High performance energy-saving electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction: a minireview on the influence of structure and support

Generating hydrogen from water electrolysis is a promising clean energy strategy that may help alleviate energy crisis, which stimulates tremendous research interests in searching high performance catalysts with low energy consumption. Here, we review recent progresses on the development of high performance electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) from the energy consumption perspective. A universal energy label based on energy conversion efficiency (ECE) is proposed to evaluate the HER performance, and a global design strategy incorporating both catalyst and support in the same integrated framework is advocated. In particular, the structural influence on the ECE and the stability of HER electrocatalysts is discussed, and the role of support carriers in forming energy-saving catalytic systems with minimized non-HER energy loss, which are vital for practical processes, is highlighted. This paper provides new insights into the structure-property relationship and the support effect in developing highly efficient and durable electrocatalysts for HER.