Interfacial Water Orientation in Neutral Oxygen Catalysis for Reversible Ampere-Scale Zinc-Air Batteries.

The neutral oxygen catalysis is an electrochemical reaction of the utmost importance in energy generation, storage application, and chemical synthesis. However, the restricted availability of protons poses a challenge to achieving kinetically favorable oxygen catalytic reactions. Here, we alter the interfacial water orientation by adjusting the Brønsted acidity at the catalyst surface, to break the proton transfer limitation of neutral oxygen electrocatalysis.

High-entropy NASICON-Type LiAlTiZrSnTa(PO) with high electrochemical stability for lithium-ion batteries.

LiAlTi (PO) (LATP) is a promising NASICON-type solid electrolyte for all-solid-state lithium-ion batteries (ASSLIBs) owing to its high ionic conductivity, low cost, and stability in ambient atmosphere. However, the electrochemical stability of LATP suffers upon contact with lithium metals, resulting in a reduction of Ti to Ti in its structure. This limitation necessitates interface modification processes, hindering its use in lithium-ion batteries.

Accelerated Proton Transfer in Asymmetric Active Units for Sustainable Acidic Oxygen Evolution Reaction.

The poor durability of Ru-based catalysts limits the practical application in proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE). Here, we report that the asymmetric active units in RuMO (M = Sb, In, and Sn) binary solid solution oxides are constructed by introducing acid-resistant p-block metal sites, breaking the activity and stability limitations of RuO in acidic oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Constructing highly asymmetric Ru-O-Sb units with a strong electron delocalization effect significantly shortens the spatial distance between Ru and Sb sites, improving the bonding strength of the overall structure.