Chinese Journal of Catalysis ›› 2020, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (2): 227-241.DOI: 10.1016/S1872-2067(19)63440-6

• Review • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Application of atomic layer deposition in fabricating high-efficiency electrocatalysts

Huimin Yanga, Yao Chenb, Yong Qina   

  1. a State Key Laboratory of Coal Conversion, Institute of Coal Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Taiyuan 030001, Shanxi, China;
    b School of Life Sciences, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710072, Shaanxi, China
  • Received:2019-05-17 Revised:2019-07-05 Online:2020-02-18 Published:2019-11-04
  • Supported by:
    This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21872160, 21802094, 21673269), the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (21825204), the National Key R&D Program of China (2017YFA0700101), and the Natural Science Basic Research Plan in Shaanxi Province of China (2018JQ2038).

Abstract: Electrocatalysis is a promising approach to clean energy conversion due to its high efficiency and low environmental pollution. Noble metal materials have been studied to show high activity toward electrocatalyltic reactions, although such applications remain restricted by the high cost and poor durability of the noble metals. By precisely adjusting the catalyst composition, size, and structure, electrocatalysts with excellent performance can be obtained. Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is a technique used to produce ultrathin films and ultrafine nanoparticles at the atomic level. It possesses unique advantages for the controllable design and synthesis of electrocatalysts. Furthermore, the homogenous composition and structure of the electrocatalysts prepared by ALD favor the exploration of structure-reactivity relationships and catalytic mechanisms. In this review, the mechanism, characteristics, and advantages of ALD in fabricating nanostructures are introduced first. Subsequently, the problems associated with existing electrocatalysts and a series of recently developed ALD strategies to enhance the activity and durability of electrocatalysts are presented. For example, the deposition of ultrafine Pt nanoparticles to increase the utilization and activity of Pt, fabrication of core-shell, overcoat, nanotrap, and other novel structures to protect the noble-metal nanoparticles and enhance the catalyst stability. In addition, ALD developments in synthesizing non-noble metallic electrocatalysts are summarized and discussed. Finally, based on the current studies, an outlook for the ALD application in the design and synthesis of electrocatalysts is presented.

Key words: Atomic layer deposition, Electrocatalysis, Pt, Catalyst stability, Metal-support interaction