Recent Advances in the Synthesis of Layered, Double-Hydroxide-Based Materials and Their Applications in Hydrogen and Oxygen Evolution

Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) consist of brucite-like layers containing hydroxides of two or more different kinds of metal cations. These positively charged layers are neutralized by exchangeable anions in the interlayer galleries. LDH-based materials have substantial potential in efficient energy (e.g., H-2, O-2) generation. Over the last few decades, tremendous progress has been made toward developing LDH-based materials for H-2 and O-2 evolution, for which the performance of LDH-based materials is closely related to the synthesis method. This minireview initially outlines the recent advances in the synthesis of LDH-based materials. The advantages and challenges of the protocols in tuning the properties of the material are also discussed and highlighted. The application section concentrates on the most recent progress in photocatalytic H-2 generation and photocatalytic and electrocatalytic O-2 evolution. By taking advantage of the flexible tunability and uniform distribution of metal cations in the brucite-like layers or the intercalated anions in the interlayer space, LDH-based materials exhibit attractive properties in the generation of H-2 and O-2 with advantages such as improved light absorption, enhanced charge separation, better electron transfer, promoted electrode reaction kinetics, and high durability.