The development of 2D materials for electrochemical energy applications: A mechanistic approach

Energy production and storage is one of the foremost challenges of the 21st century. Rising energy demands coupled with increasing materials scarcity have motivated the search for new materials for energy technology development. Nanomaterials are an excellent class of materials to drive this innovation due to their emergent properties at the nanoscale. In recent years, two dimensional (2D) layered materials have shown promise in a variety of energy related applications due to van der Waals interlayer bonding, large surface area, and the ability to engineer material properties through heterostructure formation. Despite notable results, their development has largely followed a guess and check approach. To realize the full potential of 2D materials, more efforts must be made towards achieving a mechanistic understanding of the processes that make these 2D systems promising. In this perspective, we bring attention to a series of techniques used to probe fundamental energy related processes in 2D materials, focusing on electrochemical catalysis and energy storage. We highlight studies that have advanced development due to mechanistic insights they uncovered. In doing so, we hope to provide a pathway for advancing our mechanistic understanding of 2D energy materials for further research.