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Heteroatom‐Doped Carbon Materials for Electrocatalysis
Author(s) -
Asefa Tewodros,
Huang Xiaoxi
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
chemistry – a european journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.687
H-Index - 242
eISSN - 1521-3765
pISSN - 0947-6539
DOI - 10.1002/chem.201700439
Subject(s) - renewable energy , electrocatalyst , catalysis , noble metal , heteroatom , nanotechnology , fuel cells , precious metal , carbon fibers , energy carrier , materials science , chemistry , chemical engineering , engineering , electrochemistry , composite number , organic chemistry , electrical engineering , ring (chemistry) , electrode , composite material
Fuel cells, water electrolyzers, and metal‐air batteries are important energy systems that have started to play some roles in our renewable energy landscapes. However, despite much research works carried out on them, they have not yet found large‐scale applications, mainly due to the unavailability of sustainable catalysts that can catalyze the reactions employed in them. Currently, noble metal‐based materials are the ones that are commonly used as catalysts in most commercial fuel cells, electrolyzers, and metal‐air batteries. Hence, there has been considerable research efforts worldwide to find alternative noble metal‐free and metal‐free catalysts composed of inexpensive, earth‐abundant elements for use in the catalytic reactions employed in these energy systems. In this concept paper, a brief introduction on catalysis in renewable energy systems, followed by the recent efforts to develop sustainable, heteroatom‐doped carbon and non‐noble metal‐based electrocatalysts, the challenges to unravel their structure‐catalytic activity relationships, and the authors’ perspectives on these topics and materials, are discussed.