Design strategies of perovskite nanofibers electrocatalysts for water splitting: A mini review

Electrochemical water splitting, as a promising energy conversion technology, is entirely limited by the slow reaction kinetics due to the large overpotentials for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in the anode and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in the cathode. Perovskite oxide nanofibers have been established as one of the most promising catalysts for water electrolysis due to their simple preparation procedure, unique one-dimensional morphology, high specific surface area, controllable nano-size effect, and adjustable compositions. In this review, we firstly systematical summarize the designing strategies, such as electronic structure control (heteroatom doping and lattice oxygen activation), surface/interface engineering, and defect engineering for perovskite nanofiber electrocatalysts to enhance the water electrolysis performance. Based on the OER/HER descriptors and catalytic reaction mechanisms, we further discuss in-depth the significant detail of developing perovskite nanofibers as high-performance OER/HER catalysts to achieve practical application of water electrolysis, including recent advances in bifunctional catalysts for promoting the electrocatalytic activity for OER and HER. Finally, we present new insights for establishing rational OER/HER mechanism and future directions for developing next-generation perovskite nanofiber-based bifunctional catalysts.