LAUSR

Abstract Cyanogel, a novel inorganic polymeric hydrogel, is constituted by chlorometallates and transition-metal cyanometallates, which is thought as fascinating and promising precursor to produce highly alloyed materials with stereochemical structures. In this review, the properties, synthesis methods and electrochemical applications of the cyanogel and its derivates are systematically discussed. With intrinsic properties such as 3D interconnected backbones, uniform distributions of metals at atomic level and porous structures, the cyanogel-derived materials exhibit superior activities and stabilities. During the synthetic process, the skeleton of cyanogel serves as soft template for generating metal structures without any surfactant. Due to the versatility and tunability of cyanogels, their derivatives not only provide foreseeable opportunities for preparation of highly efficient nanomaterials in electrocatalytical reactions, but also broaden their practical applications in energy-related devices such as fuel cells, water splitting electrolyzers, metal-air batteries, energy storage batteries and supercapacitors. Through this review, we aim to provide valuable guidelines for constructing highly effective materials in practice.