Mesoporous Noble Metal–Metalloid/Nonmetal Alloy Nanomaterials: Designing Highly Efficient Catalysts

Mesoporous metals have received increasing attention in catalysis and related applications because of their novel physicochemical properties and functional geometric features. Control of multicomponent compositions and crystalline structures of mesoporous metals is critical for their applications. Recently, mesoporous metals have gradually expanded from traditional metal-metal alloys to metal-metalloid/nonmetal alloys with random solids and/or ordered intermetallics. As new, highly efficient nanocatalysts, mesoporous metal-metalloid/nonmetal alloys not only increase the utilization efficiency of precious noble metals and accelerate electron/mass transfer but also introduce new functions and optimize the surface electronic structure of metal sites, all of which enhance their catalytic activity and stability and tune their catalytic selectivity. In this Perspective, we focus on the latest developments in this area, including the findings from our group regarding the rational design and targeted synthesis of mesoporous noble metal-metalloid/nonmetal alloy nanocatalysts. We summarize the current synthetic strategies for mesoporous noble metal-metalloid/nonmetal alloys and discuss key effects of crystalline mesoporosity and metalloid/nonmetal alloys in enhancing catalytic performances of noble metal catalysts. We also describe the current bottlenecks and major challenges to explore further directions in synthesis and applications of mesoporous noble metal-metalloid/nonmetal alloys.