Recent progress and advancement on zinc-based materials for water splitting: Structure-property-performance correlation

Abstract

The ongoing energy upheaval and atmospheric pollution are among the most pressing challenges facing society today. To address these issues, the establishment of effective methods for electrochemical energy conversion offers a promising path forward. Recently, Zn-based materials have attracted a lot of interest as possible solutions in this field. Their appeal relies upon their precisely modified structural and electronic features, three-dimensional architectures, extensive surface areas, numerous active sites, robust stability, and enhanced mass transport and diffusion characteristics. They are very well suited for use in energy conversion and storage because of these characteristics. Several papers have been published over the past few years, which are investigating the potential of Zn-based materials in various techniques for energy conversion. However, no comprehensive review is available, that systematically discusses the Zn-based materials for energy conversion. This review offers a thorough examination of the advancements in Zn-derivatives for applications in key energy conversion processes, including hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) involving electrochemical, photoelectrochemical, and photocatalytic water splitting. The review delves into the electrical as well as structure-related features, and performance of Zn-based materials, highlighting the role of modulating structural, morphological, and electronic properties in enhancing catalytic activity. Furthermore, the structure-property-performance relationship has been discussed in the context of improving activity, stability, and overall efficiency in water-splitting applications. The review addresses the challenges and possible directions for the industry going ahead while highlighting the potential of zinc-based materials to support the invention of environmentally conscious water-splitting technology.