Interfacial engineering of platinum group metals electrocatalysts for advanced electrocatalysis

Interfacial engineering on platinum group metals (PGMs) nanostructures has been intensively explored owing to the intriguing performance enhancement for electrocatalytic reactions. The interfacial electrocatalysts possess remarkable structural advantages including distinctive electronic structure, favorable electron mobility, and improved mechanical stability. In this review, recent research progress in PGMs-based interfacial catalysts for advanced electrocatalysis is summarized. Firstly, we introduce the classification of PGMs-based interfacial catalysts based on typical interface categories including metal/metal, metal/metal compound, and metal/support interfaces. Thereafter, we emphasize the strategies for the fabrication of PGMs-based interfacial catalysts involving thermal annealing strategy, electrochemical treatment, and seed-mediated growth. In addition, an overview of the promotion effect of PGMs-based interfacial catalysts on electrocatalytic performance is elaborated in terms of electronic interaction, strain effect, and synergistic effect. Finally, we propose the existing challenges and further development of interfacial catalysts from the aspects of mechanism exploration for the formation of interface and reaction mechanism investigation.