High-entropy transition metal chalcogenides as electrocatalysts for renewable energy conversion

High-entropy transition metal chalcogenides (HE-TMCs) are advantageous in electrocatalytic applications compared to other entropy-stabilized systems owing to the greater orbital extension and energetic match of p-orbitals in chalcogenides with d-orbitals of the transition metals providing additional space to tailor their electronic structure. The high-configurational entropy of HE-TMCs leads to stabilization of cubic rock salt, wurtzite-type and hexagonally packed 2D structures. Due to the multi-element nature of HE-TMCs, the synergy among different elements results in tunable d- and p-band positions. As a consequence, the adsorption energies of electrocatalytic reaction intermediates can be tailored to enhance catalytic performance in water splitting and CO2 reduction. Furthermore, the entropy-stabilized disordered microstructural state of the material endows HE-TMCs with improved corrosion resistance. Despite recent advances in HE-TMC electrocatalysis, challenges such as identification and synthesis of efficient HE-TMCs as well as the identification of catalytically active sites and reaction mechanisms on HE-TMCs remain to be investigated.