engineering (electrolyte selection and feeding), water management, gas and heat management, etc.; (4) outline the advances in monitoring the operations of AEMWEs and AEMFCs, which include microscopic and spectroscopic techniques and beyond; and (5) present key aspects that need to be further studied from the perspective of science and engineering to accelerate the deployment of AEMWEs and AEMFCs.

The anode corrosion induced by the harsh acidic and oxidative environment greatly restricts the lifespan of catalysts. Here, we propose an antioxidation strategy to mitigate Ir dissolution by triggering strong electronic interaction via elaborately constructing a heterostructured Ir-Sn pair-site catalyst. The formation of Ir-Sn dual-site at the heterointerface and the resulting strong electronic interactions considerably reduce d -band holes of Ir species during both the synthesis and the oxygen evolution reaction processes and suppress their overoxidation, enabling the catalyst with substantially boosted corrosion resistance. Consequently, the optimized catalyst exhibits a high mass activity of 4.4 A mg _Ir ⁻¹ at an overpotential of 320 mV and outstanding long-term stability. A proton-exchange-membrane water electrolyzer using this catalyst delivers a current density of 2 A cm ⁻² at 1.711 V and low degradation in an accelerated aging test. Theoretical calculations unravel that the oxygen radicals induced by the π* interaction between Ir 5 d -O 2 p might be responsible for the boosted activity and durability.

This tutorial review bridges fundamental electron attributes with catalytic mechanisms, offering a unified framework to guide catalyst design and highlight the untapped potential of spin in advancing energy technologies.