Carbon-Based Metal-Free Catalysts for Electrocatalysis beyond the ORR

Besides their use in fuel cells for energy conversion through the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), carbon-based metal-free catalysts have also been demonstrated to be promising alternatives to noble-metal/metal oxide catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in metal-air batteries for energy storage and for the splitting of water to produce hydrogen fuels through the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). This Review focuses on recent progress in the development of carbon-based metal-free catalysts for the OER and HER, along with challenges and perspectives in the emerging field of metal-free electrocatalysis.