Topological Insulator Heterojunction with Electric Dipole Domain to Boost Polysulfide Conversion in Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

The heterojunction materials are considered as promising electrocatalyst candidates that empower advanced lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries. However, the detailed functional mechanism of heterojunction materials to boost the sulfur redox reaction kinetics remains unclear. Herein, we construct a multifunctional potential well-type Bi2Te3/TiO2 topological insulator (TI) heterojunction with electric dipole domain to elucidate the synergistic mechanism, which facilitates rapid mass transport, strengthens polysulfide capture ability and accelerates polysulfide conversion.

Cascade Selenization Regulated the Electronic Structure and Interface Effect of Transition Metal Sulfides for Enhanced Sodium Storage.

The utilization of cobalt-based sulfides is constrained by their inherently low conductivity and slow sodium ion diffusion kinetics. Modifying the electronic configuration and constructing heterostructures are promising strategies to enhance intrinsic conductivity and expedite the sodium ion diffusion process. In this study, heterogeneous nanoparticles of Se-substituted CoS2/CoSe2, embedded within heteroatom-modified carbon nanosheet, were synthesized using metal molten salt-assisted dimensionality reduction alongside concurrent sulfurization and selenization techniques.

Tailoring a Transition Metal Dual-Atom Catalyst via a Screening Descriptor in Li-S Batteries.

The adsorption-conversion paradigm of polysulfides during the sulfur reduction reaction (SRR) is appealing to tackle the shuttle effect in Li-S batteries, especially based upon atomically dispersed electrocatalysts. However, mechanistic insights into such catalytic systems remain ambiguous, limiting the understanding of sulfur electrochemistry and retarding the rational design of available catalysts. Herein, we systematically explore the polysulfide adsorption-conversion essence via a geminal-atom model system to understand the catalyst roles toward an expedited SRR.

Adjacent-ligand Tuning of Atomically Precise Cu-Pd Sites Enables Efficient Methanol Electrooxidation with a CO-free Pathway.

Whether the catalyst can realize the non-CO pathway is the key to greatly improve the catalytic activity and stability of methanol oxidation reaction (MOR). It is feasible to optimize the reaction path selectivity by modifying organic ligands and constructing single-atom systems. At the same time, heterogeneous metal nanosheets with atomic thickness have been shown to significantly enhance the catalytic activity of materials due to their ultra-high exposure of active sites and synergistic effects.

Defect Engineering of Metal-Based Atomically Thin Materials for Catalyzing Small-Molecule Conversion Reactions.

Recently, metal-based atomically thin materials (M-ATMs) have experienced rapid development due to their large specific surface areas, abundant electrochemically accessible sites, attractive surface chemistry, and strong in-plane chemical bonds. These characteristics make them highly desirable for energy-related conversion reactions. However, the insufficient active sites and slow reaction kinetics leading to unsatisfactory electrocatalytic performance limited their commercial application.

Engineering p-Orbital States via Molecular Modules in All-Organic Electrocatalysts toward Direct Water Oxidation.

Oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is an indispensable anode reaction for sustainable hydrogen production from water electrolysis, yet overreliance on metal-based catalysts featured with vibrant d-electrons. It still has notable gap between metal-free and metal-based electrocatalysts, due to lacking accurate and efficient p-band regulation methods on non-metal atoms. Herein, a molecular modularization strategy is proposed for fine-tuning the p-orbital states of series metal-free covalent organic frameworks (COFs) for realizing OER performance beyond benchmark precious metal catalysts.

Latent Solvent-Induced Inorganic-Rich Interfacial Chemistry to Achieve Stable Potassium-Ion Batteries in Low-Concentration Electrolyte.

Low-concentration electrolytes (LCEs) have attracted great attention due to their cost effectiveness and low viscosity, but suffer undesired organic-rich interfacial chemistry and poor oxidative stability. Herein, a unique latent solvent, 1,2-dibutoxyethane (DBE), is proposed to manipulate the anion-reinforced solvation sheath and construct a robust inorganic-rich interface in a 0.5 M electrolyte.

Refining Metal-Free Carbon Nanoreactors through Electronic and Geometric Comodification for Boosted HO Electrosynthesis toward Efficient Water Decontamination.

Hydrogen peroxide (HO) electrosynthesis using metal-free carbon materials via the 2e oxygen reduction pathway has sparked considerable research interest. However, the scalable preparation of carbon electrocatalysts to achieve satisfactory HO yield in acidic media remains a grand challenge. Here, we present the design of a carbon nanoreactor series that integrates precise O/N codoping alongside well-regulated geometric structures targeting high-efficiency electrosynthesis of HO.

Rational construction of porous cobalt nanoparticle integrated nitrogen doped hollow carbon nanostructures for peptide agonist exendin-4 biosensing.

In this study, we designed a point-of-care (POC) testing electrochemical biosensor using an integrated biosensing assay based on hollow-like nitrogen-doped carbon nanostructures combined with cobalt nanoparticles (Co@HNCNs, CoO@HNCNs, and CoP@HNCNs). These are functionalized with Anti-Exendin-4 Antibodies (Anti-Ex-4-Abs) and Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) to create sensitive probes (Co@HNCNs/Anti-Ex-4-Abs/BSA, CoO@HNCNs/Anti-Ex-4-Abs/BSA, and CoP@HNCNs/Anti-Ex-4-Abs/BSA) for the ultrasensitive detection of exendin-4 (Ex-4), a peptide agonist used in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Among the cobalt-based carbon nanostructures, the CoO@HNCNs/Anti-Ex-4-Abs/BSA nanoprobe demonstrated superior ability to specifically recognize Ex-4.

Constructing 3D Crosslinked Macromolecular Networks as a Highly Efficient Interface Layer for Ultra-Stable Zn Metal Anodes.

Aqueous zinc ion batteries (AZIBs) are experiencing rapid development due to their high theoretical capacity, abundant zinc resources, and intrinsic safety. However, the progress of AZIBs is hindered by uncontrollable parasitic reactions and excessive dendrite growth, which compromise the durability and effective utilization of zinc metal anodes. To address these challenges, the study has constructed a 3D crosslinked macromolecular network composed of zinc ion-bonded potato starch (StZ) as an interface layer on Zn foil (StZ-Zn) to inhibit hydrogen evolution, regulate Zn flux, and ensure uniform Zn deposition.

Entropy and Electronic Structure Modulation of a Prussian Blue Analogue Cathode with Suppressed Phase Evolution for Potassium-Ion Batteries.

Severe structural evolution and high content of [Fe(CN)] defects drastically deteriorate K-ion storage performances of Prussian blue-based cathodes. Herein, a potassium manganese iron copper hexacyanoferrate (KFeMnCuHCF), with suppressed anionic vacancies, eliminated band gap, and low K-ion diffusion barrier, is regarded as a cathode for potassium-ion batteries. The entropy stabilization effect and robust Cu-N bond induced by the inert Cu-ion with large electronegativity boost KFeMnCuHCF to exhibit great phase state stability, thus inhibiting the structural transition of monoclinic ↔ cubic.

Regulated Cu Diatomic Distance Promoting Carbon-Carbon Coupling During CO Electroreduction.

To address the bottle-neck carbon-carbon coupling issue during electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction (eCORR) to multicarbon (C) products, this work develops an anion-directed strategy (Cl, NO , and SO ) to regulate interatomic distance of Cu diatoms. In comparison to pristine Cu (with a typical Cu-Cu distance of 2.53 Å), Cu-boroimidazole frameworks (BIF)/SO, NO, and Cl material shows elongated diatomic distance of 3.

Scalable ultrastrong MXene films with superior osteogenesis.

Titanium carbide MXene flakes have promising applications in aerospace, flexible electronic devices and biomedicine owing to their superior mechanical properties and electrical conductivity and good photothermal conversion, biocompatibility and osteoinductivity. It is highly desired yet very challenging to assemble MXene flakes into macroscopic high-performance materials in a scalable manner. Here we demonstrate a scalable strategy to fabricate high-performance MXene films by roll-to-roll-assisted blade coating (RBC) integrated with sequential bridging, providing good photothermal conversion and osteogenesis efficiency under near-infrared irradiation.

Synergistic effects enabled efficient photocatalytic removal of ofloxacin antibiotic in wastewater by layered double hydroxides loaded lignin-derived carbon fibers.

The environmental problems caused by the abuse of antibiotics are raising serious attention, and the removal of antibiotics in wastewater is meaningful yet challenging. In this work, lignin-derived carbon fibers loaded layered double hydroxides (LDH@LCF) has been prepared for the removal of ofloxacin (OFX) from wastewater via photocatalysis, which exhibit a high degradation efficiency of 96 % under visible light and maintained 90 % after five reuses. The effects of Zn/Fe in the samples and other parameters affecting the photocatalytic efficiency of OFX have been systematically investigated.

Challenges and Prospects of Low-Temperature Rechargeable Batteries: Electrolytes, Interfaces, and Electrodes.

Rechargeable batteries have been indispensable for various portable devices, electric vehicles, and energy storage stations. The operation of rechargeable batteries at low temperatures has been challenging due to increasing electrolyte viscosity and rising electrode resistance, which lead to sluggish ion transfer and large voltage hysteresis. Advanced electrolyte design and feasible electrode engineering to achieve desirable performance at low temperatures are crucial for the practical application of rechargeable batteries.

Multifunctional Strategies of Advanced Electrocatalysts for Efficient Urea Synthesis.

The electrochemical reduction of nitrogenous species (such as N, NO, NO , and NO ) for urea synthesis under ambient conditions has been extensively studied due to their potential to realize carbon/nitrogen neutrality and mitigate environmental pollution, as well as provide a means to store renewable electricity generated from intermittent sources such as wind and solar power. However, the sluggish reaction kinetics and the scarcity of active sites on electrocatalysts have significantly hindered the advancement of their practical applications. Multifunctional engineering of electrocatalysts has been rationally designed and investigated to adjust their electronic structures, increase the density of active sites, and optimize the binding energies to enhance electrocatalytic performance.

An electron-losing regulation strategy for stripping modulation towards a highly reversible Zn anode.

The practical application of aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) is hindered by their low coulombic efficiency (CE) and unstable cycle life. Numerous electrolyte-additive-related studies have been performed, but most of the focus has been on the Zn plating process. In fact, practical AZIBs undergo stripping in practice rather than plating in the initial cycle, because the commonly used cathodes in the charged state do not have zinc ions, so a uniform stripping process is crucial for the cell performance of AZIBs.

Bidentate Coordination Enables Anions-Regulated Solvation Structure for Advanced Aqueous Zinc Metal Batteries.

Rechargeable aqueous Zn metal batteries (AZMBs) are attractive for stationary energy storage due to their low cost and high safety. However, their practical application is hindered by the excessive use of zinc anodes and poor high-temperature performance, caused by severe side reactions and dendritic growth issues. Here, an electrolyte design strategy is reported based on bidentate coordination of Zn and solvent to tailor the solvation structure.

Arrayed metal phosphide heterostructure by Fe doping for robust overall water splitting.

Transition metal phosphides (TMPs) show promise in water electrolysis due to their electronic structures, which activate hydrogen/oxygen reaction intermediates. However, TMPs face limitations in catalytic efficiency due to insufficient active sites, poor conductivity, and multiple intermediate steps in water electrolysis. Here, we synthesize a highly efficient bifunctional self-supported electrocatalyst, which consists of an N-doped carbon shell anchored on Fe-doped CoP/CoP arrays on nickel foam (NC@Fe-CoP/NF) using hydrothermal and phosphorization techniques.

A Strongly Coupled Metal/Hydroxide Heterostructure Cascades Carbon Dioxide and Nitrate Reduction Reactions toward Efficient Urea Electrosynthesis.

The direct coupling of nitrate ions and carbon dioxide for urea synthesis presents an appealing alternative to the Bosch-Meiser process in industry. The simultaneous activation of carbon dioxide and nitrate, however, as well as efficient C-N coupling on single active site, poses significant challenges. Here, we propose a novel metal/hydroxide heterostructure strategy based on synthesizing an Ag-CuNi(OH) composite to cascade carbon dioxide and nitrate reduction reactions for urea electrosynthesis.

Slightly Li-enriched chemistry enabling super stable LiNiMnO cathodes under extreme conditions.

High voltage/high temperature operation aggravates the risk of capacity attenuation and thermal runaway of layered oxide cathodes due to crystal degradation and interfacial instability. A combined strategy of bulk regulation and surface chemistry design is crucial to handle these issues. Here, we present a simultaneous LiWO-coated and gradient W-doped 0.