SO/SnO Solid Superacid Granular Stacked One-Dimensional Hollow Nanofiber for a Highly Conductive Proton-Exchange Membrane.

A novel sulfated tin oxide solid superacid granular stacked one-dimensional (1D) hollow nanofiber (SO/FSnO) is proposed as a nanofiller in sulfonated poly(phthalazinone ether sulfone ketone) (SPPESK) to manipulate a highly conductive proton nanochannel. It has unique microstructures with an open-end hollow nanofibric morphology and grain-stacked single-layer mesoporous fiber wall, which greatly enlarge the specific surface area and aspect ratio. The diverse acid sites, that is, SO, Sn-OH Brönsted, and Sn Lewis superacids, provide a high concentration of strong acidic proton carriers on the nanofiber surface and dynamically abundant hydrogen bonds for rapid proton transfer and interfacial interactions with -SOH groups in the SPPESK along the 1D hollow nanofiber.

A tailored double perovskite nanofiber catalyst enables ultrafast oxygen evolution.

Rechargeable metal-air batteries and water splitting are highly competitive options for a sustainable energy future, but their commercialization is hindered by the absence of cost-effective, highly efficient and stable catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction. Here we report the rational design and synthesis of a double perovskite PrBaSrCoFeO nanofiber as a highly efficient and robust catalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction. Co-doping of strontium and iron into PrBaCoO is found to be very effective in enhancing intrinsic activity (normalized by the geometrical surface area, ∼4.