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Abstract Carbon nanomaterials are promising metal‐free catalysts for energy conversion and storage, but the catalysts are usually developed via traditional trial‐and‐error methods. To rationally design and accelerate the search for the highly efficient catalysts, it is necessary to establish design principles for the carbon‐based catalysts. Here, theoretical analysis and material design of metal‐free carbon nanomaterials as efficient photo‐/electrocatalysts to facilitate the critical chemical reactions in clean and sustainable energy technologies are reviewed. These reactions include the oxygen reduction reaction in fuel cells, the oxygen evolution reaction in metal–air batteries, the iodine reduction reaction in dye‐sensitized solar cells, the hydrogen evolution reaction in water splitting, and the carbon dioxide reduction in artificial photosynthesis. Basic catalytic principles, computationally guided design approaches and intrinsic descriptors, catalytic material design strategies, and future directions are discussed for the rational design and synthesis of highly efficient carbon‐based catalysts for clean energy technologies.
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Recent advances of nonprecious and bifunctional electrocatalysts for overall water splitting
Electrocatalytic water splitting to produce clean hydrogen is a promising technique for renewable energy conversion and storage in the future energy portfolio. Aiming at industrial hydrogen production, cost-effective electrocatalysts are expected to be competent in both hydrogen evolution reactions (HERs) and oxygen evolution reactions (OERs) to accomplish the overall water splitting. Limited by the low tolerance and/or poor activity of most 1st-row transition metal-based electrocatalysts in strongly acidic media, bifunctional electrocatalysts are currently advocated to work at high pH values. Herein, this review summarizes the recent progress of nonprecious bifunctional electrocatalysts for overall water splitting in alkaline media, including transition metal-based phosphides, chalcogenides, oxides, nitrides, carbides, borides, alloys, and metal-free materials. Besides, some prevalent modification strategies to optimize the activities of catalysts are briefly listed. Finally, the perspective on current challenges and future prospects for overall water splitting driven by advanced nonprecious electrocatalysts are briefly discussed.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1914546
- PAR ID:
- 10207450
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Sustainable Energy & Fuels
- Volume:
- 4
- Issue:
- 7
- ISSN:
- 2398-4902
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 3211 to 3228
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1039/D0SE00466A
