Emerging Atomically Precise Metal Nanoclusters and Ultrasmall Nanoparticles for Efficient Electrochemical Energy Catalysis: Synthesis Strategies and Surface/Interface Engineering

Mingjie Wu, Fang Dong, Yingkui Yang, Xun Cui, Xueqin Liu, Yunhai Zhu, Dongsheng Li, Sasha Omanovic, Shuhui Sun, Gaixia Zhang

doi:10.1007/s41918-024-00217-w

2024 , Vol. 7 >Issue 1: 10

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41918-024-00217-w

Emerging Atomically Precise Metal Nanoclusters and Ultrasmall Nanoparticles for Efficient Electrochemical Energy Catalysis: Synthesis Strategies and Surface/Interface Engineering

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1. State Key Laboratory of New Textile Materials and Advanced Processing Technologies, Wuhan Textile University, Wuhan 430200, Hubei, China;
2. Department of Chemical Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 0C5, Canada;
3. Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique(INRS), Centre Energie Materiaux Telecommunications, Varennes, QC J3X 1P7, Canada;
4. Key Laboratory of Inorganic Nonmetallic Crystalline and Energy Conversion Materials, China, College of Materials and Chemical Engineering, Three Gorges University, Yichang 443002, Jiangxi, China;
5. Department of Electrical Engineering, école de Technologie Supérieure(éTS), Montreal, QC H3C 1K3, Canada

Received date: 2023-09-12

Revised date: 2024-01-03

Online published: 2024-04-03

Supported by

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (22208331), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Fonds de Recherche du Québec-Nature et Technologies (FRQNT), McGill University, Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS), and école de Technologie Supérieure (éTS). Dr. G. Zhang thanks for the support from the Marcelle-Gauvreau Engineering Research Chair program.

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Abstract

Atomically precise metal nanocluster and ultrasmall nanoparticle catalysts have garnered significant interest in electrocatalysis applications due to their unique geometric and electronic structures. As an intermediate state between single-atom catalysts (SACs) and nanoparticles in size, nanoclusters with specific low nuclearity provide designated metallic states with multiple atoms or surface sites for the adsorption and transformation of reactants/intermediates. The unique catalytic properties of nanoclusters offer a novel platform for designing effective and efficient electrocatalysts, potentially surpassing the SACs in certain catalytic reactions. This review summarizes and discusses the latest progress of nanoclusters and ultrasmall nanoparticles for various electrocatalysis applications, including oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), oxygen evolution reaction (OER), CO₂ reduction reaction (CO₂RR), nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR), hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), various chemicals oxidation reaction (COR), etc. Specifically, this review highlights surface/interface chemical modification strategies and structure-properties relationships, drawing from the atomic-level insights to determine electrocatalytic performance. Lastly, we present the challenges and opportunities associated with nanocluster or ultrasmall nanoparticle electrocatalysts.

Key words： Electrocatalysts; Nanoclusters; Ultrasmall nanoparticles; Surface; Interface engineering; Single-atom catalysts (SACs)

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Mingjie Wu, Fang Dong, Yingkui Yang, Xun Cui, Xueqin Liu, Yunhai Zhu, Dongsheng Li, Sasha Omanovic, Shuhui Sun, Gaixia Zhang . Emerging Atomically Precise Metal Nanoclusters and Ultrasmall Nanoparticles for Efficient Electrochemical Energy Catalysis: Synthesis Strategies and Surface/Interface Engineering[J]. Electrochemical Energy Reviews, 2024 , 7(1) : 10 . DOI: 10.1007/s41918-024-00217-w

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