High-Entropy Alloy Nanomaterials for Electrocatalysis and Batteries: Synthesis, Characterization and Applications

Abstract

High-entropy alloys (HEAs), either in nano or porous bulk forms, as both functional and structural materials, have attracted intensive research and emerged as a prominent area of interest within the field of material science since their novel chemical and physical properties. Recently, emerging HEAs have provided immense possibilities for the development of high-efficiency catalysts with exceptional catalytic activity and enhanced durability because of the strengths HEA-NPs possess, for example, the structural stability realized especially under severe catalytic conditions owing to a high-entropy stabilized structure; the identification of optimal catalysts and widely tailorable atom configuration due to a multielement composition space; the arbitrary multielement mixing results in a variety of active sites and significantly beneficial for multistep catalytic reactions. With the decrease in particle size, HEA nanoparticles (HEA-NPs), excellent candidates for compelling heterogeneous catalysis, exhibit even better performance than bulk HEAs because of the surface and quantum confinement effects. Herein, a review of the latest preparation technologies for diverse categories of HEA-NPs and their impressive applications in electrocatalysis and the rechargeable battery is provided, focusing on water splitting, ammonia decomposition, Li-S battery, and Zn-air battery. Furthermore, the current practical challenges and potential directions of HEA-NPs are proposed, which aim to help fabricate more advanced high-entropy nanomaterials for highly efficient chemical conversion.