Recent Advances in Mesostructured Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion Reactions

Since their emergence in 1992, mesostructured materials have demonstrated remarkably diverse functionality, enabling applications across a myriad of fields. Their defining characteristics─three-dimensionally interconnected frameworks and uniform mesopores─render them particularly well suited for electrocatalytic energy conversion. These structural features provide high specific surface area, efficient mass transport, resistance to Ostwald ripening, nanoscale confinement effects, and highly dense engineered surface defects. In this review, we summarize recent advances in mesostructured electrocatalysts for small molecule conversion reactions relevant to renewable energy conversion and commodity chemical synthesis. We classify the synthetic strategies for mesostructured electrocatalytic materials into four categories: soft-templating, hard-templating, self-templating, and in situ-templatin…