Recent Advances in Transition Metal Carbide Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Abstract

The electrolysis of water is considered to be a primary method for the mass production of hydrogen on a large scale, as a substitute for unsustainable fossil fuels in the future. However, it is highly restricted by the sluggish kinetics of the four-electron process of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Therefore, there is quite an urgent need to develop efficient, abundant, and economical electrocatalysts. Transition metal carbides (TMCs) have recently been recognized as promising electrocatalysts for OER due to their excellent activity, conductivity, and stability. In this review, widely-accepted evaluation parameters and measurement criteria for different electrocatalysts are discussed. Moreover, five sorts of TMC electrocatalysts—including NiC, tungsten carbide (WC), Fe3C, MoC, and MXene—as well as their hybrids, are researched in terms of their morphology and compounds. Additionally, the synthetic methods are summarized. Based on the existing materials, strategies for improving the catalytic ability and new designs of electrocatalysts are put forward. Finally, the future development of TMC materials is discussed both experimentally and theoretically, and feasible modification approaches and prospects of a reliable mechanism are referred to, which would be instructive for designing other effective noble-free electrocatalysts for OER.

Tuning the intrinsic catalytic activities of oxygen-evolution catalysts by doping: a comprehensive review

“…Recently, researchers found that metal carbides, specifically transitional metal carbides, can be applied as electrocatalysts for OER owing to their high stability. 215 Some doped metal carbides and their performances are listed in Table 4. The activity of TM carbides was improved by including one or more foreign dopants into their lattice domain.…”

“In‐Situ Grown Nickel‐Cobalt (NiCo) Alloy Nanoparticles Decorated on Petal‐Like Nitrogen‐Doped Carbon Spheres for Efficient OER Activity”**

“…P. Cai et al [12] have introduced amorphous cobalt sulphide nanocubes as an OER electrocatalyst. Y. Wang et al [13] have given insights into the myriads of metal carbides for OER activities. Moreover, carbon nanostructured materials have also been exploited for efficient OER as a metal-free electrocatalysts.…”

Bifunctional rare metal-free electrocatalysts synthesized entirely from biomass resources

“…To avoid resource constraints and reduce costs, catalytic materials that do not use heavy or precious metals such as Pt are needed [ 6 ]. The OER occurring at the cathode of rechargeable metal–air batteries and at the anode of water electrolysis systems [ 7 ] is also an important process for efficient O 2 generation in such devices [ 8 ]. Pt, Ir, Ru, and other precious-metal catalysts have been used to reduce the OER overpotential, which is associated with the bottleneck process in water electrolysis.…”