Electrochemical processes for renewable energy conversion and generation represent promising pathways for lowering our dependence on fossil fuels yet critically depend on the efficiency of applied electrocatalysts, thus attracting considerable interest in the development of highly active and robust electrocatalysts for practical applications. In this review, we discuss recent progress in promoting electrocatalysis for renewable energy technologies based on surface or interface engineering with special emphasis on the geometric structures. We first introduce the state-of-the-art engineering methods for achieving the desired surface or interface and correlate these structures with their catalytic performances. Then, we describe classic examples of rational surfaces and interfaces for tuning metallic nanomaterials for several key catalytic reactions in renewable energy technologies, including the hydrogen evolution and oxidation reactions, oxygen reduction and evolution reactions, methanol oxidation reaction, and electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction. Finally, we provide personal perspectives to highlight the challenges and opportunities for metallic electrocatalysts in terms of catalysis-driven surface and interface engineering.

用于可再生能源转化和发电的电化学过程代表了降低我们对化石燃料的依赖性的有前途的途径，但它严重依赖于所应用的电催化剂的效率，因此在开发用于实际应用的高活性和坚固的电催化剂方面引起了相当大的兴趣。在这篇综述中，我们讨论了基于表面或界面工程，特别是几何结构，在促进可再生能源技术的电催化方面的最新进展。我们首先介绍用于实现所需表面或界面的最新工程方法，并将这些结构与其催化性能相关联。然后，我们描述了合理的表面和界面的经典示例，这些表面和界面用于调整可再生能源技术中几个关键催化反应的金属纳米材料，包括氢释放和氧化反应，氧还原和释放反应，甲醇氧化反应和电化学二氧化碳还原。最后，我们提供了个人观点，以强调金属电催化剂在催化驱动的表面和界面工程方面的挑战和机遇。