Non‐Noble Metal‐based Carbon Composites in Hydrogen Evolution Reaction: Fundamentals to Applications

• Published in: Advanced materials (Weinheim) Vol. 29; no. 14; pp. np - n/a
• Main Authors: Wang, Jing, Xu, Fan, Jin, Haiyan, Chen, Yiqing, Wang, Yong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.04.2017
• Subjects: Carbon; carbon composites; Catalysis; Catalysts; Chemical synthesis; Clean energy; Correlation analysis; Design analysis; Design engineering; Electrocatalysts; Electrolysis; Fossil fuels; Hydrogen; Hydrogen evolution; hydrogen evolution reaction; Hydrogen evolution reactions; Hydrogen production; Materials science; Molecular structure; non‐noble metals; Purity; Sustainability; Water splitting; non-noble metals; electrocatalysts; carbon composites; hydrogen evolution reaction
• ISSN: 0935-9648; 1521-4095
• DOI: 10.1002/adma.201605838

Hydrogen has been hailed as a clean and sustainable alternative to finite fossil fuels in many energy systems. Water splitting is an important method for hydrogen production in high purity and large quantities. To accelerate the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) rate, it is highly necessary to develop high efficiency catalysts and to select a proper electrolyte. Herein, the performances of non‐noble metal‐based carbon composites under various pH values (acid, alkaline and neutral media) for HER in terms of catalyst synthesis, structure and molecular design are systematically discussed. A detailed analysis of the structure‐activity‐pH correlations in the HER process gives an insight on the origin of the pH‐dependence for HER, and provide guidance for future HER mechanism studies on non‐noble metal‐based carbon composites. Furthermore, this Review gives a fresh impetus to rational design of high‐performance noble‐metal‐free composites catalysts and guide researchers to employ the established electrocatalysts in proper water electrolysis technologies. Non‐noble‐metal‐based carbon composites for electrochemical hydrogen production are summarized and the relationships between electrocatalyst structure–activity–pH are systematically discussed.