Transition metal nitride-based materials as efficient electrocatalysts: Design strategies and prospective applications

Various energy-related electrocatalytic processes have aroused a great deal of attention for the sake of ecofriendly and sustainable energy conversion and storage techniques. Nevertheless, the sluggish kinetics with multistep electron transfer of these electrocatalytic conversion processes seriously hinder further application. Due to the abundant resources, favorable electronic structure, remarkable catalytic activity and good corrosion resistance, transition metal nitride (TMN)-based materials have demonstrated substantial forward-looking potential to be efficient and stable electrocatalysts. In this review, focused on TMN-based materials, the up-to-date advances in energy-related electrocatalysis are systemically discussed. The insights into the critical role of N in TMN-based materials on electrocatalytic processes are provided. The effective strategies for performance enhancement, ranging from active sites to electrochemical interfaces, and the corresponding catalytic behavior are expounded in order to establish the theory-structure–function relationship. Moreover, the practical energy-related applications in water splitting, metal-air batteries, fuel cells and artificial nitrogen fixation are described. Lastly, the scientific challenges, possible opportunities and future perspective of TMN-based electrocatalytic materials are proposed.