Recent advances of amorphous-phase-engineered metal-based catalysts for boosted electrocatalysis

Abstract

• Amorphous metal-based catalysts (AMCs) have sparked intense interest in the field of electrocatalysis . • The latest advances in design strategy and material categories of AMCs are systematically reviewed. • We put forward current challenges that have not yet been clarified and propose possible solutions in the field of AMCs. Amorphous metal-based catalysts (AMCs) have sparked intense research interests in the field of electrocatalysis elicited by their hallmark features such as unlimited volume and morphology, manipulated electronic structures, enriched defects, and unsaturated surface atom coordination. Nevertheless, the manipulation of the amorphous phase in metal-based catalysts is so far impractical, and thus their electrocatalytic mechanism yet remains ambiguous. In this review, the latest advances in AMCs are systematically reviewed, covering amorphous-phase engineering strategy, structure manipulation, and amorphization of various material categories for electrocatalysis. Specifically, a series of applications of AMCs in electrocatalysis for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) are summarized based on the classification criteria of substances. Finally, we put forward current challenges that have not yet been clarified in the field of AMCs, and propose possible solutions, particularly from the perspective of the evolution of electron microscopy. It is expected to promote the understanding of the amorphization-catalysis relationship and provide a guideline for designing high-performance electrocatalysts.