Carbon Nanotubes‐Based Electrocatalysts: Structural Regulation, Support Effect, and Synchrotron‐Based Characterization

Efficient electrocatalysts are highly desirable for promising electrochemical reactions that are likely to mitigate the long‐standing energy and environment problems mainly resulting from human activities. However, most of them are partly composed by scarce and precious metals, thus hampering their large‐scale utilization. In this regard, developing efficient electrocatalysts with reduced noble metals loading or without noble metals is highly desirable. In the past decade, carbon nanotubes (CNTs)‐based electrocatalysts have proven to be efficient in many typical electrocatalytic reactions, and its strong structure operability and easy accessibility enable the utilization of related electrocatalysts to be sustainable. This review is aimed to summarize the research progress in CNTs‐based electrocatalysts, which are widely used in various electrochemical reactions. The major structure regulation approaches toward CNTs‐based electrocatalysts are highlighted. The primary functions of CNTs‐based electrocatalysts in electrochemical reactions are also highlighted here, together with the discussions on the support effect related to CNTs. Synchrotron‐based spectroscopies which can explore the intrinsic structure details that contribute to the performance enhancement and the electrochemical structure evolution of electrocatalysts under working conditions are also discussed. Finally, the challenges for shedding light on the very essence of the activity and the research perspectives are suggested. The research progress in the structural regulation and primary functions of widely used carbon nanotubes (CNTs)‐based electrocatalysts are summaried, together with discussions on the related support effect. Synchrotron‐based spectroscopies that can explore the electrochemical structure evolution and the intrinsic structure details that contribute to the performance enhancement of electrocatalysts are also discussed.