Transition Metal Chalcogenides for the Electrocatalysis of Water

Sustainable energy technology has received enormous attention in recent years. Specifically, electrochemical water splitting is considered to be the cleanest technique for the production of promising fuels, for example, hydrogen and oxygen, where transition metal (di)chalcogenides (TMCs) as electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) have been a growing interest. In this chapter, the typical preparation methods of TMCs such as chemical vapor phase deposition (CVD) and solvothermal synthesis are introduced. Then, several TMC materials for catalyzing HER and OER are reviewed. Most importantly, this chapter also introduced some in situ approaches to realize the mechanism of electrocatalytic behavior toward HER and OER. Finally, the conclusion and futuristic prospects of TMCs in HER and OER are discussed.