Grain Boundaries Boost Oxygen Evolution Reaction in NiFe Electrocatalysts.

In a polycrystalline material, the grain boundaries (GBs) can be effective active sites for catalytic reactions by providing an electrodynamically favorable surface. Previous studies have shown that grain boundary density is related to the catalytic activity of the carbon dioxide reduction reaction, but there is still no convincing evidence that the GBs provide surfaces with enhanced activity for oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Combination of various electrochemical measurements and chemical analysis reveals the GB density at surface of NiFe electrocatalysts directly affects the overall OER.

Tailored Graphene Micropatterns by Wafer-Scale Direct Transfer for Flexible Chemical Sensor Platform.

2D materials, such as graphene, exhibit great potential as functional materials for numerous novel applications due to their excellent properties. The grafting of conventional micropatterning techniques on new types of electronic devices is required to fully utilize the unique nature of graphene. However, the conventional lithography and polymer-supported transfer methods often induce the contamination and damage of the graphene surface due to polymer residues and harsh wet-transfer conditions.

Three-dimensional hierarchical Li4Ti5O12 nanoarchitecture by a simple hydrothermal method.

The spinel Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) is a promising candidate as a superior electrode material for energy storage devices due to the extremely small volume expansion/contraction during the charge/discharge processes of a battery. There are various synthetic approaches for the nanostructured LTO electrode: sol-gel, sonochemical, solution-combustion, hydrothermal methods, and others. Herein, three-dimensional (3D) high-density heterogeneous LTO architectures are fabricated by employing the TiO2 nanorods (NRs) branched SnO2 nanowire (NW) arrays as the template.

High-areal-capacity lithium storage of the Kirkendall effect-driven hollow hierarchical NiS(x) nanoarchitecture.

Three-dimensional (3-D) architectures can provide significant advantages as lithium ion microbattery electrodes by lengthening the vertical dimension. In addition, the nanoscale hierarchy and hollow properties are important factors for enhancing the performance. Here, we prepared a 3-D nickel sulfide nanoarchitecture via a facile low-temperature solution route.

Hierarchical assembly of TiO2-SrTiO3 heterostructures on conductive SnO2 backbone nanobelts for enhanced photoelectrochemical and photocatalytic performance.

Heterostructures can play a role in enhanced photoinduced electrochemical and catalytic reactions due to the advantageous combination of two compounds. Herein, we demonstrate the fabrication of Sb:SnO2@TiO2-SrTiO3 3D heterostructures via a simple hydrothermal method using a conductive Sb:SnO2@TiO2 nanobelt electrode as a template. XRD, FESEM, and TEM analyses confirm that a well-dispersed and crystalized SrTiO3 layer is formed on the surface of TiO2 nanorods.