Zhao Chang-Xin, Zhang Qiang
Beijing Key Laboratory of Green Chemical Reaction Engineering and Technology, Department of Chemical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
Precis Chem. 2023 Apr 14;1(5):264-271. doi: 10.1021/prechem.3c00026. eCollection 2023 Jul 24.
M-N-C catalysts, with their transition metal atoms coordinated to nitrogen/carbon atoms as active sites, are gaining attention for their versatile heterogeneous electrocatalysis. Fabrication of these catalysts can be achieved through either bottom-up chemical synthesis or top-down pyrolysis procedures, where the former offers a well-defined structure and precise synthesis feasibility. This Perspective provides an overview of the history of the technical route dispute between pyrolysis and pyrolysis-free M-N-C catalysts, along with their respective advantages and disadvantages. Additionally, we emphasize the advantages of pyrolysis-free M-N-C catalysts, exemplified by several studies focused on precisely modulating the structure to regulate the activity, as well as the efforts of effectively integrating the active sites. Finally, we discuss the challenges and opportunities of pyrolysis-free M-N-C catalysts, with the aim of maximizing their inherent strengths of precise structure and promoting their industrial applications.
M-N-C催化剂因其过渡金属原子与氮/碳原子配位作为活性位点，在多功能非均相电催化方面正受到关注。这些催化剂的制备可以通过自下而上的化学合成或自上而下的热解程序来实现，其中前者具有明确的结构和精确的合成可行性。本综述概述了热解型和无热解型M-N-C催化剂技术路线之争的历史，以及它们各自的优缺点。此外，我们强调了无热解型M-N-C催化剂的优势，以几项专注于精确调节结构以调控活性的研究为例，以及有效整合活性位点的努力。最后，我们讨论了无热解型M-N-C催化剂的挑战和机遇，旨在最大化其精确结构的固有优势并促进其工业应用。
