Gram-scale synthesis of small-sized PtM intermetallics as high-performance catalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction.

Pt-based intermetallics exhibit excellent activity in electrocatalysis. However, their controlled syntheses remain difficult. Herein, carbon-supported PtM (M = Fe, Co, Ni, Zn and Mn) intermetallics with small size (3 nm) were prepared at the gramscale and applied as a highly effective electrocatalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction.

Enhancing the Stability of 4.6 V LiCoO Cathode Material via Gradient Doping.

LiCoO (LCO) can deliver ultrahigh discharge capacities as a cathode material for Li-ion batteries when the charging voltage reaches 4.6 V. However, establishing a stable LCO cathode at a high cut-off voltage is a challenge in terms of bulk and surface structural transformation.

Hollow CdS-ZnS-ZIF-8 Polyhedron for Visible Light-Induced Cr(VI) Reduction.

By loading a small amount of cadmium acetate dihydrate on the zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8), a hollow CdS-ZnS-ZIF-8 composite was facilely synthesized by rapid solid-phase grinding with thioacetamide. The evolution of the structure, composition, and photoelectrochemical properties was studied by a series of methods. When it was used as a photocatalyst, the hollow CdS-ZnS-ZIF-8 composite demonstrated a highly visible light response as well as a robust ability and reusability for Cr(VI) reduction, which could be ascribed to the hollow structure and ultrasmall CdS nanoparticles.

General Strategy for Synthesis of Ordered Pt M Intermetallics with Ultrasmall Particle Size.

Controllable synthesis of atomically ordered intermetallic nanoparticles (NPs) is crucial to obtain superior electrocatalytic performance for fuel cell reactions, but still remains arduous. Herein, we demonstrate a novel and general hydrogel-freeze drying strategy for the synthesis of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) supported Pt M (M=Mn, Cr, Fe, Co, etc.) intermetallic NPs (Pt M/rGO-HF) with ultrasmall particle size (about 3 nm) and dramatic monodispersity.

Rational design of MnO@MnO hierarchical nanomaterials and their catalytic activities.

Hierarchically structured materials have special properties and possess potential in applications in the catalytic and electrochemical fields. Herein, two kinds of hierarchical core-shell nanostructures, lavender-like α-MnO@α-MnO and balsam pear-like α-MnO@γ-MnO, were prepared by a facile room-temperature method using α-MnO nanowires as a backbone under acidic and alkaline conditions, respectively. When being used as a catalyst for dimethyl ether combustion, α-MnO@γ-MnO exhibited a better performance than α-MnO@α-MnO (T = 171 vs.