Into the carbon: A matter of core and shell in advanced electrocatalysis

Electrocatalysis, particularly related to fuel cell applications or other processes related to sustainability, has been steadily advanced by the design of new hierarchical materials involving two or more phases. One particularly appealing type of structure features metal species confined within carbon layers. These materials combine the benefits of the two components, which often work in synergy. However, given the intrinsic catalytic activity of carbon and the fact that the metal may be chemically inaccessible, in many cases, which of the two phases is the truly active site is not fully clear. Particularly for pure core–shell systems, where the metal is completely covered by carbon, the identification of the specific task of each component is not trivial. Many reported works on this type of bi-component catalyst are speculative in this regard. It is important for catalyst development that future studies on these systems will include a thorough cross-check of the reactivity aspects by means of combination of suitable techniques or experiments to unravel probable mechanisms and that assumptions are avoided.