Recent progress and perspective on molybdenum-based electrocatalysts for water electrolysis

Electrochemical water electrolysis represents a highly promising technology for large-scale and sustainable hydrogen production, which largely depends on the development of earth-abundant and highly efficient electrocatalysts for overall water-splitting (OWS). Molybdenum (Mo) based electrocatalysts with controllable nanostructures and diverse compositions have been demonstrated as a promising candidate towards OWS. Herein, we present a comprehensive review focusing on the recent progress of Mo-based electrocatalysts for OWS. We first summarize the catalytic mechanisms of two half reactions, i.e., hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER), and briefly introduce the activity descriptors and experimental parameters of OWS. Subsequently, we outline various Mo-based electrocatalysts composing of Mo-based alloys, sulfides, selenides, carbides, borides, nitrides and oxides, with special emphasis on the catalytic performance and nanostructure/compositions correlation. Finally, we propose the existent issues and prospective direction of Mo-based electrocatalysts towards OWS for large-scale commercialization.