Renaissance of elemental phosphorus materials: properties, synthesis, and applications in sustainable energy and environment.

The polymorphism of phosphorus-based materials has garnered much research interest, and the variable chemical bonding structures give rise to a variety of micro and nanostructures. Among the different types of materials containing phosphorus, elemental phosphorus materials (EPMs) constitute the foundation for the synthesis of related compounds. EPMs are experiencing a renaissance in the post-graphene era, thanks to recent advancements in the scaling-down of black phosphorus, amorphous red phosphorus, violet phosphorus, and fibrous phosphorus and consequently, diverse classes of low-dimensional sheets, ribbons, and dots of EPMs with intriguing properties have been produced.

Wetting Kinetics of Molten Carbonate on Carbon.

The wettability of molten carbonate on carbon determines the electrochemical performances of high-temperature direct carbon fuel cells (DCFCs). However, a universal method to measure the high-temperature wettability of molten carbonate is absent and the wetting kinetics is not well understood. Herein, we develop a dispensed drop (DD) method to measure the wetting kinetics of molten carbonate (LiCO-NaCO-KCO, 43.

Molten Electrolyte-Modulated Electrosynthesis of Multi-Anion Mo-Based Lamellar Nanohybrids Derived from Natural Minerals for Boosting Hydrogen Evolution.

The multi-anion molybdenum-based nanohybrids, N-doped β-MoC/MoP/MoO (denoted as MoCPO), serving as a highly efficient catalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), are fabricated via a simple and scalable electrosynthesis in molten NaCl-KCl, which integrates pyrolysis/electroreduction/compounding into a one-pot strategy using polyphosphazenes (PPAs) and earth-abundant molybdenite (mainly MoS) as precursors. The deliberately selected PPA and molten electrolyte ensure the unique lamellar nanostructures and the blending of multiple anions of C, N, P, and O in the obtained catalyst, specifically, triggering the formation of the structural oxygen vacancies (V) in MoCPO. The nature of the hybrids can be regulated by adjusting the synthesis condition.

Tunable Selectivity and High Efficiency of CO Electroreduction via Borate-Enhanced Molten Salt Electrolysis.

Converting CO into value-added chemical fuels and functional materials by CO reduction reaction (CORR) is conducive to achieving a carbon-neutral energy cycle. However, it is still challenging to efficiently navigate CORR toward desirable products. Herein, we report a facile strategy to extend product species in borate-containing molten electrolyte at a positively shifted cathodic potential with a high current density (e.