Volume 7, Issue 3 2201524
Review

Electrocatalysis Mechanism and Structure–Activity Relationship of Atomically Dispersed Metal-Nitrogen-Carbon Catalysts for Electrocatalytic Reactions

Long-Ji Yuan

Long-Ji Yuan

Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Special Functional Materials, Shenzhen Engineering Laboratory for Advance Technology of Ceramics, Guangdong Research Center for Interfacial Engineering of Functional Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060 P. R. China

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Xu-Lei Sui

Corresponding Author

Xu-Lei Sui

Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Special Functional Materials, Shenzhen Engineering Laboratory for Advance Technology of Ceramics, Guangdong Research Center for Interfacial Engineering of Functional Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060 P. R. China

E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]

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Chang Liu

Chang Liu

Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Special Functional Materials, Shenzhen Engineering Laboratory for Advance Technology of Ceramics, Guangdong Research Center for Interfacial Engineering of Functional Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060 P. R. China

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Yu-Ling Zhuo

Yu-Ling Zhuo

Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Special Functional Materials, Shenzhen Engineering Laboratory for Advance Technology of Ceramics, Guangdong Research Center for Interfacial Engineering of Functional Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060 P. R. China

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Qi Li

Qi Li

Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Special Functional Materials, Shenzhen Engineering Laboratory for Advance Technology of Ceramics, Guangdong Research Center for Interfacial Engineering of Functional Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060 P. R. China

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Hui Pan

Hui Pan

Institute of Applied Physics and Materials Engineering, University of Macau, Macao, SAR, 999078 China

Department of Physics and Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Macau, Macao, SAR, 999078 China

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Zhen-Bo Wang

Corresponding Author

Zhen-Bo Wang

Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Special Functional Materials, Shenzhen Engineering Laboratory for Advance Technology of Ceramics, Guangdong Research Center for Interfacial Engineering of Functional Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060 P. R. China

E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]

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First published: 15 January 2023
Citations: 6

Abstract

Atomically dispersed metal-nitrogen-carbon catalysts (M-N-C) have been widely used in the field of energy conversion, which has already attracted a huge amount of attention. Due to their unsaturated d-band electronic structure of the center atoms, M-N-C catalysts can be applied in different electrocatalytic reactions by adjusting their own microscopic electronic structures to achieve the optimization of the structure–activity relationship. Consequently, it is of great significance for the revelation of electrocatalytic mechanism and structure–activity relationship of M-N-C catalysts. Thus, this review first introduces the relative research methods, including in situ/operando characterization techniques and theoretical calculation methods. Furthermore, clarifying the electrocatalytic mechanism and structure–activity relationship of M-N-C catalysts in different electrochemical energy conversion reactions is focused. Moreover, the future research directions are pointed out based on the discussion. This review will provide good guidance to systematically study the catalytic mechanism of single-atom catalysts and reasonably design the single-atom catalysts.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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