Selenium-Based Catalysts for Efficient Electrocatalysis

Electrocatalytic technology is essential to develop environmentally friendly energy technologies and to reduce dependence on non-renewable resources. The construction of highly efficient, inexpensive, and robust electrocatalysts is the primary prerequisite to the large-scale application of electrochemical devices. In recent years, selenium-based catalysts (SBCs) have been extensively investigated and emerged as a promising candidate for electrocatalysis given their potential to reduce or replace the dosage of noble metals and their ability to catalyze a range of critical electrochemical processes. This Review minutely analyses the recent research advances in SBCs, highlighting the significant role of Se in enhancing the catalytic performance. First, it starts from the concepts related to SBCs, followed by the classification of SBCs as well as the strategies to regulate the activity of SBCs are elaborated. Then, the techniques for characterizing SBCs are systematically summed up, mainly focusing on morphological and structural characterization methods. Next, the applications of SBCs in various energy-conversion reactions (e.g., hydrogen evolution reaction, oxygen evolution reaction, oxygen reduction reaction, nitrogen reduction reaction, CO2 reduction reaction) are discussed, aiming at elucidating the association between their structure-activity correlations. Finally, the challenges related to SBCs and their future development trends are presented. This review summarizes the recent progress in selenium-based catalysts (SBCs), focusing on the preparation and characterization of SBCs and their applications in various electrocatalytic reactions. The relationship between the structure and performance of SBCs is also discussed. Finally, the opportunities and challenges of SBCs are discussed to promote their development. image