Low-dimensional heterostructures for advanced electrocatalysis: an experimental and computational perspective

Abstract

The development of LD heterostructure nanomaterials represents a powerful strategy totailor the electrocatalytic function of several interfacial active sites at the subnanometer level.

Experimental and Theoretical Advances on Single Atom and Atomic Cluster‐Decorated Low‐Dimensional Platforms towards Superior Electrocatalysts

“…SACs with atomically dispersed metal atoms as active sites and carbon nanonetworks as suitable supports have sparked remarkable attention in the field of catalysis. [1,94] In comparison to traditional electrocatalysts, SACs exhibit maximum metal utilization efficiency and low metal consumption, thus facilitating many electrocatalytic processes at the atomic scale. Notably, it is feasible to take advantage of their atomic active sites and tunable coordination environments to design highly selective electrocatalytic nanosystems.…”

“…[106,107] Furthermore, density functional theory (DFT) calculations have been very useful to study the electrocatalytic active sites, thus enhancing our knowledge about the electrocatalytic pathways on the surfaces of ACEs. [1,108,109] Most importantly, the structural control of the metallic clusters of ACEs is becoming a new strategy to finely tune the reactivity and, in turn, the intrinsic catalytic properties of their catalytically active centers, thus promoting the activation of ultractive hot spots for different electrocatalytic processes. [8,79] Nanocarbon platforms with different dimensionalities have been used to support different types of atomic clusters, thus regulating a bunch of ion migration processes together with the energetic levels of adsorbed intermediate catalytic species in key catalytic reactions like oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), oxygen evolution reaction (OER), nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) and CO 2 electroreduction reaction (CO 2 RR).…”

“…[137] The understanding of the structure-catalytic function relationships of SACs has been thoroughly investigated in the recent years. [1,109,138] Nonetheless, there is a lack of knowledge about the proximity effects of neighboring single metal atoms for ORR, HER, and OER reactions, which have been limited the design of more powerful atomic electrocatalysts due to the lack of details on the intrinsic activity of individual atomic sites and the mass transport of intermediate species. Fortunately, Guihao Yu and coworkers have elegantly reported a comprehensibly microscopic, electrochemical, spectroscopic, and theoretical study about the connection between the atomic distribution density of Fe-N 4 SACs and their resulting ORR electrocatalytic rates.…”

“…[ 106,107 ] Furthermore, density functional theory (DFT) calculations have been very useful to study the electrocatalytic active sites, thus enhancing our knowledge about the electrocatalytic pathways on the surfaces of ACEs. [ 1,108,109 ]…”

“…The design of powerful, green, and scalable energy‐related nanomaterials is covering a significant part of the current research endeavors in the material science community due to the paramount role of sustainable energy research to switch the modern economy from the fossil fuels and electric/fuels to zero‐emissions technologies. [ 1 ] For instance, thanks to the upcoming scientific advances, battery‐electric trains will reach similar prices compared with those of diesel‐electric trains at near‐future, thus reducing the environmental impact and making possible a pollutant‐free world. [ 2 ] Among all the renewable energy technologies, energy conversion has become a central pillar to construct efficient electrochemical devices such as metal‐air batteries and different types of fuel cells.…”