Insights into Transition Metal Phosphate Materials for Efficient Electrocatalysis

Over the past decade, transition metal phosphate materials have attracted enormous interest for various functional devices. In addition to being low-cost, earth-abundant and environmentally benign, transition metal phosphates have several unique advantages including high stability, unique chemical/physical characteristics and tunable multifunctionality, making them ideally suited for advanced highly-efficiency energy conversion and storage applications. In this Review, the synthetic strategies for transition metal phosphates are summarized, and the most recent advances in the development of transition metal phosphates are described for efficient electrocatalysis such as oxygen evolution, hydrogen evolution and oxygen reduction reactions, highlighting the impact of their morphologies and structures on the electrochemical performance and practical applications in overall water splitting and rechargeable metal-air batteries. Finally, the challenges facing the development of transition metal phosphates in the field of energy conversion and storage are outlined, together with directions of further research and perspectives.