Transition metal pnictides and chalcogenides (X-ides) have been studied as promising electrocatalysts for the alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). These materials often undergo dynamic transformations, either on their surface or within their bulk, occurring “incidentally” during the HER or “intentionally” through electrochemical activation. Current research shows that X-ides can remain unchanged, undergo oxidation or reduction, or transform into different X-ides with reduced X-ogen (i.e., chalcogen or pnictogen) to metal ratios compared to their original forms. In this Focus Review, we explore examples of these transformations for incidental and intentional cases, identify gaps in current knowledge, discuss divergent views on the nature of catalytically active species, and provide recommendations for more accurate identification of the active HER species in future studies.

中文翻译：

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偶然和有意的转变：用于碱性析氢的过渡金属 Pnictide 和 Chalcogenide 电催化剂


过渡金属镍交状物和硫属化物 （X-ides） 已被研究为碱性析氢反应 （HER） 的有前途的电催化剂。这些材料经常在其表面或块体内发生动态转变，在 HER 期间“偶然”发生或通过电化学激活“有意”发生。目前的研究表明，X-ides 可以保持不变，发生氧化或还原，或转化为不同的 X-ides，与原始形式相比，X-ogen（即硫属或磷属）与金属的比例降低。在本焦点综述中，我们探讨了偶然和有意案例的这些转化示例，确定了当前知识中的差距，讨论了关于催化活性物种性质的不同观点，并为在未来的研究中更准确地鉴定活性 HER 物种提供了建议。