Cerium oxide (CeO2) with outstanding physiochemical properties, including special redox property, numerous oxygen vacancies, and high oxygen storage capacity (OSC), has attracted extensive research interests over the past few decades for electrocatalysis applications. This widespread applicability mainly originates from the ease in forming and repairing oxygen vacancies on the surface of ceria. Herein, this review provides a comprehensive overview of emerging progress related to defects modification of ceria-based nanomaterials, encompassing the fundamental characteristics of oxygen vacancy in ceria, advanced characterization methods and emerging theoretical approaches for understanding the properties of defects and predicting their effect on electrocatalytic behavior. To demonstrate the significance of defect-derived effects, electrochemical applications linked to defect engineering in ceria-based catalysts are explored. Finally, several probable challenges and future research directions concerning the defects controlling are discussed. We hope that the present review will provide an improved understanding of the roles of defects in determining the electrocatalytic performance of ceria-based materials.
{"title":"Defect engineering of ceria-based materials toward efficient electrocatalysis reaction","authors":"Botao Liu, Guiyao Dai, Shujun Hou, Huanli Wang, Dianxing Lian, Mohaoyang Chen, Chenxi Li, Weiwei Zhang, Ke Wu, Liwen Xing, Yongjun Ji","doi":"10.1016/j.jre.2025.12.006","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jre.2025.12.006","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Cerium oxide (CeO<sub>2</sub>) with outstanding physiochemical properties, including special redox property, numerous oxygen vacancies, and high oxygen storage capacity (OSC), has attracted extensive research interests over the past few decades for electrocatalysis applications. This widespread applicability mainly originates from the ease in forming and repairing oxygen vacancies on the surface of ceria. Herein, this review provides a comprehensive overview of emerging progress related to defects modification of ceria-based nanomaterials, encompassing the fundamental characteristics of oxygen vacancy in ceria, advanced characterization methods and emerging theoretical approaches for understanding the properties of defects and predicting their effect on electrocatalytic behavior. To demonstrate the significance of defect-derived effects, electrochemical applications linked to defect engineering in ceria-based catalysts are explored. Finally, several probable challenges and future research directions concerning the defects controlling are discussed. We hope that the present review will provide an improved understanding of the roles of defects in determining the electrocatalytic performance of ceria-based materials.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16940,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Rare Earths","volume":"44 2","pages":"Pages 505-518"},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146102709","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-01DOI: 10.1016/j.jre.2025.05.016
Dipti Bhatt, Ravi K. Kunchala, Boddu S. Naidu
Developing an effective water oxidation catalyst is the key to achieving effective artificial photosynthesis. Using the sol–gel citrate approach, the metal oxide perovskite LaCoO3 was synthesized. Surface engineering of this perovskite material with acetic acid treatment boosts water oxidation. Acetic acid concentration was systematically varied from 0.1 to 5 mol/L to treat the LaCoO3 (LCO) for a fixed time. It is observed that among the tested samples, LaCoO3 treated with 1 mol/L acetic acid (LCO-1M) exhibits the highest water oxidation activity. The overpotential and Tafel slope are reduced from 603 to 500 mV and 217 to 155 mV/dec, respectively. LCO-1M shows 4.2 and 3.3 times higher turnover frequency than the pristine LCO for photochemical and electrochemical water oxidation, respectively. A boost in water-oxidation activity of these perovskites upon acid treatment is due to a decrease in the charge transfer resistance as well as contact angle brought about by the presence of mixed valence metal ions and enhanced oxygen vacancies on the surface, respectively. This method is beneficial to designing efficient catalysts for water oxidation.
{"title":"Boosting water oxidation activity of LaCoO3 by tailoring La3+ deficiency","authors":"Dipti Bhatt, Ravi K. Kunchala, Boddu S. Naidu","doi":"10.1016/j.jre.2025.05.016","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jre.2025.05.016","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Developing an effective water oxidation catalyst is the key to achieving effective artificial photosynthesis. Using the sol–gel citrate approach, the metal oxide perovskite LaCoO<sub>3</sub> was synthesized. Surface engineering of this perovskite material with acetic acid treatment boosts water oxidation. Acetic acid concentration was systematically varied from 0.1 to 5 mol/L to treat the LaCoO<sub>3</sub> (LCO) for a fixed time. It is observed that among the tested samples, LaCoO<sub>3</sub> treated with 1 mol/L acetic acid (LCO-1M) exhibits the highest water oxidation activity. The overpotential and Tafel slope are reduced from 603 to 500 mV and 217 to 155 mV/dec, respectively. LCO-1M shows 4.2 and 3.3 times higher turnover frequency than the pristine LCO for photochemical and electrochemical water oxidation, respectively. A boost in water-oxidation activity of these perovskites upon acid treatment is due to a decrease in the charge transfer resistance as well as contact angle brought about by the presence of mixed valence metal ions and enhanced oxygen vacancies on the surface, respectively. This method is beneficial to designing efficient catalysts for water oxidation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16940,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Rare Earths","volume":"44 2","pages":"Pages 669-678"},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146102783","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-01DOI: 10.1016/j.jre.2025.11.017
Xiuxian Jiang , Tatsiana Shutava , Li Liu , Shuyan Song , Hongjie Zhang , Xiao Wang
Rare earth oxides, characterized by their distinctive physicochemical attributes, hold significant promise for the remediation of gaseous pollutants. A critical priority in advancing this field lies in the development of cost-effective catalytic systems. This review article provides a comprehensive overview of recent research progress in the rational design and fabrication of rare earth oxide-based catalysts, along with their implementation in strategies for gaseous pollutant abatement. Particular attention is given to the structure–performance correlations that underpin catalytic efficacy, as well as the elucidation of underlying reaction mechanisms. Furthermore, this work discusses the unresolved challenges hindering the practical deployment of rare earth oxide materials in real-world pollution control applications. Finally, forward-looking perspectives on emerging research directions are presented. This synthesis of current knowledge aims to serve as a valuable reference for researchers and engineers, offering both theoretical insights and practical guidance for the development of advanced rare earth oxide catalysts and their application in environmental remediation technologies.
{"title":"Advanced rare earth oxide-based catalysts for thermal/electrocatalytic purification of gaseous pollutants","authors":"Xiuxian Jiang , Tatsiana Shutava , Li Liu , Shuyan Song , Hongjie Zhang , Xiao Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.jre.2025.11.017","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jre.2025.11.017","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Rare earth oxides, characterized by their distinctive physicochemical attributes, hold significant promise for the remediation of gaseous pollutants. A critical priority in advancing this field lies in the development of cost-effective catalytic systems. This review article provides a comprehensive overview of recent research progress in the rational design and fabrication of rare earth oxide-based catalysts, along with their implementation in strategies for gaseous pollutant abatement. Particular attention is given to the structure–performance correlations that underpin catalytic efficacy, as well as the elucidation of underlying reaction mechanisms. Furthermore, this work discusses the unresolved challenges hindering the practical deployment of rare earth oxide materials in real-world pollution control applications. Finally, forward-looking perspectives on emerging research directions are presented. This synthesis of current knowledge aims to serve as a valuable reference for researchers and engineers, offering both theoretical insights and practical guidance for the development of advanced rare earth oxide catalysts and their application in environmental remediation technologies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16940,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Rare Earths","volume":"44 2","pages":"Pages 538-568"},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146102711","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-01DOI: 10.1016/j.jre.2024.11.001
Pu Wang , Xiangrui Wu , Meng Li , Xuan Wang , Huiyu Wang , Qiuzi Huang , Hao Li , Yawen Tang , Gengtao Fu
Phosphorous compounds have garnered significant interest as catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). However, their catalytic performance often falls short, limiting their widespread application in electrocatalysis. The objective of this work is to improve the OER performance of nickel metaphosphate (Ni(PO3)2) by incorporating rare-earth europium (Eu). The prepared Eu-Ni(PO3)2 exhibits significant electron redistribution and features porous nanosheet arrays. The optimized Eu-Ni(PO3)2 exhibits outstanding OER activity, with an overpotential of 273 mV at 10 mA/cm, rapid OER kinetics with a Tafel slope of 39.4 mV/dec, and excellent electrochemical stability. These results surpass the performance of Ni(PO3)2, many reported Ni-based catalysts, and even commercial RuO2. Operando Raman spectroscopy reveals that the improvement of OER performance on Eu-Ni(PO3)2 is due to the accelerated formation of surface NiOOH active species and the enhanced interfacial water enrichment during OER. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations further demonstrate that Eu doping induces electronic modulation between the Eu sites and adjacent O-Ni sites, resulting in an optimized thermodynamic pathway with balanced adsorption energies for key oxygen intermediates, thus alleviating thermodynamic limitations during OER.
磷化合物作为析氧反应（OER）的催化剂引起了人们极大的兴趣。然而，它们的催化性能往往不足，限制了它们在电催化中的广泛应用。本研究的目的是通过加入稀土铕（Eu）来改善偏磷酸镍（Ni(PO3)2）的OER性能。制备的Eu-Ni(PO3)2具有明显的电子重分布和多孔纳米片阵列。优化后的Eu-Ni(PO3)2表现出优异的OER活性，在10 mA/cm下的过电位为273 mV， OER动力学快速，Tafel斜率为39.4 mV/dec，电化学稳定性良好。这些结果超过了Ni(PO3)2，许多报道的Ni基催化剂，甚至是商业RuO2的性能。Operando拉曼光谱分析表明，eui - ni (PO3)2表面OER性能的提高是由于OER过程中表面NiOOH活性物质的加速形成和界面水富集的增强。密度泛函理论（DFT）计算进一步表明，Eu掺杂诱导了Eu位点和相邻O-Ni位点之间的电子调制，从而优化了关键氧中间体吸附能平衡的热力学途径，从而减轻了OER过程中的热力学限制。
{"title":"Efficient electrocatalytic oxygen evolution enabled by porous Eu-Ni(PO3)2 nanosheet arrays","authors":"Pu Wang , Xiangrui Wu , Meng Li , Xuan Wang , Huiyu Wang , Qiuzi Huang , Hao Li , Yawen Tang , Gengtao Fu","doi":"10.1016/j.jre.2024.11.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jre.2024.11.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div><span><span>Phosphorous compounds have garnered significant interest as catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). However, their catalytic performance often falls short, limiting their widespread application in </span>electrocatalysis. The objective of this work is to improve the OER performance of nickel metaphosphate (Ni(PO</span><sub>3</sub>)<sub>2</sub><span>) by incorporating rare-earth europium (Eu). The prepared Eu-Ni(PO</span><sub>3</sub>)<sub>2</sub><span> exhibits significant electron redistribution and features porous nanosheet arrays. The optimized Eu-Ni(PO</span><sub>3</sub>)<sub>2</sub> exhibits outstanding OER activity, with an overpotential of 273 mV at 10 mA/cm, rapid OER kinetics with a Tafel slope of 39.4 mV/dec, and excellent electrochemical stability. These results surpass the performance of Ni(PO<sub>3</sub>)<sub>2</sub>, many reported Ni-based catalysts, and even commercial RuO<sub>2</sub>. <span><em>Operando</em></span><span> Raman spectroscopy reveals that the improvement of OER performance on Eu-Ni(PO</span><sub>3</sub>)<sub>2</sub><span> is due to the accelerated formation of surface NiOOH active species and the enhanced interfacial water enrichment during OER. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations further demonstrate that Eu doping induces electronic modulation between the Eu sites and adjacent O-Ni sites, resulting in an optimized thermodynamic pathway with balanced adsorption energies for key oxygen intermediates, thus alleviating thermodynamic limitations during OER.</span></div></div>","PeriodicalId":16940,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Rare Earths","volume":"44 2","pages":"Pages 595-603"},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146102715","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-01DOI: 10.1016/j.jre.2025.08.016
Bin Hu , Kun Chen , Bingbing Shen , Xiaohong Shang , Fenghe Duan , Chuanpan Guo , Shuai Zhang , Zhihong Zhang
Electrocatalytic urea oxidation reaction (UOR) not only provides innovative solutions for clean energy development and environmental pollution control, but also promotes sustainable development through efficient resource recycling. Its technological breakthroughs hold significant implications for achieving carbon neutrality goals and establishing a green energy system. Benefiting from their high specific surface area, tunable pore structures, and modifiable electronic properties, diverse metal–organic frameworks (MOFs)-based UOR electrocatalysts have been exploited, such as pristine Ni-, Fe-, and Cu-based monometallic, bimetallic, or multiple metallic MOFs, MOFs-based composites, and MOFs-related derivatives. The porous framework exposes abundant active sites and enhances mass transfer, while the synergy between metal nodes and organic ligands optimizes electronic configurations to reduce reaction energy barriers. By integrating conductive substrates or constructing heterostructures, catalytic activity and stability are significantly enhanced. Varieties of strategies have been performed to further decrease the overpotential and accelerate the kinetics towards the UOR, such as modulating charge density and d-band center positions of active sites through metal–ligand coordination, inducing charge redistribution and enhancing electron transport via heterostructure interfaces, breaking electronic symmetry and boosting surface reactivity through defect engineering, adjusting atomic spacing and electronic band structures via strain engineering, reinforcing charge transfer and stabilizing active sites using conductive substrates, and enabling precise design through dynamic in-situ reconstruction and theory-guided optimization. This review explores the latest significant advances in the design and synthesis of MOFs-based UOR catalysts. Beyond highlighting recent breakthroughs in UOR catalysts, this review critically emphasizes the design strategies for urea electrolysis in the field of energy conversion and systematically addresses current challenges. Furthermore, this comprehensive research approach proposes forward-looking strategies for future research directions in energy conversion and carbon neutrality to advance the development of this emerging field.
{"title":"Structural engineering of metal–organic frameworks for enhanced electrocatalytic urea oxidation reaction: Mechanistic insights and electronic modulation strategies","authors":"Bin Hu , Kun Chen , Bingbing Shen , Xiaohong Shang , Fenghe Duan , Chuanpan Guo , Shuai Zhang , Zhihong Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.jre.2025.08.016","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jre.2025.08.016","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Electrocatalytic urea oxidation reaction (UOR) not only provides innovative solutions for clean energy development and environmental pollution control, but also promotes sustainable development through efficient resource recycling. Its technological breakthroughs hold significant implications for achieving carbon neutrality goals and establishing a green energy system. Benefiting from their high specific surface area, tunable pore structures, and modifiable electronic properties, diverse metal–organic frameworks (MOFs)-based UOR electrocatalysts have been exploited, such as pristine Ni-, Fe-, and Cu-based monometallic, bimetallic, or multiple metallic MOFs, MOFs-based composites, and MOFs-related derivatives. The porous framework exposes abundant active sites and enhances mass transfer, while the synergy between metal nodes and organic ligands optimizes electronic configurations to reduce reaction energy barriers. By integrating conductive substrates or constructing heterostructures, catalytic activity and stability are significantly enhanced. Varieties of strategies have been performed to further decrease the overpotential and accelerate the kinetics towards the UOR, such as modulating charge density and d-band center positions of active sites through metal–ligand coordination, inducing charge redistribution and enhancing electron transport via heterostructure interfaces, breaking electronic symmetry and boosting surface reactivity through defect engineering, adjusting atomic spacing and electronic band structures via strain engineering, reinforcing charge transfer and stabilizing active sites using conductive substrates, and enabling precise design through dynamic <em>in-situ</em> reconstruction and theory-guided optimization. This review explores the latest significant advances in the design and synthesis of MOFs-based UOR catalysts. Beyond highlighting recent breakthroughs in UOR catalysts, this review critically emphasizes the design strategies for urea electrolysis in the field of energy conversion and systematically addresses current challenges. Furthermore, this comprehensive research approach proposes forward-looking strategies for future research directions in energy conversion and carbon neutrality to advance the development of this emerging field.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16940,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Rare Earths","volume":"44 2","pages":"Pages 469-490"},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146102707","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-01DOI: 10.1016/j.jre.2025.11.020
Muhammad Asim Mushtaq , Waseem Raza , Munir Ahmad , Anuj Kumar , Andleeb Mehmood , Muhammad Arif , Ghulam Yasin , Mohammad Tabish , Saira Ajmal , Muhammad Ahmad , Muhammad Sufyan Javed , Dongpeng Yan
The electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) has emerged as a viable substitute to the energy-intensive Haber-Bosch process for ambient ammonia (NH3) synthesis, but its practical implementation is limited by low NH3 yields and inadequate Faradaic efficiency under ambient circumstances. Recent advancements indicate that rare-earth (RE) elements, which contain multiple oxidation states, significant redox flexibility, a tendency to create oxygen vacancies, and multiple accessible active sites, make them suitable candidates for effective electrocatalytic NRR. Electrocatalysts are critical prerequisites for improving electrochemical efficiency and maximizing product yield. A comprehensive analysis of rare earth-based materials in influencing the electronic characteristics of NRR catalysts, alongside the structure–performance correlation in electrocatalytic activities, is summarized systematically. This review offers a timely and thorough overview of the advancements in the utilization of RE-based micro/nanomaterials and presents plausible forecasts for the future electrocatalytic NRR. Finally, challenges, perspectives, rational design, and development of highly efficient RE-based catalysts are articulated with particular focus on diverse metal-based electrocatalysts for N2 fixation.
{"title":"Recent trend in rare earth electrocatalysts for ambient ammonia synthesis: Challenges and perspectives","authors":"Muhammad Asim Mushtaq , Waseem Raza , Munir Ahmad , Anuj Kumar , Andleeb Mehmood , Muhammad Arif , Ghulam Yasin , Mohammad Tabish , Saira Ajmal , Muhammad Ahmad , Muhammad Sufyan Javed , Dongpeng Yan","doi":"10.1016/j.jre.2025.11.020","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jre.2025.11.020","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) has emerged as a viable substitute to the energy-intensive Haber-Bosch process for ambient ammonia (NH<sub>3</sub>) synthesis, but its practical implementation is limited by low NH<sub>3</sub> yields and inadequate Faradaic efficiency under ambient circumstances. Recent advancements indicate that rare-earth (RE) elements, which contain multiple oxidation states, significant redox flexibility, a tendency to create oxygen vacancies, and multiple accessible active sites, make them suitable candidates for effective electrocatalytic NRR. Electrocatalysts are critical prerequisites for improving electrochemical efficiency and maximizing product yield. A comprehensive analysis of rare earth-based materials in influencing the electronic characteristics of NRR catalysts, alongside the structure–performance correlation in electrocatalytic activities, is summarized systematically. This review offers a timely and thorough overview of the advancements in the utilization of RE-based micro/nanomaterials and presents plausible forecasts for the future electrocatalytic NRR. Finally, challenges, perspectives, rational design, and development of highly efficient RE-based catalysts are articulated with particular focus on diverse metal-based electrocatalysts for N<sub>2</sub> fixation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16940,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Rare Earths","volume":"44 2","pages":"Pages 519-537"},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146102710","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-01DOI: 10.1016/j.jre.2025.03.015
Jiao Yang , Jiayi Cui , Yujuan Zhuang , Jianmin Yu , Lishan Peng
Fe-N-C electrocatalysts have garnered significant interest for their effectiveness in the oxygen reduction reaction. However, optimizing the local coordination of Fe sites and achieving a high density of accessible active sites continue to present considerable challenges. In this work, we introduced lanthanum (La) into the Fe-N-C catalyst via a multi-step process combining ion adsorption and pyrolysis, resulting in a La-modified, porous Fe-N-C catalyst (FeLaDA-NC). The incorporation of La enhances the intrinsic catalytic properties of Fe centers, while the optimized synthesis method increases the density of available FeNx active sites. The FeLaDA-NC catalyst exhibits remarkable ORR activity, with a half-wave potential of 0.88 V, alongside excellent stability and methanol tolerance, outperforming commercial Pt/C catalysts. When using the FeLaDA-NC as ORR catalyst, the zinc-air battery demonstrates an impressive peak power density of 173.2 mW/cm2, highlighting the advantages of tailoring the coordination of Fe-N-C catalysts. This study highlights the promising potential of rare-earth modification in advancing the catalytic performance of Fe-based electrocatalysts.
{"title":"Rare-earth modification optimizes porous Fe-N-C catalysts to boost oxygen reduction reaction for Zn-air batteries","authors":"Jiao Yang , Jiayi Cui , Yujuan Zhuang , Jianmin Yu , Lishan Peng","doi":"10.1016/j.jre.2025.03.015","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jre.2025.03.015","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Fe-N-C electrocatalysts have garnered significant interest for their effectiveness in the oxygen reduction reaction. However, optimizing the local coordination of Fe sites and achieving a high density of accessible active sites continue to present considerable challenges. In this work, we introduced lanthanum (La) into the Fe-N-C catalyst via a multi-step process combining ion adsorption and pyrolysis, resulting in a La-modified, porous Fe-N-C catalyst (FeLa<sub>DA</sub>-NC). The incorporation of La enhances the intrinsic catalytic properties of Fe centers, while the optimized synthesis method increases the density of available FeN<sub><em>x</em></sub> active sites. The FeLa<sub>DA</sub>-NC catalyst exhibits remarkable ORR activity, with a half-wave potential of 0.88 V, alongside excellent stability and methanol tolerance, outperforming commercial Pt/C catalysts. When using the FeLa<sub>DA</sub>-NC as ORR catalyst, the zinc-air battery demonstrates an impressive peak power density of 173.2 mW/cm<sup>2</sup>, highlighting the advantages of tailoring the coordination of Fe-N-C catalysts. This study highlights the promising potential of rare-earth modification in advancing the catalytic performance of Fe-based electrocatalysts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16940,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Rare Earths","volume":"44 2","pages":"Pages 569-576"},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146102712","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-01DOI: 10.1016/j.jre.2025.03.023
A.R. Panda , S. Samanta , S. Banerjee , P. Parhi
Electrocatalysts are essential for accelerating the kinetics of oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and oxygen reduction reactions (ORR) in various air-based energy conversion and storage systems, including fuel cells and metal-air batteries. The hunt for more affordable catalysts has been sparked by the limited natural availability and high cost of noble metals used in both ORR and OER. Inexpensive metal oxides are good alternatives as they have demonstrated a comparable level of activity (as compared to noble metal-based systems) for a variety of electrochemical processes. The present study reveals a facile strategy to prepare rare earth-doped transition metal ferrite spinel (NiDyxFe2–xO4) as an efficient bifunctional catalyst. NiDyxFe2–xO4 with B-site doping of dysprosium (x = 0.025, 0.05, 0.075, 0.1) was prepared by sol–gel method. The prepared catalysts were characterized using different characterization techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy (UV–Vis), and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) method. The bifunctional catalytic behavior of the prepared catalyst towards both ORR and OER was studied in an alkaline medium. The catalysts denoted as NDFO-0.025, NDFO-0.05, NDFO-0.075, and NDFO-0.1 respectively for different doping Dy (x = 0.025, 0.05, 0.075, 0.1) show improved kinetics and activity for both ORR and OER. Among the prepared electrocatalysts NDFO-0.05 shows bifunctional behavior having an onset potential of 0.844 V vs. RHE and a current density of 5.6 mA/cm2. For OER, NDFO-0.05 exhibits an onset potential of 1.59 V (vs. RHE) and a current density of 36 mA/cm2, a high electron transfer number n nearly equal to 4 and long-term stability better than that of commercial Pt/C.
{"title":"Multifunctionality exploration of dysprosium-doped NiFe2O4: An efficient bifunctional electrocatalyst toward ORR/OER","authors":"A.R. Panda , S. Samanta , S. Banerjee , P. Parhi","doi":"10.1016/j.jre.2025.03.023","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jre.2025.03.023","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Electrocatalysts are essential for accelerating the kinetics of oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and oxygen reduction reactions (ORR) in various air-based energy conversion and storage systems, including fuel cells and metal-air batteries. The hunt for more affordable catalysts has been sparked by the limited natural availability and high cost of noble metals used in both ORR and OER. Inexpensive metal oxides are good alternatives as they have demonstrated a comparable level of activity (as compared to noble metal-based systems) for a variety of electrochemical processes. The present study reveals a facile strategy to prepare rare earth-doped transition metal ferrite spinel (NiDy<sub><em>x</em></sub>Fe<sub>2<em>–x</em></sub>O<sub>4</sub>) as an efficient bifunctional catalyst. NiDy<sub><em>x</em></sub>Fe<sub>2<em>–x</em></sub>O<sub>4</sub> with B-site doping of dysprosium (<em>x</em> = 0.025, 0.05, 0.075, 0.1) was prepared by sol–gel method. The prepared catalysts were characterized using different characterization techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy (UV–Vis), and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) method. The bifunctional catalytic behavior of the prepared catalyst towards both ORR and OER was studied in an alkaline medium. The catalysts denoted as NDFO-0.025, NDFO-0.05, NDFO-0.075, and NDFO-0.1 respectively for different doping Dy (<em>x</em> = 0.025, 0.05, 0.075, 0.1) show improved kinetics and activity for both ORR and OER. Among the prepared electrocatalysts NDFO-0.05 shows bifunctional behavior having an onset potential of 0.844 V vs. RHE and a current density of 5.6 mA/cm<sup>2</sup>. For OER, NDFO-0.05 exhibits an onset potential of 1.59 V (vs. RHE) and a current density of 36 mA/cm<sup>2</sup>, a high electron transfer number <em>n</em> nearly equal to 4 and long-term stability better than that of commercial Pt/C.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16940,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Rare Earths","volume":"44 2","pages":"Pages 659-668"},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146102782","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-01DOI: 10.1016/j.jre.2025.06.011
Bo Cao , Yan Cheng , Shasha Wang, Jun Zhang
Electrocatalytic technology serves as a crucial bridge for efficient energy interconversion between electrical and chemical systems. Electrocatalysis garnered significant research attention across the following areas: preparing green energy hydrogen to reduce dependence on fossil fuels; developing fuel cells with high efficiency; converting carbon dioxide into useful chemicals or fuels to achieve carbon recycling and realize the goal of carbon neutrality; reducing nitrate in wastewater to recover nitrogen. The development of these aforementioned electrocatalytic technologies relies on inexpensive and efficient catalysts. Rare earth (RE) elements, owing to their unique physical and chemical properties, have emerged as significant components in electrocatalysis research. This review systematically examined recent progress in four categories of RE-based electrocatalysts: RE-based alloys, RE-oxides based materials, RE-transition metal compound, and RE single atom. Moreover, the role of RE elements in catalysts and their mechanism in electrocatalysis process are discussed in detail. Ultimately, the challenges and outlooks are delineated to accelerate future advancements and a number of research guidance for RE-based materials in electrocatalysis is provided.
{"title":"Rare earth-based electrocatalysts: tuning performance and unraveling mechanisms for enhanced electrocatalytic reactions","authors":"Bo Cao , Yan Cheng , Shasha Wang, Jun Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.jre.2025.06.011","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jre.2025.06.011","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Electrocatalytic technology serves as a crucial bridge for efficient energy interconversion between electrical and chemical systems. Electrocatalysis garnered significant research attention across the following areas: preparing green energy hydrogen to reduce dependence on fossil fuels; developing fuel cells with high efficiency; converting carbon dioxide into useful chemicals or fuels to achieve carbon recycling and realize the goal of carbon neutrality; reducing nitrate in wastewater to recover nitrogen. The development of these aforementioned electrocatalytic technologies relies on inexpensive and efficient catalysts. Rare earth (RE) elements, owing to their unique physical and chemical properties, have emerged as significant components in electrocatalysis research. This review systematically examined recent progress in four categories of RE-based electrocatalysts: RE-based alloys, RE-oxides based materials, RE-transition metal compound, and RE single atom. Moreover, the role of RE elements in catalysts and their mechanism in electrocatalysis process are discussed in detail. Ultimately, the challenges and outlooks are delineated to accelerate future advancements and a number of research guidance for RE-based materials in electrocatalysis is provided.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16940,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Rare Earths","volume":"44 2","pages":"Pages 409-435"},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146102704","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-02-01DOI: 10.1016/j.jre.2025.05.015
Shuqi Yu , Chen Liu , Yungui Chen , Yao Wang
Hydrogen-electric conversion is considered to be one of the most effective means of dealing with large-scale energy storage. The key to improving the efficiency of hydrogen conversion is to develop high-performance electrocatalysts in hydrogen-electric conversion devices, including hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), oxygen evolution reaction (OER), oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), and hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR). Owing to their unique electronic structure, rare earth elements have been used to construct the high-performance electrocatalysts. Therefore, in this review, we detail the role of rare earth elements in changing the electronic structure of precious metal or non-precious metal catalysts by doping rare earth to form alloys or loading rare earth oxides to improve the electrocatalytic activity for each of the reactions. And we also summarize the application of rare earth-based perovskite oxides and MOF which can be directly used in electrocatalytic reactions. Finally, this review not only summarizes the current progress of rare earth elements in hydrogen-electric conversion system but also looks forward to their opportunities in the future.
{"title":"Application of rare earth elements in hydrogen-electric conversion-related catalysts","authors":"Shuqi Yu , Chen Liu , Yungui Chen , Yao Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.jre.2025.05.015","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jre.2025.05.015","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Hydrogen-electric conversion is considered to be one of the most effective means of dealing with large-scale energy storage. The key to improving the efficiency of hydrogen conversion is to develop high-performance electrocatalysts in hydrogen-electric conversion devices, including hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), oxygen evolution reaction (OER), oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), and hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR). Owing to their unique electronic structure, rare earth elements have been used to construct the high-performance electrocatalysts. Therefore, in this review, we detail the role of rare earth elements in changing the electronic structure of precious metal or non-precious metal catalysts by doping rare earth to form alloys or loading rare earth oxides to improve the electrocatalytic activity for each of the reactions. And we also summarize the application of rare earth-based perovskite oxides and MOF which can be directly used in electrocatalytic reactions. Finally, this review not only summarizes the current progress of rare earth elements in hydrogen-electric conversion system but also looks forward to their opportunities in the future.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16940,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Rare Earths","volume":"44 2","pages":"Pages 436-449"},"PeriodicalIF":7.2,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146102705","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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