Topic: Earth-Abundant Materials for Electrocatalytic Small Molecule Conversion

The electrocatalytic conversion of small molecules such as H₂O, CO₂, N₂, NO₃⁻, and alcohols is central to next-generation clean energy technologies. Yet, the reliance on precious-metal catalysts has hindered large-scale implementation due to high cost and scarcity. Recently, earth-abundant materials—including transition metal oxides, hydroxides, sulfides, phosphides, nitrides, and emerging amorphous, high-entropy, and waste-derived catalysts—have demonstrated great potential as cost-effective and scalable alternatives. Beyond economic advantages, these materials provide unique opportunities for structural engineering, defect modulation, and interfacial regulation, enabling superior activity, selectivity, and durability.

This Special Issue offers a timely platform to showcase cutting-edge research and perspectives on the rational design, mechanistic understanding, and device integration of earth-abundant electrocatalysts for small molecule conversion. Topics will encompass a wide range of energy-relevant reactions, from hydrogen and oxygen evolution to CO₂ reduction, nitrogen fixation, nitrate reduction, and the oxidation of alcohols and biomass-derived molecules. By bridging materials chemistry, electrochemistry, and catalysis，the issue aims to accelerate progress toward scalable, economically viable, and clean-energy-oriented electrochemical technologies.

Scope and Topics：

This Special Issue focuses on earth-abundant materials for electrocatalytic small molecule conversion, aiming to highlight the latest advances in catalyst design for critical energy reactions. By moving beyond precious-metal-based systems, earth-abundant electrocatalysts provide a cost-effective and scalable pathway for clean energy production. The issue will bring together contributions from materials chemistry, electrochemistry, and catalysis to address both fundamental insights and technological innovations.

Contributions are invited in, but not limited to, the following areas:

● Earth-abundant oxides, hydroxides, sulfides, phosphides, nitrides, borides, carbons, and hybrid materials for electrocatalysis;

● Amorphous, high-entropy, single-atom catalysts;

● Waste-derived catalysts;

● Electrocatalytic small molecule conversions: Water splitting (HER/OER in acidic, alkaline, and seawater), CO₂ reduction to fuels and chemicals, N₂/NO₃⁻/NO₂⁻ reduction to NH₃ , Alcohol and organic molecule oxidation/reduction (e.g., methanol, ethanol, glycerol, biomass-derived molecules);

● Strategies for activity and stability enhancement: defect, interface, strain, and local environment engineering;

● In situ/operando characterization and theoretical modeling for mechanistic understanding scale-up, device integration, techno-economic analysis, and system-level evaluation for practical deployment.

Earth-abundant materials, electrocatalysts, catalyst design, small molecule conversion, hydrogen evolution, oxygen evolution, CO₂ reduction, nitrogen/nitrate reduction, organic oxidation, sustainable energy