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  • Perspective
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Topological quantum materials for energy conversion and storage

Nature Reviews Physics volume 4, pages 611–624 (2022)Cite this article

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Abstract

Topological quantum materials (TQMs) have symmetry-protected band structures with useful electronic properties that have applications in information, sensing, energy and other technologies. In the past 10 years, applications of TQMs in the fields of energy conversion and storage, including water splitting, ethanol electro-oxidation, batteries, supercapacitors and relative energy-efficient devices, have attracted increasing attention. The quantum states in TQMs provide a stable electron bath with high electronic conductivity and carrier mobility, long lifetime and readily determined spin states, making TQMs an ideal platform for understanding surface reactions and looking for highly efficient materials for energy conversion and storage. In this Perspective, we present an overview of recent progress in topological quantum catalysis. We describe the open problems and the potential applications of TQMs in water splitting, batteries, supercapacitors and other prospects in energy conversion and storage.

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Fig. 1: Topological quantum materials for hydrogen evolution reaction.
Fig. 2: Topological materials for OER.
Fig. 3: Topological materials for battery and supercapacitors.
Fig. 4: Topological materials for other applications.

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Acknowledgements

This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (11922415, 22078374, 21776324), Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (2022A1515011168, 2019A1515011718, 2019B1515120058, 2020A1515011149), Key Research & Development Program of Guangdong Province, China (2019B110209003), the Pearl River Scholarship Program of Guangdong Province Universities and Colleges (20191001), the Scientific and Technological Planning Project of Guangzhou (202206010145) and Hundred Talent Plan from Sun Yat-sen University, and the Foundation of President of Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering (NIMTE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

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  1. School of Materials Science and Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, Key Laboratory of Polymer Composite & Functional Materials, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronic Materials and Wearable Devices, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China

    Huixia Luo & Peifeng Yu

  2. CAS Key Laboratory of Magnetic Materials and Devices, Zhejiang Province Key Laboratory of Magnetic Materials and Application Technology, Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo, China

    Guowei Li

  3. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

    Guowei Li

  4. School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China

    Kai Yan

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H.L. is the lead author in organizing this paper. All authors contributed to writing and polishing the manuscript.

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Luo, H., Yu, P., Li, G. et al. Topological quantum materials for energy conversion and storage. Nat Rev Phys 4, 611–624 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42254-022-00477-9

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