The pursuit of high-performance electrocatalysts represents a central theme in the 21^st century clean and sustainable chemical engineering and energy science. Among various electrocatalyst candidates, rare earth (RE)-based catalysts have garnered significant research interest due to their unique 4f electronic configurations that determine tunable electronic structure of the catalyst and the reactants’ adsorption/desorption properties. These intrinsic characteristics endow RE materials with remarkable activity and selectivity in a wide range of electrocatalytic processes, positioning them as pivotal components toward the sustainable energy conversion technology deployment. Herein, we systematically summarize recent advances in the development of RE-based electrocatalysts, with emphasis placed on three key aspects: (1) the classification of metals and compounds spanning the mainstream rare elements series; (2) the structural design of RE-based catalysts; and (3) applications across diverse electrocatalysis types. By elucidating the fundamental impact of rare earth elements on catalytic properties and mechanisms, this review aims to guide the development of novel electrocatalysts. Finally, we propose forward-looking research directions, underscoring the role of emerging methodologies in guiding the application of rare earth catalysts in next-generation systems.

Appropriate non-metallic element doping is promising to improve the intrinsic electrocatalytic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) performance of nitrogen-doped carbon candidates, yet challenges still remain to rationally design of the catalyst configuration with kinetically favorable state. Herein, we propose the metalloid element to regulate the local electronic environment, and a novel metal-free electrocatalyst, namely, atomically dispersed Te-N₂ on nitrogen-doped carbon frameworks was developed. Characterization and theoretical analyses demonstrate that the heteroatoms tellurium integrated with nitrogen-doped carbon substrate forms a Te-N covalent coordination as the active center that empowers both improved ORR kinetics and structural stability. As expected, the optimized composite of Te-N-C 900 delivers considerable electrocatalytic ORR activity in alkaline media (E_1/2 = 0.871 V, 0.1 M KOH), along with encouraging durability (over 10,000 cycles with 13 mV decay), which is also responsible for Zn-air batteries operating with high uplifting peak power density and long lifespan. As a proof-of-concept, this work elucidates the key influence of heteroatom interaction of metalloid element, achieves the synthesis of Te-N₂ metal-free ORR catalysts, and provides guidance for the development of high-performance metal-free ORR catalysts.