Novel Non-Precious Metal Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Electrode Reactions

Dear Colleagues,

Increasing inevitable global demands for energy have stimulated considerable research on alternative energy harvesting technologies, conversion and storage systems with high efficiency, cost-effective and environmentally friendly systems, such as fuel cells, rechargeable metal-air batteries, unitized regenerative cells, and water electrolyzers. In these devices, the conversion between oxygen and water plays a key step in the development of oxygen electrodes: Oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). To date, the state-of-art catalysts for ORR consist of platinum-based materials (Pt), while ruthenium (Ru)- and iridium (Ir)-oxides are the best-known OER catalyst materials. The scarcity of precious metals, their prohibitive cost, and declining activity greatly hamper the practice for large-scale applications. It is of paramount practical importance and interest to develop efficient and stable materials for the oxygen electrode, based on Earth-abundant non-noble metals. With the fast development of advanced nanotechnology, novel non-precious metal electrocatalysts for the oxygen reactions have been explored based on the innovative design in chemical compositions, structure, and morphology, and supports.

This Special Issue aims to cover recent progress and advances in novel non-precious metal electrocatalysts tailoring with high activity and stablity for the catalytic conversion between water and oxygen. Additionally, electrocatalytic activity, selectivity, durability, and mechanism for single or bifunctional oxygen electrode reactions should be important subjects for this Special Issue.

Prof. Dr. Nicolas Alonso-Vante
Prof. Dr. Yongjun Feng
Prof. Dr. Hui Yang
Guest Editors

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