Role and advances in nonmetal doping of electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction: a review

Abstract

Hydrogen produced by water electrolysis is considered an ideal, safe, and clean energy source. However, the high cost of noble metal-based electrocatalysts and the high overpotential of non-noble metals for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) are key bottlenecks limiting the practical application of water splitting technology. To tackle this challenge, extensive efforts have been made to explore strategies for improving the HER activity. This paper systematically reviews the critical roles of nonmetallic doping in enhancing HER catalyst performance, including electronic structure adjustment, active site regulation, and the generation of synergistic effects. Subsequently, we categorized the reported nonmetal-atom-doped HER catalysts by composition and introduced the mechanisms behind their high performance and long-term stability. In addition, this review also provides a comprehensive summary of the synthesis strategies and characterization techniques associated with non-metallic doping, aiming to offer practical guidance for future research and catalyst development in this field. Finally, this review discusses the development of non-metal-doped electrocatalysts, the key challenges in industrial water electrolysis, and the promising application of artificial intelligence (AI) in accelerating catalyst design and system optimization.