Metal Phosphide: An Atypical Catalytic Site

The studies of metal phosphides (MPs) have flourished in the past decades due to their exceptional catalytic performance in thermo-, electro-, and photocatalysis. In this review, we summarize the synthesis methods of MPs and attribute their unique catalytic properties to electronic, geometric, and synergetic modifications. The multifunctionality of phosphorus doping makes phosphide an atypical catalyst. The phosphorus withdraws electrons from metal sites, isolates metal sites, and provides synergetic sites simultaneously, leading to high catalytic activities in various reactions, such as hydroformylation, hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), and photocatalytic H2 production. The variety of MPs enables rational design of catalysts based on the requirements of different reactions and expands the application scenarios of MPs. This review summarizes the structure–performance relationship of MPs, paving the way for future catalyst design and mechanism studies.