Emerging Graphene Derivatives and Analogues for Efficient Energy Electrocatalysis

The demand for highly efficient conversion and storage of renewable energy sources calls for advanced electrocatalytic technologies. 2D graphene has long been investigated as a versatile material platform with flexible structure and tunable surface properties for the design of efficient electrocatalysts. In recent years, new types of graphene derivatives and analogues keep emerging and showing great potential for highly active and selective electrocatalytic applications. In this review, recent progresses on emerging graphene derivatives and analogues for electrocatalysis are summarized. This review starts from the introduction of the material requirements for efficient electrocatalysis and the advantages of 2D graphene derivatives and analogues. Then new advances on graphene derivatives for electrocatalysis are introduced, including twisted graphene superlattices, molecular-level single-atom catalysts, and graphene-supported dual-atom catalysts or atomic clusters. The next section deals with the emerging research directions of graphene analogues for electrocatalysis, including 2D metal-free materials, metallenes, 2D transition metal borides (MBenes), and new design strategies of them. Finally, an overview on the development status of this field is provided, and perspectives on the future development of efficient electrocatalytic technologies based on 2D materials are proposed.