New Avenues to Chemical Space for Energy Materials by the Molecular Precursor Approach

The quest to develop efficient electrocatalysts for water-splitting is still an ongoing challenge. Intense efforts have been dedicated over the years to design effective methods to improve the electrocatalytic performances. In recent times, the single-source (molecular) precursor (SSP) approach has gained enormous attention from the scientific community as it operates at low temperatures and leads to the formation of unique nanostructured materials, with fine-tuned chemical and physical properties, resulting in high and stable catalytic activities. Herein, the recent developments in molecule-to-material chemistry and their applications toward the oxygen evolution reaction, hydrogen evolution reaction, and overall water-splitting are summarized. Furthermore, the review focuses on understanding the reconstruction process of the SSP-derived materials and the adopted techniques (in situ and ex situ) to obtain insights into the active structures for catalysis. The future possibilities of applying these materials for value-added organic electro-oxidation/reduction reactions are also explored.