Polyoxometalates-derived nanostructures for electrocatalysis application

The conversion of intermittent renewable electrical energy to chemical energy is of great importance, which can not only mitigate current energy and environmental crisis but also contribute to the ongoing carbon neutrality national strategy. Electrocatalysis is serving as a low-carbon conversion technology that enables green and efficient energy conversion mainly through hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO 2 RR), and nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR). The core of electrocatalysis is the design and construction of low-cost, high-activity and high-stability electrocatalyst to drive reaction thermodynamics and kinetics. The employment of polyoxometalates (POMs) as platforms or precursors to construct different types of electrocatalysts has been widely reported. Herein, we systematically summarized the recent advances in POM-derived nanostructures for electrocatalysis application. The strategies for precursor design and electrocatalyst synthesis were briefly introduced. The morphology control, phase control, composite modulation, and heterostructure engineering in POM-derived nanostructures were presented in detail. The structure–activity relationship of POM-derived nanostructures is fully discussed for HER, CO 2 RR, and NRR applications. Finally, the current challenges and future outlooks of POM-derived nanostructures are summarized to provide insights toward high-efficiency electrocatalysts for energy conversion technologies. Graphical abstract