Nonprecious metal's graphene-supported electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction: Fundamentals to applications

Sustainable production of hydrogen is a hopeful requirement of a strategic future economy and development. Water splitting driven by electricity is a favorable pathway for renewable hydrogen production. This critical review highlighted recent efforts toward the development of the nanoscale synthesis of nonprecious metal's graphene-supported electrocatalysts and their electrocatalytic features for remarkable hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Different essential nonprecious metal's graphene-supported electrocatalysts, including metal carbides, sulfides, phosphides, selenides, oxides, and nitrides are reviewed. In the exploration, attention is given to the strategies of activity enhancement, the synthetic approach, and the composition/structure electrocatalytic-performance relationship of these HER electrocatalysts. We are hopeful that this review confers a new momentum to the rational design of remarkable performance nonprecious metal's graphene-supported electrocatalysts and comprehensive guide for researchers to utilize the subject catalysts in regular water splitting.