Single-unit-cell-thick layered electrocatalysts: from synthesis to application.

Electrocatalysts are critical for water splitting, carbon dioxide reduction, and zinc-air battery. However, the low-exposed surface areas of bulk electrocatalysts usually limit the complete utilization of active sites. Ultrathin electrocatalysts have noteworthy advantages in maximizing the use of active sites.

Synergetic catalysis of a cobalt-based coordination polymer for selective visible-light driven CO-to-CO conversion.

Herein, based on the strategy of synergetic catalysis, we report a cobalt-based coordination polymer PEI-Co. As a heterogeneous catalyst, PEI-Co shows a selectivity of 95% and a yield of 1170 mmol g for visible-light-driven CO-to-CO conversion in a water containing system, which is almost 2.8 times that of the mononuclear cobalt catalyst CoL and is comparable to that of the dinuclear cobalt catalyst CoL.

Multidimensional structure of CoNiS materials: structural regulation promoted electrochemical performance in a supercapacitor.

Multidimensional architectures of CoNiS electrode materials are rationally designed by engineering the surface structure toward that of high-performance supercapacitors. The fabrication of a special morphology is highly dependent on the synergistic effect between the guidance of Co-Ni precursor arrays and a subsequent sulfidation process. The unparalleled CoNiS electrode materials (NS-3) deliver a significantly enhanced specific capacitance (3784.

Protection of lithium anodes by fibrous silica nanospheres.

Lithium metal (anode) has attracted significant attention for use in lithium-metal batteries due to its high energy density, but its practical application is still hindered by the dendrite growth during the battery charging process. Here, fibrous silica nanospheres were prepared a direct hydrothermal reaction and coated on a separator to form a composite electrode with lithium sheets. Upon using this composite electrode in a symmetrical cell, the charge and discharge curves became more stable and the overpotential was alleviated compared with that of the bare lithium metal electrode.

Strain-tunable magnetic anisotropy in two-dimensional Dirac half-metals: nickel trihalides.

The recent discovery of intrinsic two-dimensional (2D) ferromagnetism has sparked intense interest due to the potential applications in spintronics. Magnetic anisotropy energy defines the stability of magnetization in a specific direction with respect to the crystal lattice and is an important parameter for nanoscale applications. In this work, using first-principles calculations we predict that 2D NiX (X = Cl, Br, and I) can be a family of intrinsic Dirac half-metals characterized by a band structure with an insulator gap in one spin channel and a Dirac cone in the other.

Engineering a CsPbBr-based nanocomposite for efficient photocatalytic CO reduction: improved charge separation concomitant with increased activity sites.

Metal-halide perovskite nanocrystals have emerged as one of the promising photocatalysts in the photocatalysis field owing to their low-cost and excellent optoelectronic properties. However, this type of nanocrystals generally displays low activity in photocatalytic CO reduction owing to the lack of intrinsic catalytic sites and insufficient charge separation. Herein, we functionalized CsPbBr nanocrystals with graphitic carbon nitride, containing titanium-oxide species (TiO-CN) to develop an efficient composite catalyst system for photocatalytic CO reduction using water as the electron source.

Accumulation risk and sources of heavy metals in supratidal wetlands along the west coast of the Bohai Sea.

The heavy metals Al, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn, Fe, Mn, As, and Cd in the rainfall-driven supratidal wetlands along the west coast of the Bohai Sea (the areas are named site 1, site 2, site 3, and site 4 from south to north in the gradient in this study) are tested for their accumulation risks and sources. Results show that the distribution and enrichment of the heavy metals in the supratidal wetlands are lower in site 1 than in sites 2-4. The risk indices (RIs) of all sites are less than 150, indicating low-moderate risk.

aluminium ions regulation for quantum efficiency and light stability promotion in white light emitting material.

In this study, we have proposed an ion regulation strategy to assemble a white-light-emitting material with high stability and efficiency. A fluorescence tunable hybrid material was first fabricated by a "ship around the bottle" method in which the fluorescent dyes, disodium 2-naphthol-3,6-disulfonate (R) and ZnO Quantum Dots (QDs), were embedded into metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) in proportion. Then, the competition coordination of aluminium ions over zinc ions to R were utilized to subtly adjust the intensity of blue fluorescence, leading to an ideal white light with Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage (CIE) coordinates of (0.

Ultrafine MnO nanowires grown on RGO-coated carbon cloth as a binder-free and flexible supercapacitor electrode with high performance.

Reduced graphene oxide coated carbon cloth has been used as a substrate for the growth of ultrafine MnO nanowires (CC/RGO/MnO), forming binder-free and flexible supercapacitor electrode materials. The experimental results indicate that a maximum area-specific capacitance of 506.8 mF cm was gained from the CC/RGO/MnO electrode at the current density of 0.

Basic ionic liquid as catalyst and surfactant: green synthesis of quinazolinone in aqueous media.

Basic imidazolium-based ionic liquids not only possess the extraordinary physicochemical properties of ionic liquids, but also have excellent basicity and surfactivity. 1-Propyl-3-alkylimidazole hydroxide ionic liquids ([PRIm][OH]) were synthesized and their catalytic and surfactant behavior were studied in this work. [PRIm][OH] owned excellent surfactivity, and their alkyl chains and ion pairs benefit hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity respectively.

Fe-CoP Electrocatalyst Derived from a Bimetallic Prussian Blue Analogue for Large-Current-Density Oxygen Evolution and Overall Water Splitting.

Industrial application of overall water splitting requires developing readily available, highly efficient, and stable oxygen evolution electrocatalysts that can efficiently drive large current density. This study reports a facile and practical method to fabricate a non-noble metal catalyst by directly growing a Co-Fe Prussian blue analogue on a 3D porous conductive substrate, which is further phosphorized into a bifunctional Fe-doped CoP (Fe-CoP) electrocatalyst. The Fe-CoP/NF (nickel foam) catalyst shows efficient electrocatalytic activity for oxygen evolution reaction, requiring low overpotentials of 190, 295, and 428 mV to achieve 10, 500, and 1000 mA cm current densities in 1.

Superhydrophobic/superoleophilic cotton-oil absorbent: preparation and its application in oil/water separation.

A superhydrophobic and superoleophilic oil sorbent was prepared by attaching SiO particles onto a cotton fiber surface by a sol-gel method and subsequent octadecyltrichlorosilane modification. The surface formation was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and an observation of the water behavior on the cotton surface. The sorption capacity of the modified cotton in pure oil and in an oil/water mixture, the oil adsorption and the reusability were investigated.

FeCl as a low-cost and efficient p-type dopant of Spiro-OMeTAD for high performance perovskite solar cells.

Chemical doping is a viable tactic to improve the charge transporting properties of organic semiconductors in efficient perovskite solar cells. In this paper, we first employ the low-cost inorganic salt FeCl as a chemical dopant to replace the traditional expensive cobalt complex for the oxidization of 2,2',7,7'-tetrakis(,-dimethoxyphenylamino)-9,9'-spirobifluorene (Spiro-OMeTAD), a typical organic hole-transporter. Based on the joint measurements of electron absorption spectra, cyclic voltammetry, and the hole-only device, we reveal that FeCl can effectively oxidize Spiro-OMeTAD and improve the hole transporting properties of Spiro-OMeTAD.