The electrochemical applications of rare earth-based nanomaterials

As a series of important metal materials, rare earth elements and their related derivative compounds have received significant attention because of their narrow emission bands, noncytotoxicity, excitation of multiple fluorescence colors and electrochemical properties. These unique properties endow rare earth-based nanomaterials with great potential for application in various fields such as in supercapacitors, batteries, sensors, devices and solar cells. This review presents a general description of the electrochemical properties of rare earth-based nanomaterials. The developments and improvements of their electrochemical applications in electrochemical sensors for the detection of small biomolecules and DNA, supercapacitors, batteries and electrochemical catalysis towards the hydrogen evolution reaction have also been discussed.