Visible-light-assisted synthesis regulates the structure–activity relationship of nanocatalysts for practical direct liquid fuel cells

Abstract

Direct liquid fuel cells (DLFCs) are among the promising energy conversion devices in terms of high energy conversion, low acoustic pollution, wide fuel range, and convenient transportation and storage. Multimetallic nanocatalysts demonstrate promising electrocatalysts for practical DLFCs owing to their bifunctional mechanisms, electronic/strain effects, and synergistic effects, which results in optimal binding affinity for adsorbates, promotes charge transfer, reduces the binding of intermediates, and outperforms CO resistance. The visible-light-assisted method, which is particularly facile and low cost and has strong versatility, and highly adaptable solution for crafting multimetallic nanostructure with adjustable composition and morphology. Considering the cost-effectiveness of this method, this review overviews the latest advancements in the application of DLFCs for the synthesis of multimetallic nanostructures. This review briefly summarizes the operation of DLFCs and the oxidation mechanism of various small-molecule organic fuels, which fills the gap in the research of liquid fuel mechanism. Subsequently, after giving an overview of the equipment and technical principles by visible-light-assisted synthesis, the multimetallic nanostructures prepared by visible-light-assisted fabrication were introduced, including single-atom, nanorods, heterostructures, nanoprisms, and nanoparticles. The applications of light-assisted synthesis of nanostructures in practical DLFCs were highlighted, which focuses on and presents, for the first time, a summary of the development and application of this method in the field of practical DLFC, extending photochemistry into the field of electrochemistry. In the end, the obstacles and development prospects of multi-metallic nanostructured catalysts for the synthesis of visible light are discussed, which provides a broader scientific perspective for researchers.