Recent research progress on polyoxometalate-based electrocatalysts in energy generation

Abstract

Sustainable energy generation is a pressing challenge in the society today, driven by the rapid exponential growth in industrialization. Thus, it has become an urgent priority to find sustainable solutions for energy generation. Polyoxometalates (POMs) are a class of materials characterized by diverse components, which provide numerous active sites, electronic regulatory effects, synergistic effects, structural diversity, and controllability. Researchers have made remarkable progress in regulating the catalytic performance of POM-based electrocatalysts by improving the configuration of POMs. Herein, we aim to review the recent research progress (from 2020 to present) on the relation between different types of POMs and their catalytic activities in electrocatalytic oxygen evolution (OER), electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution (HER) and CO₂ reduction (CO₂RR). By analyzing the application of POMs in different electrocatalytic fields, the suitability of POMs in these areas can be further determined and possible specific explanations can be summarized. The most important aspect is to provide relevant guidance for future researchers in the synthesis of POM-based electrocatalysts, where their electrocatalytic performance can be improved to the maximum extent through the reasonable selection of POMs. The utilization of POM-based electrocatalysts shows tremendous promise to address the pressing issues related to energy scarcity, providing a pathway to realize sustainable energy generation.