Ion-irradiation of catalyst and electrode materials for water electrolysis/photoelectrolysis cells, rechargeable batteries, and supercapacitors

Abstract

Innovatively designed, modified, and synthesized catalyst/electrode materials are of great importance in improving the performance of electrochemical energy devices for energy storage and conversion. Among various material modification technologies, the ion-irradiation technique has been recognized as a promising technology, which can effectively modify and design materials through controlling the key irradiation parameters, such as irradiation ion species, energy and fluence. The advantages of the ion-irradiation technique are high precision, favorable controllability, favorable repeatability, etc.; meanwhile, it can realize arbitrary element doping and defect control for many catalyst/electrode materials. Notably, it does not induce any impurities into the target materials during the ion-irradiation process, which is superior to many chemical modifications. The effects of ion-irradiation on catalyst/electrode materials in recent years are described in this review, including defect introduction, regulation of the electronic structure, morphology control, synthesis, and element doping. Then, the applications of ion irradiated catalyst/electrode materials in water electrolysis/photoelectrolysis cells, lithium-ion batteries, and supercapacitors are systematically summarized with an emphasis on the advantages of boosting the properties of materials. Finally, the challenges and strategies are proposed for developing more practical ion-irradiation techniques towards high-performance catalyst/electrode materials.