Electrochemical Generation of Te Vacancy Pairs in PtTe for Efficient Hydrogen Evolution.

Two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals materials are increasingly seen as potential catalysts due to their unique structures and unmatched properties. However, achieving precise synthesis of these remarkable materials and regulating their atomic and electronic structures at the most fundamental level to enhance their catalytic performance remain a significant challenge. In this study, we synthesized single-crystal bulk PtTe crystals via chemical vapor transport and subsequently produced atomically thin, large PtTe nanosheets (NSs) through electrochemical cathode intercalation.

Advances in heterogeneous single-cluster catalysis.

Heterogeneous single-cluster catalysts (SCCs) comprising atomically precise and isolated metal clusters stabilized on appropriately chosen supports offer exciting prospects for enabling novel chemical reactions owing to their broad structural diversity with unparalled opportunities for engineering their properties. Although the pioneering work revealed intriguing performance trends of size-selected metal clusters deposited on supports, synthetic and analytical challenges hindered a thorough understanding of surface chemistry under realistic conditions. This Review underscores the importance of considering the cluster environment in SCCs, encompassing the development of robust metal-support interactions, precise control over the ligand sphere, the influence of reaction media and dynamic behaviour, to uncover new reactivities.

Metal-Catalyst-Controlled Divergent Synthesis of γ-Butyrolactones via Intramolecular Coupling of Epoxides with Alcohols.

A metal-controlled divergent protocol for the synthesis of α- and β-substituted γ-butyrolactones was developed through intramolecular coupling of epoxides with alcohols. This method provides an efficient and practicable way to afford γ-butyrolactones with good efficiency, excellent regioselectivity, and broad substrate scope.

Triggering Pt Active Sites in Basal Plane of Van der Waals PtTe Materials by Amorphization Engineering for Hydrogen Evolution.

Exposing active sites and optimizing their binding strength to reaction intermediates are two essential strategies to significantly improve the catalytic performance of 2D materials. However, pursuing an efficient way to achieve these goals simultaneously remains a considerable challenge. Here, using 2D PtTe van der Waals material with a well-defined crystal structure and atomically thin thickness as a model catalyst, it is observed that a moderate calcination strategy can promote the structural transformation of 2D crystal PtTe nanosheets (c-PtTe NSs) into oxygen-doped 2D amorphous PtTe NSs (a-PtTe NSs).

Ordered clustering of single atomic Te vacancies in atomically thin PtTe promotes hydrogen evolution catalysis.

Exposing and stabilizing undercoordinated platinum (Pt) sites and therefore optimizing their adsorption to reactive intermediates offers a desirable strategy to develop highly efficient Pt-based electrocatalysts. However, preparation of atomically controllable Pt-based model catalysts to understand the correlation between electronic structure, adsorption energy, and catalytic properties of atomic Pt sites is still challenging. Herein we report the atomically thin two-dimensional PtTe nanosheets with well-dispersed single atomic Te vacancies (Te-SAVs) and atomically well-defined undercoordinated Pt sites as a model electrocatalyst.

NiPS nanoflakes: a nonlinear optical material for ultrafast photonics.

Ultrafast photonics based on two-dimensional (2D) materials has been used to investigate light-matter interactions and laser generation, as well as light propagation, modulation, and detection. Here, 2D metal-phosphorus trichalcogenides, which are known for applications in catalysis and electrochemical storage, also exhibit advantageous photonic properties as nanoflakes that are only a few layers thick. By using an open-aperture Z-scan system, few-layer NiPS3 nanoflakes exhibited a large modulation depth of 56% and a low saturable intensity of 16 GW cm-2 at 800 nm.

High-Yield Electrochemical Production of Large-Sized and Thinly Layered NiPS Flakes for Overall Water Splitting.

Achieving large-sized and thinly layered 2D metal phosphorus trichalcogenides with high quality and yield has been an urgent quest due to extraordinary physical/chemical characteristics for multiple applications. Nevertheless, current preparation methodologies suffer from uncontrolled thicknesses, uneven morphologies and area distributions, long processing times, and inferior quality. Here, a sonication-free and fast (in minutes) electrochemical cathodic exfoliation approach is reported that can prepare large-sized (typically ≈150 µm ) and thinly layered (≈70% monolayer) NiPS flakes with high crystallinity and pure phase structure with a yield ≈80%.

Co@Co3O4 core-shell particle encapsulated N-doped mesoporous carbon cage hybrids as active and durable oxygen-evolving catalysts.

Cobalt-based nanomaterials are promising candidates as efficient, affordable, and sustainable alternative electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). However, the catalytic efficiency of traditional nanomaterials is still far below what is expected, because of their low stability in basic solutions and poor active site exposure yield. Here a unique hybrid nanomaterial comprising Co@Co3O4 core-shell nanoparticle (NP) encapsulated N-doped mesoporous carbon cages on reduced graphene oxide (denoted as Co@Co3O4@NMCC/rGO) is successfully synthesized via a carbonization and subsequent oxidation strategy of a graphene oxide (GO)-based metal-organic framework (MOF).

[Morphological characteristics of the mandibular first premolars in people from Pearl River Delta region in Guangdong province].

Objective: To investigate the morphological characteristics of the mandibular first premolars in people from Pearl River Delta region in Guangdong province using three techniques, including periapical radiographs, the radiographs with files inserted the canals and the clearing technique.

Methods: A total of 363 extracted mandibular first premolars were collected and numbered. Two preoperative radiographs were taken in buccolingual and mesiodistal directions respectively.