Themed collection Frontiers in electrocatalysis for clean energy

Ahsanulhaq Qurashi, Anders Hagfeldt, Kelsey A. Stoerzinger and Huang Yizhong introduce the Journal of Materials Chemistry A themed collection on Frontiers in Electrocatalysis for Clean Energy.

MnO₂-based materials are excellent electrocatalysts for rechargeable zinc–air batteries due to their various advantages. The review comprehensively discusses four different strategies to enhance the electrocatalytic performance of MnO₂.

Electrochemical CO₂ reduction is an emerging, promising method for CO₂ mitigation, optimizing current and faradaic efficiencies for effective conversion of CO₂ into solar fuel.

Material modifications and magnetic field play a significant role in enhancing the performance of electrocatalyst.

The state-of-the-art electrocatalyst design for improving the efficiency and selectivity of NH₃ electrooxidation, contributing to the advancement of sustainable H₂ production technologies.

Hydrogen production by electrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) using eco-friendly seawater electrolysis can help address the energy shortage.

Molecular engineering of MOF-based electrocatalysts for the CO₂RR, computational simulations, and advanced characterization studies are discussed and summarized to illustrate the correlation between their structure and performance.

This review covers advancements in noble and non-noble metal oxides for acidic OER, emphasizing the evaluation of catalyst instability, and strategies to enhance IrO₂, RuO₂, and TM oxides.

Carbon-support-free platinum and non-platinum catalysts are reviewed to clarify the source of recent controversial results and to propose experimental conditions for their use in future fuel cell vehicles.

This review delves into the applications of DACs for the eCO₂RR, highlighting their pivotal role in producing a range of diverse Cn products. DACs, through their synergistic interactions.

Review of POM-based electrocatalysts in the fields of HER, OER, and CO₂RR.

Nano-sized high entropy alloy (HEA) catalysts have attracted much attention as extraordinary electrocatalysts in water-splitting applications, i.e., the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER).

Three-dimensional porous NiCoP foam supported on Ni foam is a superb bifunctional electrocatalyst for overall seawater splitting, attaining a large current density of 1000 mA cm⁻² at a low cell voltage of 1.97 V with robust stability over 300 hours.

With its unique morphology, bonding configuration, and mesoporous surface, FeP/Fe₃O₄/C demonstrates exceptional HER activity, significantly outperforming FeP/C.

In this work, a Cu₂O@PCz electrode is proposed for the electrocatalytic production of ammonia reducing nitrogen and nitrogen oxoanions. This electrode takes advantage of the catalytic properties of Cu₂O together with the stabilization provided by polycarbazole (PCz).

V can exist as three vanadium-based species, i.e., doped V^III in LDHs laminates, intercalated VO₃⁻ between LDHs interlayers, and free VO₃⁻ as an additive in KOH electrolyte. The study shows their role in altering the OER performance of NiFe-LDHs.

Online monitoring of titanium dissolution during operation to understand the degradation pathway of the porous transport layer in water electrolyzers.

High-valence metal species generated via in situ electrochemical activation effectively enhance the adsorption of small organic molecules on the alloy surface.

The nanoporous metal oxide structure derived from stainless steel (SS) exhibits exceptional hydrogen evolution reaction activity and remarkable operational resilience, enduring 50 hours of continuous electrolysis.

A facile, scalable, standardized and controllable synthesis method for highly active catalysts for electrocatalytic CO₂ reduction is demonstrated with well-controlled magnetron sputtering and plasma treatment under different atmospheres.

The introduction of a holey TiN buffer layer on Ti foam enables the catalytic activity of a hybridized layered double hydroxide to be optimized for seawater electrolysis.

Zinc-induced polymorphic transition of high-entropy fluorides to enhance efficient bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysis.

The surface morphology and microenvironment of GDEs could be altered through the addition of ionomers to electrodes. It was crucial to consider the potential interactions between the ionomer and the catalyst for better performance.

Imidazolium cations facilitate electrochemical CO₂ reduction by (1) stabilizing CO₂˙⁻ with delocalized positive charge (π⁺) and (2) tuning the transport of proton donors to the electrochemical interface.

The hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is an essential process for hydrogen production through water splitting.

Modulating potassium ions and the proton concentration in the catholyte regulates the faradaic efficiency and selectivity of a Pb plate electrode in non-aqueous media, forming a C₄ product from CO₂ reduction.

Atomically deposited Pt and Co on nano-grooves result in active and stable electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution and oxygen evolution reactions.

Cr-doped Ni₂P nanorods enable a two-electrode overall methanol splitting (OMeS) system, achieving a lowest voltage of 1.16 V to reach a current density of 10 mA cm⁻², compared to the cell voltage of 1.65 V for overall water splitting.

One-dimensional heterostructured NiFeCo–OH/NiTe nanorod arrays with amorphous/crystalline interfaces have been rationally synthesized, exhibiting an excellent OER electrocatalytic performance.

Developing acid-stable oxygen evolution/reduction reaction (OER/ORR) electrocatalysts is essential for high-performance water splitting.

A platinum group metal-free S-doped TiN-supported N, P, S-tridoped TiO₂ catalyst with anatase/rutile TiO₂ hetero-phase junctions is revealed to display a high durability against fuel cell startup/shutdown cycles not to lose its anion dopants.

The design and development of functional biomimetic systems that resemble natural enzymes is highly challenging.

Synergistic electronic metal–support interaction between V₂O₃/V₈C₇ and Pt realizes the development of a high-performance deuterium evolution catalyst.

This work proposes a microwave-pulse method for rapidly synthesizing highly tunable 2D porous nickel-enriched LaMn_xNi_1−xO₃ for a comprehensive understanding of UOR activity mechanisms.