Application of metal chalcogenide-based anodic electrocatalyst toward substituting oxygen evolution reaction in water splitting

Electrochemical water splitting for producing hydrogen has received increasing attention. However, the large overpotential of oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is a bottleneck in water splitting. Exploiting value-added alternative reactions to replace the OER semi-reaction in water splitting can not only produce valuable products at both electrodes, but also reduce the overpotential of water splitting. Recently, metal chalcogenides (sulfides and selenides) have been widely studied in electrocatalytic reactions. This review concentrates on the recent application of metal chalcogenides in value-added anodic reactions by replacing the OER during electrochemical water splitting, including urea oxidation reaction (UOR), 5-hydroxymethylfurfural electrochemical oxidation reaction (HMF-EOR), which provides the guidance for the rational design of advanced metal chalcogenide electrocatalysts in renewable energy.