Recent advances in potential high entropy materials for electrocatalysis applications

High-entropy materials (HEMs) constitute a new class of materials composed of five or more elements in a cohesive single-phase lattice structure, providing a vast compositional design space that endows them with distinctive physiochemical properties and exceptional catalytic activities. Significant attention has recently been directed towards the development of new high-efficiency HEM systems through simultaneous theoretical and experimental approaches. However, to date, no comprehensive review has fully assessed the advances in HEMs across various emerging energy storage and conversion applications; thus, a thorough review focusing on HEM-based electrocatalysts would be extremely useful to researchers. This review highlights recent developments in innovative synthetic strategies for designing HEM-based catalysts. The correlation between structure and physiochemical properties is well-established through diverse experiments and theoretical studies. We also explore the potential of HEMs for future applications in energy conversion and storage. Additionally, the prospects, opportunities, and challenges in the discovery, design, and use of HEMs will be discussed across different catalytic domains. Our critical review aims to provide invaluable insights and foundational knowledge on HEMs development to the research community, thereby promoting their application in future electrocatalysis in both academic and industrial settings.