Clay minerals in electrochemical technologies: Recent advances in energy storage and electrocatalysis applications

Abstract

Clay minerals have emerged as promising materials for electrochemical energy technologies, owing to their unique nanostructures, sustainability, and low cost. This review summarizes recent advances in their applications, primarily in electrochemical energy storage (e.g., batteries and supercapacitors), followed by electrocatalysis (e.g., hydrogen/oxygen evolution, and oxygen reduction reaction). The structure-property relationships are highlighted: fibrous chain-layered clays are effective in forming conductive networks and inhibiting agglomeration, while layered clays facilitate rapid ion transport through tunable interlayer spacing. In energy storage, these structural features help address critical challenges such as electrode volume expansion, lithium dendrite growth, and polysulfide shuttling, thereby enhancing device cycling stability, rate capability, etc.; In electrocatalysis, the high surface area, abundant surface functional group, and favorable ion transport pathways of clays contribute to improve active site dispersion, electron transfer efficiency, etc. The roles of various clay mineral structures in these fields are discussed, and perspectives on future performance optimization through tailored structural design are provided.