Nano-tungsten carbides

As a new kind of catalytic material, transition metal carbide has shown its unique catalytic performance. In recent years, researchers have paid special attention to this new kind of material. Tungsten carbides (such as WC and Co3W3C) have good stability in acidic environment and platinum-like electronic structures. They have been considered as potential replacement catalysts for benchmark platinum-group catalysts in electro-catalytic oxygen reduction, methanol oxidation, and hydrogen evolution (or as a co-catalyst to enhance the electro-catalytic activity of noble metals via synergistic effects). Tungsten carbides can also be used as a non-noble metal co-catalyst for photocatalytic water oxidation and organic pollutant degradation. In this chapter, the electronic structural features (electron donor effect and electron metal support interaction), preparation methods, energy and environmental applications, and typical case analysis of nano tungsten carbides are briefly analyzed and summarized.