CoP-Enhanced CaTiO Single-Electron Oxygen Reduction Piezoelectric Catalysis for HO Production.

Piezoelectric catalytic production of HO is a novel and environmentally friendly HO production method, and many piezoelectric catalysts are currently being developed. However, all of them have the disadvantages of precious metals as cocatalysts and low catalytic efficiency. Herein, CaTiO was successfully prepared and loaded with the nonprecious metal CoP (CoP/CaTiO) for piezoelectric catalytic production of HO.

Scalable synthesis of BiOS nanoplates with large piezoelectric potential induced by a built-in electric field in a [BiO] layer for the degradation of organic contaminants.

2D piezoelectric catalysts with strong piezoresponse and high piezoelectric potential have valuable applications in catalytic degradation of organic pollutants and antibiotics, but the development of novel nanomaterials with powerful piezopotential still remains a serious challenge. Bismuth oxysulfide (BiOS) nanosheets possessing large piezoelectric potentials were prepared using a low-heating solid-state chemical reaction and used for the first time for piezoelectric catalysis in this work. Moreover, BiOS nanosheets can degrade pollutants universally, and the degradation efficiencies of methyl blue and rhodamine B are as high as 97.

Engineering sulfur defective BiS@C with remarkably enhanced electrochemical kinetics of lithium-ion batteries.

Introducing the appropriate vacancies to augment the active sites and improve the electrochemical kinetics while maintaining high cyclability is a major challenge for its widespread application in electrochemical energy storage. Here, core-shell structured BiS@C with sulfur vacancies was prepared by hydrothermal method and one-step carbonization/sulfuration process, which significantly improves the intrinsic electrical conductivity and ion transport efficiency of BiS. Additionally, the uniform protective carbon layer around surface of composite maintains structural stability and effectively alleviates volume expansion during alloying/dealloying.

Construction of WS/NC@C nanoflake composites as performance-enhanced anodes for sodium-ion batteries.

The development of layered metal sulfides with stable structure and accessible active sites is of great importance for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). Herein, a simple liquid-mixing method is elaborately designed to immobilize WS nanoflakes on N-doped carbon (NC), then further coat carbon to produce WS/NC@C. In the formation process of this composite, the presence of NC not only avoids the overlap and improves the dispersion of WS nanoflakes, but also creates a connection network for charge transfer, where the wrapped carbon provides a stable chemical and electrochemical reaction interface.

Construction of MXene/BiWO Schottky Junction for Highly Efficient Piezocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution and Unraveling Mechanism.

For the first time, a series of MXene (TiCT)/BiWO Schottky junction piezocatalysts were constructed, and the piezocatalytic hydrogen evolution activity was explored. Optimal TiCT/BiWO exhibits the highest piezocatalytic hydrogen evolution rate of 764.4 μmol g h, which is nearly 8 times higher than that of pure TiCT and twice as high as that of BiWO.

Artificial Surface Electron Network Prompted Energy Band Structure Tuning: Boosting Solar-to-Hydrogen Evolution Performance.

The energy gap and conduction band position of catalysts play crucial roles in solar-to-hydrogen (STH) transformation technology. Unfortunately, although an increase in the conduction band position can effectively promote the photoreduction capacity of the photocatalyst, it will inevitably widen the band gap, thus reducing the light-absorption scale. It seems that there is a contradiction between the reduction of band gap and the improvement of conduction band position, which is that "You can't have your cake and eat it too.

Ce-regulating defect and morphology engineering for efficiently enhancing the piezocatalytic performances of BiOBr.

Cerium-doped bismuth oxybromide (1%, 5% and 10% Ce-BiOBr) piezocatalysts were synthesized. The piezocatalytic activity was efficiently regulated by defect and morphology engineering. Among them, the 5% Ce-BiOBr exhibits the highest piezocatalytic hydrogen production property with an evolution rate of 1147.

Strongly Coupled Heterostructured CoP/MoO as an Advanced Electrocatalyst for Urea-Assisted Water Electrolysis.

Developing low-cost electrocatalysts with excellent activity and durability in urea-assisted water splitting is urgently needed in order to achieve sustainable hydrogen production. Herein, we in situ synthesized a robust coupled heterostructured electrocatalyst (CoP/MoO) on a nickel foam (NF) substrate and explored its electrocatalytic performances in the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), oxygen evolution reaction (OER), and urea oxidation reaction (UOR). The overpotential of CoP/MoO/NF is found to be only 11 mV at 10 mA cm during the HER process, which is significantly lower than that of commercial Pt/C.

Structure and Defect Engineering of VSSe Quantum Dots Confined in a Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Framework for High-Performance Sodium-Ion Storage.

Constructing quantum dot-scale metal sulfides with defects and strongly coupled with carbon is significant for advanced sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). Herein, Se substituted VS quantum dots with anionic defects confined in nitrogen-doped carbon matrix (VSSe/NC) are fabricated. Introducing element Se into VS crystal expands the interlayer distance of VS, and triggers anionic defects, which can facilitate Na diffusions and act as active sites for Na storage.

2D heterostructural MnO quantum dots embedded N-doped carbon nanosheets with strongly stable interface enabling high-performance sodium-ion hybrid capacitors.

The ingenious architectural structural engineering is extensively identified as a cogent means for facilitating the electrochemical properties of conversion-type anode materials for sodium-ion storage. Herein, a delicate, scalable and controllable solvent-free strategy is proposed to synthesize ultrafine MnO quantum dots embedded into N-doped carbon to generate two-dimensional (2D) composites (MNC) with robust interfacial heterostructural interactions for high sodium ion storage and fast reaction kinetics, which averts the use of solvents and environmental pollution, greatly reduces time and production costs. The introduction of metallic Mn species simultaneously achieves the construction of ultrafine MnO quantum dots and strong interfacial heterostructural COMn bonds between metal species and 2D N-doped carbon matrix.

Acceleration of Photocatalytic CO Reduction at Intimate Interface in AgBr/BiOBr Heterojunctions via a Co-anion Strategy.

Constructing heterojunctions with strong interfacial interactions can accelerate the transfer and separation of photogenerated charge carriers. However, finding a simple strategy to construct tightly connected heterojunctions remains a major challenge. In this work, AgBr/BiOBr S-scheme heterojunctions were designed via a straightforward co-anionic strategy without using a solvent.

Construction of oxygen vacancies and heterostructure in VO/NC with enhanced reversible capacity, accelerated redox kinetics, and stable cycling life for sodium ion storage.

Developing anode materials with high reversible capacity, fast redox kinetics, and stable cycling life for Na storage remains a great challenge. Herein, the VO nanobelts with oxygen vacancies supported on nitrogen-doped carbon nanosheets (VO/NC) were developed. Benefitting from the enhanced electrical conductivity, the accelerated kinetics, the increased active sites as well as the constructed 2D heterostructure, the VO/NC delivered extraordinary Na storage performance in half/full battery.

Construction of an Advanced NiFe-LDH/MoS-NiS/NF Heterostructure Catalyst toward Efficient Electrocatalytic Overall Water Splitting.

Developing high-efficiency, low-cost, and earth-abundant electrocatalysts toward the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is highly desirable for boosting the energy efficiency of water splitting. Herein, we adopted an interfacial engineering strategy to enhance the overall water splitting (OWS) activity via constructing a bifunctional OER/HER electrocatalyst combining MoS-NiS with NiFe layered double hydroxide (NiFe-LDH) on a nickel foam substrate. The NiFe-LDH/MoS-NiS/NF electrocatalyst delivers superior OER/HER activity and stability, such as low overpotentials (220 and 79 mV for OER and HER at current densities of 50 and 10 mA cm, respectively) and a low Tafel slope.

Rational design of CdS/BiOCl S-scheme heterojunction for effective boosting piezocatalytic H evolution and pollutants degradation performances.

Piezocatalysis as an emerging technology is broadly applied in hydrogen evolution and organic pollutants degradation aspects. However, the dissatisfactory piezocatalytic activity is a severe bottleneck for its practical applications. In this work, CdS/BiOCl S-scheme heterojunction piezocatalysts were constructed and explored the performances of piezocatalytic hydrogen (H) evolution and organic pollutants degradation (methylene orange, rhodamine B and tetracycline hydrochloride) under strain by ultrasonic vibration.

In Situ Construction of MnO-CoO Nanosheet Heterojunctions on Co@NCNT Surfaces for Oxygen Evolution.

Electrocatalytic water splitting is still circuitous and controversial because of the lack of highly active electrocatalysts to decrease the overpotential. Herein, we report a feasible method for constructing heterojunctions of MnO-CoO nanosheets on Co@NCNT support surfaces (MnO-CoO/Co@NCNT) by spontaneous redox reactions. Experimental results indicate that Co embedded in Co@NCNT can be used as the carbon support and anchoring sites for heterojunctions, thus exposing a large number of active sites, adjusting the surface electronic structure, changing the OER rate-determining step of the catalyst, and reducing the reaction energy barrier.

Sulfur-Bridged Bonds Heightened Na-Storage Properties in MnS Nanocubes Encapsulated by S-Doped Carbon Matrix Synthesized via Solvent-Free Tactics for High-Performance Hybrid Sodium Ion Capacitors.

The exploitation of electrode materials with ability to balance capacity and kinetics between cathode and anode is a challenge for sodium-ion hybrid capacitors (SIHCs). Mn-based anode materials are limited by poor electrical conductivity, sluggish reaction kinetics, large volume variation, weak cycling stability, and inferior reversible capacity. Herein, MnS nanocubes encapsulated in S-doped porous carbon matrix (MSC) with strong sulfur-bridged bond interactions (CSMn) are successfully synthesized by solvent-free tactics.

Doping-engineered bifunctional oxygen electrocatalyst with Se/Fe-doped CoO/N-doped carbon nanosheets as highly efficient rechargeable zinc-air batteries.

Highly efficient oxygen reduction and oxygen evolution reactions have the critical role in the practical application of zinc-air batteries. Herein, doping engineering strategy has been adopted by construction of Se/Fe-doped in CoO/N-doped carbon nanosheets (denoted as Se/Fe-CoO/N-CNs) catalyst for boosting oxygen electrocatalytic activity. The achieved Se/Fe-CoO/N-CNs catalyst presents high-performances electrocatalytic characteristics, which exhibits a small overpotential gap (0.

Boosting the Photocatalytic Activity and Resistance of Photostability of ZnS Nanoparticles.

Defects play a vital role in improving photocatalytic performance. However, the specific influence mechanism of sulfur defects (DSS) on sulfide photocatalytic performance and stability is still unclear. In this work, an ingenious solvent-free self-overflow strategy is designed to introduce DSS into ZnS nanoparticles and explore the specific promotion mechanism of photocatalytic performance and photostability.

Insight into the effect of OH modification on the piezo-photocatalytic hydrogen production activity of SrTiO.

Surface modification by hydrophilic functional group have a tremendous influence on the catalytic activity of photocatalyst, however, there are few reports on improving piezoelectric catalytic performance through surface functionalization. Herein, OH-modified SrTiO was successfully obtained via a novel low-temperature solid-state precursor method and employed as a catalyst for photocatalytic, piezocatalytic and piezo-photocatalytic hydrogen production. Thanks to the super hydrophilic that is facilitating the contact of catalyst and water molecular and the more oxygen vacancies that can promote electron-hole separation, the photocatalytic, piezocatalytic and piezo-photocatalytic hydrogen generation of OH-modified SrTiO (OH-STO) is about two times higher than pristine SrTiO (STO).

In Situ Replacement Synthesis of Co@NCNT Encapsulated CoPt @Co P Heterojunction Boosting Methanol Oxidation and Hydrogen Evolution.

Simultaneous boosting electrochemical methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) for direct methanol fuel cells and production of hydrogen is meaningful but challenging. Herein, a sea urchin-shaped cobalt-embedded N-doped carbon nanotubes (Co@NCNT) encapsulated CoPt @Co P heterojunction (CoPt @Co P/Co@NCNT) is fabricated. Theoretical calculations confirm that electrons at the interfaces transfer from CoPt to Co P, where electron hole region on CoPt is beneficial to improving the MOR activity, whereas accumulation region on Co P favors to the optimization of H O and H* absorption energies for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER).

Interfacial modification and band modulation for dramatically boosted photocatalytic hydrogen evolution.

Interfacial modification and band modulation to narrow the band gap and improve light-harvesting ability of TiO are promising strategies to dramatically promote photocatalytic activity. Herein, efficient Co(OH)-TiO nanocomposites were reasonably designed and constructed by a facile room temperature solid-state synthetic strategy for interfacial modification and matched band gap to achieve the conversion of solar energy to hydrogen. Modifying transition metal hydroxide Co(OH) on commercial TiO can effectively narrow the band gap and accelerate the separation and migration of photo-induced carriers, which will extend light absorption range and facilitate more electrons transferring to the surface of photocatalyst, therefore the reducibility of photocatalysts is enhanced.

Effective promoting piezocatalytic property of zinc oxide for degradation of organic pollutants and insight into piezocatalytic mechanism.

The piezoelectric zinc oxides with different morphology (ZnO nanoparticles and nanorods, hereafter abbreviated as ZnO NPs and NRs) are successfully synthesized using facile, green and harmless solid-state chemistry method at room temperature. The piezocatalytic activity of zinc oxide towards methylene blue (MB) of organic pollutants degradation has been explored under ultrasonic vibration. The ZnO NRs exhibit effectively enhanced piezocatalytic performance towards degradation dye compared with the ZnO NPs.

A solid-state chemical method for synthesizing MgO nanoparticles with superior adsorption properties.

As a traditional and effective adsorbent, MgO is a low-cost, eco-friendly, nontoxic, and economical material for wastewater treatment. However, multistep processing and the use of organic agents result in high costs and lead to environmental pollution, strongly inhibiting the practical application of MgO. Herein, a simple solid-state chemical route has been used to prepare small-sized MgO nanoparticles with a large specific surface area of 213 m g without using liquid solvents, template agents, or surfactants.

Solid-state chemical fabrication of one-dimensional mesoporous β-nickel molybdate nanorods as remarkable electrode material for supercapacitors.

Simple solid-state chemical reaction was adopted to synthesize NiMoO nanomaterials with different crystal phase without the use of organic solvent or templating agent. The as-prepared NiMoO·xHO, α-NiMoO and β-NiMoO nanostructures were investigated as the electrode materials for supercapacitors. The β-NiMoO nanorods were composed of the nanoparticles, which exhibited relatively high specific capacitances about 1415 F g at a charge density of 1 A g, 80.