A critical review of research progress for metal alloy materials in hydrogen evolution and oxygen evolution reaction

Hydrogen produced by electrolyzing water has attracted extensive attention as an effective way to generate and store new energy by using renewable energy. Electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) were the core reactions in the process of hydrogen production by water electrolysis, however, due to the low efficiency of the electrolytic device caused by its slow kinetic reaction and the dependence on noble metal catalysts (platinum and iridium/ruthenium (oxide)), which limited its wide application. The preparation of high-efficiency catalysts with high catalytic activity, stability, low cost and scalability played a vital role in promoting the development of hydrogen production technology from electrolytic water and has become a current research hotspot. Metal alloy catalysts have been widely studied as high-efficiency electrocatalysts. This study introduced and analyzed the mechanism and application of metal alloy catalyst in hydrogen and oxygen evolution reaction, summarized and discussed the progress in the design, preparation and application of metal alloy electrocatalysts. Finally, the strategy and prospect of new high-efficiency electrocatalysts were proposed.