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The acceleration of energy exhaustion and environmental pollution calls for the development of electrocatalytic conversion and storage technologies for the production and utilization of green energy. However, these technologies have encountered significant challenges in terms of poor selectivity, high overpotential, low efficiency, and sluggish kinetics of the electrocatalytic reactions, which involve solid–liquid–gas three‐phase interfaces (SLG‐TPIs). In this review, we focus on discussing recent progress on the development of SLG‐TPIs for electrocatalytic reactions, such as hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), oxygen evolution and reduction reactions (OER/ORR), and carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO2RR), as well as their applications in water splitting, fuel cells, and metal‐air batteries. In addition, the working mechanism of TPIs is described and revealed by advanced characterization tools. The challenges and future opportunities of TPIs for electrocatalysis are also proposed in this review. This review focuses on discussing recent progress on the development of solid–liquid–gas three‐phase interfaces for electrocatalytic reactions of hydrogen evolution, oxygen evolution and reduction, and carbon dioxide reduction with applications in water splitting, fuel cells and metal‐air batteries.

Research and development on electrochemical energy storage and conversion (EESC) devices, viz. fuel cells, supercapacitors and batteries, are highly significant in realizing carbon neutrality and a sustainable energy economy. Component corrosion/degradation remains a major threat to EESC device‘s long‐term durability. Here, we provide a comprehensive account of the EESC device‘s corrosion and degradation issues. Discussions are mainly on polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells, metal‐ion and metal‐air batteries and supercapacitors. Corrosion of bipolar plates/current collectors, carbon corrosion, electrode/electrocatalyst degradation, and various mitigation approaches are detailed. The collective information provided could help develop EESC devices with better durability. This review provides recent updates on corrosion and degradation issues and their mitigation approaches in electrochemical energy storage and conversion devices, primarily PEM fuel cells, metal‐ion and metal‐air batteries and supercapacitors.

HighlightsFundamental principles underlying the design of oxide catalysts, including the influence of crystal structure, and electronic structure on their performance are summarized and analyzed.Challenges associated with developing oxide catalysts and the potential strategies are discussed.The electrochemical oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) are fundamental processes in a range of energy conversion devices such as fuel cells and metal–air batteries. ORR and OER both have significant activation barriers, which severely limit the overall performance of energy conversion devices that utilize ORR/OER. Meanwhile, ORR is another very important electrochemical reaction involving oxygen that has been widely investigated. ORR occurs in aqueous solutions via two pathways: the direct 4-electron reduction or 2-electron reduction pathways from O2 to water (H2O) or from O2 to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Noble metal electrocatalysts are often used to catalyze OER and ORR, despite the fact that noble metal electrocatalysts have certain intrinsic limitations, such as low storage. Thus, it is urgent to develop more active and stable low-cost electrocatalysts, especially for severe environments (e.g., acidic media). Theoretically, an ideal oxygen electrocatalyst should provide adequate binding to oxygen species. Transition metals not belonging to the platinum group metal-based oxides are a low-cost substance that could give a d orbital for oxygen species binding. As a result, transition metal oxides are regarded as a substitute for typical precious metal oxygen electrocatalysts. However, the development of oxide catalysts for oxygen reduction and oxygen evolution reactions still faces significant challenges, e.g., catalytic activity, stability, cost, and reaction mechanism. We discuss the fundamental principles underlying the design of oxide catalysts, including the influence of crystal structure, and electronic structure on their performance. We also discuss the challenges associated with developing oxide catalysts and the potential strategies to overcome these challenges.

Recent interest in the iron–air flow battery, known since the 1970s, has been driven by incentives to develop low‐cost, environmentally friendly and robust rechargeable batteries. With a predicted open‐circuit potential of 1.28 V, specific charge capacity of <300 A h kg−1 and reported efficiencies of 96, 40 and 35 % for charge, voltage and energy, respectively, the iron–air system could be well suited for a range of applications, including automotive. A number of challenges still need to be resolved, including: efficient and moderate‐cost bifunctional oxygen electrodes, low‐cost iron electrodes able to decrease corrosion and hydrogen evolution, new cell designs using additive manufacturing technologies and mathematical models to improve battery performance. This Minireview considers the thermodynamics and kinetics aspects of the iron–air battery, the operational variables and cell components, thereby highlighting current challenges and assessing recent developments. Breathing space: The figure shows a unit iron–air cell with the structure of the bifunctional air‐breathing cathode for the reduction and evolution of oxygen, the electrolyte, and the iron anode. This Minireview analyzes the history and recent developments of this system and highlights the challenges and opportunities that the low‐cost iron–air cell provides.

Solid‐state metal–air batteries have emerged as a research hotspot due to their high energy density and high safety. Moreover, side reactions caused by infiltrated gases (O2, H2O, or CO2) and safety issues caused by liquid electrolyte leakage will be eliminated radically. However, the solid‐state metal–air battery is still in its infancy, and many thorny problems still need to be solved, such as the large resistance of the metal/electrolyte interface and catalyst design. This review will summarize some important progress and key issues for solid‐state metal–air batteries, especially the lithium‐, sodium‐, and zinc‐based metal–air batteries, clarify some core issues, and forecast the future direction of the solid‐state metal–air batteries. Research on solid‐state metal–air batteries has made great progress in the development of clean and renewable electrochemical energy storage devices. In this review, some important progress and key issues of solid‐state metal–air batteries are summarized. This review provides valuable insights into the development of solid‐state metal–air batteries and forecasts the future direction of the solid‐state metal–air batteries.

With the ever-increasing demand for power sources of high energy density and stability for emergent electrical vehicles and portable electronic devices, rechargeable batteries (such as lithium-ion batteries, fuel batteries, and metal–air batteries) have attracted extensive interests. Among the emerging battery technologies, metal–air batteries (MABs) are under intense research and development focus due to their high theoretical energy density and high level of safety. Although significant progress has been achieved in improving battery performance in the past decade, there are still numerous technical challenges to overcome for commercialization. Herein, this mini-review summarizes major issues vital to MABs, including progress on packaging and crucial manufacturing technologies for cathode, anode, and electrolyte. Future trends and prospects of advanced MABs by additive manufacturing and nanoengineering are also discussed.

Metal–air batteries represent a category of energy storage system that leverages the reaction between metal and oxygen from the atmosphere to produce electricity. These batteries, known for their high energy density, have attracted considerable attention as potential solutions for extending the range of electric vehicles. Understanding the capabilities and limitations of metal-air batteries as range extenders is crucial for advancing electric vehicle technology, as these batteries could offer the additional energy needed to overcome current range limitations. This review paper provides a detailed overview of various metal-air battery technologies, delving into their design, functionality, and inherent challenges. By analyzing key theoretical and practical parameters, the study highlights how these factors influence overall battery performance. Additionally, the review addresses critical cost considerations, particularly the relationship between vehicle cost and driving range, uncovering the significant trade-offs involved in adopting metal-air batteries. Through an examination of nearly all the existing metal-air batteries, this paper sheds light on their potential to serve as effective range extenders, thereby facilitating the transition to a cleaner, more sustainable transportation landscape.

Metal-air batteries provide a most promising battery technology given their outstanding potential energy densities, which are desirable for both stationary and mobile applications in a “beyond lithium-ion” battery market. Silicon- and iron-air batteries underwent less research and development compared to lithium- and zinc-air batteries. Nevertheless, in the recent past, the two also-ran battery systems made considerable progress and attracted rising research interest due to the excellent resource-efficiency of silicon and iron. Silicon and iron are among the top five of the most abundant elements in the Earth’s crust, which ensures almost infinite material supply of the anode materials, even for large scale applications. Furthermore, primary silicon-air batteries are set to provide one of the highest energy densities among all types of batteries, while iron-air batteries are frequently considered as a highly rechargeable system with decent performance characteristics. Considering fundamental aspects for the anode materials, i.e., the metal electrodes, in this review we will first outline the challenges, which explicitly apply to silicon- and iron-air batteries and prevented them from a broad implementation so far. Afterwards, we provide an extensive literature survey regarding state-of-the-art experimental approaches, which are set to resolve the aforementioned challenges and might enable the introduction of silicon- and iron-air batteries into the battery market in the future.

Exploitation of the efficient and cost-effective electrode materials is urgently desirable for the development of advanced energy devices. With the unique features of good electronic conductivity, structure flexibility, and desirable physicochemical property, carbon-based nanomaterials have attracted enormous research attention as efficient electrode materials. Electronic and microstructure engineering of carbon-based nanomaterials are the keys to regulate the electrocatalytic properties for the specific redox reactions of advanced metal-based batteries. However, the critical roles of carbon-based electrocatalysts for rechargeable metal batteries have not been comprehensively discussed. With the basic introduction on the electronic and microstructure engineering strategies, we summarize the recent advances on the rational design of carbon-based electrocatalysts for the important redox reactions in various metal-air batteries and metal-halogen batteries. The relationships between the composition, structure, and the electrocatalytic properties of carbon-based materials were well-addressed to enhance the battery performance. The overview of present challenges and opportunities of the carbon-based active materials for future energy-related applications was also discussed.

One of the most popular solutions for electrochemical energy storage is metal−air batteries, which could be employed in electric vehicles or grid energy storage. Metal–air batteries have a higher theoretical energy density than lithium-ion batteries. The crucial components for the best performance of batteries are the air cathode electrocatalysts and corresponding electrolytes. Herein, we present several of the latest studies on electrocatalysts for air cathodes and bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysts for aqueous zinc–air and aluminium–air batteries.