Due to their unique electronic and structural properties triggered by high atomic utilization and easy su rface modification, two-dimensional(2D) materials have prodigious potential in electrocatalysis for energy conversion technology in recent years. In this review, we discuss the recent progress on two-dimensional nanomaterials for electrocatalysis. Five categories including metals, transition metal compounds, non-metal, metal-organic framework and other emerging 2D nanomaterials are successively introduced. Finally, the challenges and future development directions of 2D materials for electrocatalysis are also prospected. We hope this review may be helpful for guiding the design and application of 2D nanomaterials in energy conversion technologies.

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Electroreduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) is attractive for efficiently recycling excessive CO2 to value-added feedstocks. However, their efficiency and selectivity strongly rely on the electrocatalysts. Herein, we report intermetallic AuCu catalysts for the selective and efficient CO2 conversion to syngas. Particularly, the ordered AuCu intermetallic catalyst achieves a high faradic efficiency of 75% with a partial current density of 78.3 mA cm–2 at −0.6 V vs reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) for producing CO in a flowing cell configuration. Moreover, the content of the generated syngas is widely controlled according to the potential-dependent CO2 reduction. Electrochemical results demonstrate that crystal engineering in ordered intermetallic alloy improves the activity and selectivity of CO2 reduction. This work not only provides efficient intermetallic AuCu catalysts for selectively converting CO2 but also offers valuable insights into crystal engineering for comprehensive and selective utilization of CO2 for a sustainable community.