Recent advances, challenges, and perspectives of CoSe2-based electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction

Abstract

The development of long-lived, affordable, and efficient oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts plays a pivotal role in mitigating the energy cost of overall water electrolysis, which is evaluated as a potential and sustainable method to produce hydrogen at a large scale. Cobalt diselenide (CoSe₂) has attracted significant interest for water electrolysis applications owing to its favorable properties, including good oxophilicity, high intrinsic catalytic activities, and outstanding chemical stability. In this review, we commence by elucidating the OER mechanism in both acidic and alkaline solutions, followed by an illustration of the reasons why CoSe₂ is a promising electrocatalyst for OER. Also, formidable challenges in using CoSe₂ for OER are manifested. More importantly, the different approaches for boosting the OER efficiency of CoSe₂ are systematically reviewed. These strategies not only increase the electrochemically active surface area but also optimize the adsorption strength of oxygen species through modulated electronic configuration. Finally, dealing with current challenges could find new directions in developing CoSe₂-based electrocatalysts for OER. This essay aims to expand our understanding of how to improve the OER performance of transition metal diselenide-based nanomaterials.