Two‐Dimensional Layered Materials as Catalyst Supports

Abstract

AbstractSince the successful isolation of graphene, two‐dimensional (2D) materials have attracted immense interest in contemporary chemical research owing to their unique structural and chemical properties with potential scientific applications. Layered 2D materials show different characteristics from bulk 3D materials owing to significant alterations in their electronic and structural behavior. From the last decade, 2D materials including graphene have been extensively investigated as supports for metal nanoparticles (NPs) exhibiting excellent catalytic activity towards various chemical and electrochemical reactions. This review focuses on the recent advances of graphene and other 2D layered materials as catalyst supports, their interactions with metal precursors, and catalytic applications. The catalytic behavior of metal NPs supported on 2D materials has been discussed regarding various electrochemical oxidation and reduction reactions in fuel cells as well as numerous organic reactions and catalytic hydrogen generation from the dehydrogenation of hydrogen storage materials. We appraise that the catalytic behavior of the nanomaterials can be improved by simply modifying the interactions between precursors and supports by changing the chemical and physical properties of the support materials. Finally, we summarize the review with an outlook on future opportunities and challenges of 2D materials to provide access to a variety of low‐cost and high‐performance catalysts in terms of both academic and industrial applications.