A Mini Review on Transition Metal Chalcogenides for Electrocatalytic Water Splitting: Bridging Material Design and Practical Application

Hydrogen is believed to be one of the essential clean secondary energy sources in the energy structure revolution of both industry and daily life. Driven by renewable electricity such as solar and wind power, water electrolysis for hydrogen production is deemed as one of the main processes of green hydrogen production in the future by both academia and industry. Transition metal chalcogenides (TMCs) are promising candidates to replace noble metals as earth-abundant electrocatalysts for water splitting. However, it remains challenging to further improve the electrocatalytic activity and long-term stability of TMCs, especially in a practical water electrolyzer. This Review summarizes the recent advances and the strategies of optimizing the electrocatalytic activities of TMCs toward water splitting as well as the latest investigations on the surface reconstructions of TMCs during water electrolysis. The performances of TMCs in practical electrocatalytic water splitting cells are particularly discussed. Finally, a concluding remark and perspective is provided, and we hope to inspire future works in this area, narrowing the gap between material design and practical application.