Electrocatalytic Activity in Metal Nanostructures
Summary
Nanostructured metal catalysts have emerged as pivotal materials in electrochemical energy technologies, harnessing high surface-to-volume ratios, tailored electronic states and well-defined facets to accelerate redox reactions. By manipulating size, shape, composition and crystal structure, researchers optimise active sites for hydrogen evolution, oxygen reduction, carbon dioxide conversion and small-molecule oxidation. Alloying and core–shell architectures modulate electronic density and strain, enhancing adsorption–desorption kinetics, while surface coatings and conductive supports address stability and conductivity. Balancing activity, durability and cost demands a synergistic design approach, integrating synthesis, in situ characterisation and computational insight. These advances underpin progress towards efficient electrolytic hydrogen production, low-temperature fuel cells and sustainable chemical synthesis, highlighting the global potential of metal nanostructures for decarbonisation and renewable energy storage.
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Electrocatalytic Activity in Metal Nanostructures publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in electrocatalytic activity in metal nanostructures across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Electrocatalysis: Acceleration of electrochemical reactions at an electrode surface by a catalyst.
Nanostructure: Material with structural features on the nanometre scale (1–100 nm) that influence properties.
Bimetallic catalyst: A catalyst composed of two distinct metal elements, often yielding synergistic effects.
Core–shell structure: A nanoparticle architecture with one material forming the inner core and another as the outer shell.
Lattice strain: Distortion of the crystal lattice due to differences in atomic size or alloying, affecting electronic properties.
Tafel slope: A measure of the change in overpotential with current density, indicating reaction kinetics.
References
- Influence of alloying and surface overcoating engineering on the electrochemical properties of carbon-supported PtCu nanocrystals. Journal of Alloys and Compounds (2023).
- Lattice-Strained Bimetallic Nanocatalysts: Fundamentals of Synthesis and Structure. Molecules (2024).
- Synthesis of PtAu Alloy Nanocrystals Supported on Three-Dimensional Carbon with Enhanced Electrocatalytic Properties. Catalysts (2023).
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