Regulation of electrocatalytic properties of high entropy alloy electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reactions

Abstract

With the rapid increase of demand for green hydrogen, the development of electrolytic water technology has been widely concerned. The efficient oxygen evolution catalyst provides the feasibility of hydrogen production technology by electrolysis of water. High entropy alloys (HEAs), usually solid solutions containing at least five major elements, show broad application potential in the field of electrocatalytic oxygen evolution (OER) in recent years due to their ordered structure and tunability. At the same time, high entropy alloys are expected to solve the slow kinetics and various corrosion problems on the oxygen evolution side of electrocatalytic hydrogen production. However, developing efficient HEAs electrocatalysts suitable for OER applications and understanding their catalytic mechanisms remain challenges. Therefore, this paper mainly reviews the characteristics of high entropy alloy materials and the regulation of electrocatalytic properties methods, including element composition control, size and structural morphology control, strain, phase and defect engineering etc. The relationship between the structure and electrocatalytic performance of HEAs electrocatalysts is discussed in this paper. Finally, the key challenges and future opportunities for the OER of high entropy nanomaterials are discussed. We expect that this paper will stimulate more research on the development and improvement of HEAs nanostructured electrocatalysts, explore their feasible and scalable preparation methods, and promote their wide application in the field of electrocatalysis.