Transition Metal Selenides for Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Abstract

Oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is essential to the water splitting and CO2 reduction reactions, while this reaction is kinetically sluggish and demands the efficient electrocatalyst. Transition metal selenides (TMSes) have gained greater attention as nonprecious metal‐based electrocatalysts due to their low cost, earth abundance, and high efficiency. Typically, TMSe can exhibit superior OER activity to their counterparts such as hydroxides/oxyhydroxides and sulfides. As such, their unique way to boost the catalytic activity is intriguing to researchers and many studies have been recently carried out. The last decades have witnessed the rapid development of TMSe‐based electrocatalysts in design and preparation for OER. However, there is still no exclusive review summarizing the recent development of this material for OER electrocatalysis. Herein, this article underscores the significant promise of TMSes in advancing the field of high‐performance OER electrocatalysts. The research progress is summarized and the importance of strategies to improve the performance of selenide electrodes including multimetal composite, hybrid composite with carbonaceous materials, morphological engineering, heterostructure engineering, and vacancies engineering is emphasized. Finally, the future challenges and opportunities concerning the improvement of TMSe electrocatalysts are outlined, which are essential for their further application in electrochemical energy conversion.