Chinese Journal of Catalysis ›› 2023, Vol. 48: 1-14.DOI: 10.1016/S1872-2067(23)64423-7

• Account •     Next Articles

Strategies for local electronic structure engineering of two-dimensional electrocatalysts

Cheng-Feng Dua, Erhai Hub,c, Hong Yua,*(), Qingyu Yanb,c,*()   

  1. aState Key Laboratory of Solidification Processing, Center of Advanced Lubrication and Seal Materials, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710072, Shaanxi, China
    bEnergy Research Institute, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637141, Singapore
    cSchool of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798, Singapore
  • Received:2022-12-29 Accepted:2023-03-01 Online:2023-05-18 Published:2023-04-20
  • Contact: * E-mail: yh@nwpu.edu.cn (H. Yu), alexyan@ntu.edu.sg (Q. Yan).
  • About author:Hong Yu (Northwestern Polytechnical University) is currently an associate professor in the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Northwestern Polytechnical University, China. She received her B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in materials science and engineering from Nanyang Technological University (Singapore) in 2011 and 2016, respectively. She continued her research as a postdoctoral research fellow in Nanyang Technological University prior to joining Northwestern Polytechnical University in 2017. Her research focuses on the design and synthesis of advanced functional materials for energy conversion and storage.
    Qingyu Yan (Nanyang Technology University) is currently a professor in School of Materials Science and Engineering in Nanyang Technology University, Singapore. He obtained his BS in Materials Science and Engineering, Nanjing University (China). He finished his Ph.D. from Materials Science and Engineering Department of State University of New York at Stony Brook. After that, He joined the Materials Science and Engineering Department of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute as a postdoctoral research associate. He joined School of Materials Science and Engineering of Nanyang Technology University as an assistant professor in early 2008 and became a full Professor in 2018. He is currently the Chair of the Electrochemical Society, Singapore Section. He is a fellow of Royal Society of Chemistry Since 2018. He has published more than 300 papers on the research area of energy conversion and storage.
  • Supported by:
    National Natural Science Foundation of China(51901189);National Natural Science Foundation of China(52272091);Shaanxi Provincial Key R&D Program(2021KWZ-17)

Abstract:

Electrocatalytic processes have garnered increased attention for energy conversion and mass production because of their high efficiency and selectivity. In particular, electrocatalysts play a critical role in catalytic performance. Two-dimensional (2D) materials, which feature a large surface area with abundant active sites and tunable physicochemical properties, have been regarded as one of the most important candidates for future electrocatalysis. However, further research efforts are required to specifically optimize their catalytic performance to realize their commercialization. In this account, strategies for regulating the local electronic structures of 2D electrocatalysts, including heteroatom doping, single-atom loading, heterojunction formation, vacancy engineering, and strain engineering, are briefly summarized. Furthermore, the relationship between these strategies and the electrocatalytic performance of the developed materials is discussed. Finally, an outlook of the 2D electrocatalysts is provided.

Key words: Two-dimensional material, Electrocatalysis, Electronic structure, Active site, Heterogeneous