The component-activity interrelationship of cobalt-based bifunctional electrocatalysts for overall water splitting:Strategies and performance

Cobalt-based electrocatalysts take advantage of potentially harmonizable microstructure and flexible coupling effects compared to commercial noble metal-based catalytic materials.However,conventional water electrolysis systems based on cobalt-based monofunctional hydrogen evolution reaction(HER)or oxygen evolution reaction(OER)catalysts have certain shortcomings in terms of resource utilization and universality.In contrast,cobalt-based bifunctional catalysts(CBCs)have attracted much attention in recent years for overall water splitting systems because of their practicality and reduced preparation cost of electrolyzer.This review aims to address the latest development in CBCs for total hydrolysis.The main modification strategies of CBCs are systematically classified in water electrolysis to provide an overview of how to regulate their morphology and electronic configuration.Then,the catalytic performance of CBCs in total-hydrolysis is summarized according to the types of cobalt-based phosphides,sulfides and oxides,and the mechanism of strengthened electrocatalytic ability is emphasized through combining experiments and theoretical calculations.Future efforts are finally suggested to focus on exploring the dynamic conversion of reaction intermediates and building near-industrial CBCs,designing advanced CBC materials through micro-modulation,and addressing commercial applications.

Carbon-based bifunctional electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction and oxygen evolution reactions:Optimization strategies and mechanistic analysis

Electrocatalysts are one of the essential components for the devices of high-efficiency green energy storage and conversion,such as metal-air cells,fuel cells,and water electrolysis systems.While catalysts made from noble metals possess high catalytic performance in both oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)and oxygen evolution reaction(OER),their scarcity and expensiveness significantly limit large-scale applications.In this regard,metal-free/non-noble metal carbon-based catalysts have become competitive alternatives to replace catalysts made of noble metals.Nevertheless,low catalytic ORR/OER performance is the challenge of carbon-based catalysts for the commercial applications of metal-air batteries.To solve the problem of poor catalytic performance,two strategies have been proposed:(1)controlling the microstructure of the catalysts to expose more active sites as the channels of rapid mass and electron transfer;and(2)reducing the reaction energy barrier by optimizing the electronic structures of the catalysts via surface engineering.Here,we review different types of bifunctional ORR/OER electrocatalysts with the activated surface sites.We focus on how the challenge can be overcome with different methods of material synthesis,structural and surface characterization,performance validation/optimization,to outline the principles of surface modifications behind catalyst designs.In particular,we provide critical analysis in the challenges that we are facing in structural design and surface engineering of bifunctional ORR/OER catalysts and indicate the possible solution for these problems,providing the society with clearer ideas on the practical prospects of noble-metal-free electrocatalysts for their future applications.

Molybdenum disulfide(MoS2)-based electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction:From mechanism to manipulation

Molybdenum disulfide(MoS_(2))-based materials as the non-noble metal catalysts have displayed the potential capability to drive electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction(HER)for green hydrogen production along with their intrinsic activity,tunable electronic properties,low cost,and abundance reserves,which have attracted intensive attention as alternatives to the low-abundance and high-cost platinum-based catalysts.However,their insufficient catalytic HER activities and stability are the major challenges for them to become practically applicable.Hereby,the MoS_(2)-based electrocatalysts for HER are comprehensively reviewed to explain the fundamental science behind the manipulations of the crystal structure,microstructure,surface,and interface of MoS_(2) in order to enhance its catalytic performance through changing the electrical conductivity,the number of active sites,surface wettability,and the Gibbs free energy for hydrogen adsorption(ΔGH).Recent studies in surface/interface engineering,such as phase engineering,defect engineering,morphology design,and heterostructure construction,are analyzed to reveal the state-of-the-art strategies for designing and preparing the cost-effective and highperformance MoS_(2)-based catalysts through optimizing the charge transfer,surface-active sites,ΔGH,and surface hydrophilicity.Lastly,the perspectives,challenges,and future research directions of HER electrocatalysis are also given to facilitate the further research and development of HER catalysts.

High-entropy catalysts for electrochemical water-electrolysis of hydrogen evolution and oxygen evolution reactions

High entropy materials (HEMs) have developed rapidly in the field of electrocatalytic water-electrolysis for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) due to their unique properties. In particular, HEM catalysts are composed of many elements. Therefore, they have rich active sites and enhanced entropy stability relative to single atoms. In this paper, the preparation strategies and applications of HEM catalysts in electrochemical water-electrolysis are reviewed to explore the stabilization of HEMs and their catalytic mechanisms as well as their application in support green hydrogen production. First, the concept and four characteristics of HEMs are introduced based on entropy and composition. Then, synthetic strategies of HEM catalysts are systematically reviewed in terms of the categories of bottom-up and top-down. The application of HEMs as catalysts for electrochemical water-electrolysis in recent years is emphatically discussed, and the mechanisms of improving the performance of electrocatalysis is expounded by combining theoretical calculation technology and ex-situ/in situ characterization experiments. Finally, the application prospect of HEMs is proposed to conquer the challenges in HEM catalyst fabrications and applications.