Advances on Theory and Experiments of the Energy Applications in Graphdiyne

Abstract

After years of development, graphdiyne (GDY) has demonstrated the characteristics of transformative materials in many fields and has promoted great progress in fundamental and applied research. In practice, some important new concepts have been proposed, such as natural surface charge distribution inhomogeneity, multicavity space limiting effect, incomplete charge transfer effect on the atomic level, alkyne–alkene conversion of a chemical bond, in situ induction of constrained growth, reversible transition from high to low valence state, and so on. These characteristics originating from the special electronic structure and chemical structure of GDY have rapidly promoted the development of GDY science in recent years and produced many exciting results in fundamental and applied science. Therefore, we systematically introduce the recent theoretical and experimental progress of GDY in terms of its new structural, electronic, mechanical, thermal, and optical properties and its promising applications in the energy fields of membrane sciences, catalysis, energy storage, and conversion. Specifically, the great breakthrough of GDY zero-valence atomic catalysts, quantum dots catalysts, and heterostructure catalysts for catalytic applications are discussed in detail. We believe this review will provide some significant guidelines for the design and development of GDY-based high-performance materials and devices in energy fields.