Issue 28, 2023

Recent progress in the synthesis of transition metal nitride catalysts and their applications in electrocatalysis

Abstract

Transition metal nitrides (TMNs) have become excellent substitutes for precious metals such as Pt and Ir in the field of electrocatalysis because of their excellent electrocatalytic performance, high conductivity, good corrosion resistance and stability. As we all know, the commonly utilized carbon-based materials corrode easily during electrocatalysis, which will lead to catalyst falling off and agglomeration. Compared with carbon-based materials, TMNs have stronger corrosion resistance and higher stability. In the metal nitrides, a variety of chemical bonds (metal bond, ionic bond and covalent bond) coexist, among which the ionic bond between metal atoms and nitrogen atoms can make the d-band shrink and narrow, which leads to TMNs having characteristics similar to precious metals in the electrocatalytic process; thus, they can be used as a substitute for precious metal catalysts. In this paper, the synthesis method and catalytic principle of transition metal nitrides and their applications in the fields of hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) are discussed, and the shortcomings of TMNs as a catalyst, the challenges faced in catalyst research and the developments and prospects for the future are pointed out.

Graphical abstract: Recent progress in the synthesis of transition metal nitride catalysts and their applications in electrocatalysis

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
07 Apr 2023
Accepted
05 Jun 2023
First published
07 Jun 2023

Nanoscale, 2023,15, 11777-11800

Recent progress in the synthesis of transition metal nitride catalysts and their applications in electrocatalysis

Z. Yang, H. Xu, T. Shuai, Q. Zhan, Z. Zhang, K. Huang, C. Dai and G. Li, Nanoscale, 2023, 15, 11777 DOI: 10.1039/D3NR01607B

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements