Unlocking the potential of nanocellulose: Promising substrate materials for electrocatalysts

Nanocellulose as substrate materials have garnered considerable interest for developing high-performance carbon-based electrocatalysts toward hydrogen evolution and oxygen evolution/reduction reactions, due to their many advantages including unique fibrous nanoarchitecture, mass production capacity, environmental benignity, cost effectiveness and sustainability. However, the intricate relationships between structure, design and catalytic activity in nanocellulose-based electrocatalysts have yet to be comprehensively discussed and deciphered, which hinders their practical application and further development of nanocellulose-based electrocatalysts. Therefore, this review summarizes and analyzes the latest development for electrocatalysts integrated on nanocellulose substrate. Herein, the design and application of nanocellulose as substrate materials for electrocatalysts closely related to its structure characteristics and chemical properties are fully discussed, highlighting the unique merits of nanocellulose substrate in the field of electrocatalysis. Simultaneously, the commonality and individuality of nanocellulose categorized into three types with diverse structure properties are analyzed. Moreover, the viable optimization strategies for enhancing catalytic activity have been systematically explored based on the coupling of nanocellulose substrate and active sites, focusing on the core structure-performance relationship. Centering on these topics, the future research challenges and prospects for designing high-performance nanocellulose-based electrocatalysts is presented, aiming to pave the way for new research directions of this attractive field.