Dear Colleagues,

Due to their adjustable morphology and surface group, nanostructured catalysts are of great significance in the electrochemical field, especially in ORR, HER, OER, HOR, CO2RR, and NRR electrocatalysis. Electrocatalysis is the electrochemical reaction that happens at the solid, liquid, and gas interface, during which a catalyst is necessary to lower the reaction energy barrier and accelerate the reaction rate. For an electrocatalyst, the active site is crucial to accomplish the expected performance. The intentional development of catalysts with rich active sites has been the motivation to speed up the electrochemical reactions with sluggish dynamics. Notably, with a large specific surface area, nanostructured materials have particular advantages in fabricating high-density active centers, which can be achieved with an elaborate design. Designing highly active nanostructured electrocatalysts requires two strategies: the bottom-up synthesis process or top-down modified technology. Accordingly, various nanostructured carbons, metals, oxides, hydroxides, sulfides, and phosphides have been prepared and used as catalysts in electrocatalysis.

This Special Issue focuses on the progress of elaborate nanostructured electrocatalysts with a high active site density that manifest high activity, selectivity, and durability. We hope to develop a methodology system for architecturing nanostructured electrocatalysts with high performance. We invite the submission of articles from leading groups in this discipline that contribute original research and reviews concerning the advanced strategy for fabricating nanostructured electrocatalysts.

Potential topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

1. Nanocarbon-based catalysts designed by structural controlling;
2. Nanometals, -oxides, or -composites based on novel synthesis technology;
3. Nanofilms derived from autocatalytic growth;
4. Active site research based on nanostructured electrocatalysts;
5. Advanced morphology controlling technologies for nanostructured electrocatalysts;
6. Advanced characterization technologies for active sites;
7. In situ technologies or metal–support interaction research based on nanostructured electrocatalysts.

Prof. Dr. Wei Zhang
Prof. Dr. Weitao Zheng
Guest Editors

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• electrocatalysis
• nanomaterials
• surface and interface
• structural characterization
• active site

Title: Interface/doping-engineered NiCo/Ni1-xCoxO/rGO for highly effcient and durable oxygen reduction in rechargeable Zn-air battery
Authors: Yanan Wang*1, 2, Jian Zheng3, Yong Zheng*4, Junhua Li2, Jianhua Qian2
Affiliation: 1 School of Materials Science and Engineering, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110819, China; 2 School of Petrochemical Engineering, Liaoning Petrochemical University, Fushun 113001, China; 3 Sinopec Research Institute of Petroleum Processing Co., Ltd, 100083 Beijing, China; 4 Key Laboratory of Inorganic Nonmetallic Crystalline and Energy Conversion Materials, China Three Gorges University, Yichang 443002, China;
Abstract: In this work, NiCo/Ni1-xCoxO/rGO composite catalytic materials were obtained by microwave hydrothermal coupling ultra-fast Joule heating method. NiCo/Ni1-xCoxO/rGO composites have rich metal/metal oxide interfaces, which can enhance the electroactive sites and accelerate mass transfer, and make the designed Schottky catalyst have excellent ORR activity. More importantly, NiCo metal alloy has better stability than single metal catalyst, and can resist oxidation and corrosion of catalyst surface. This is because alloying can change the electronic structure and crystal structure of the catalyst surface and enhance its oxidation resistance and corrosion resistance. In addition, rich oxygen vacancies formed by recombination with the defective metal oxide Ni1-xCoxO can be used as active sites to adsorb and activate oxygen molecules and promote the reduction of oxygen. Oxygen vacancies can also provide electron conduction channels to help electrons transfer from electrodes to oxygen molecules and enhance the reaction rate. Therefore, the synergistic effect of NiCo/Ni1-xCoxO/rGO components makes it show excellent catalytic activity, stability and durability in oxygen reduction of rechargeable Zn-air battery batteries.