Themed collection Journal of Materials Chemistry A HOT Papers

This perspective summarizes recent advances in electrochemical humidity sensors and mainly focuses on three aspects: working principles; humidity sensing and power generation performances; self-powered humidity detection system.

Green hydrogen, produced by water splitting with renewables, faces water scarcity issues. Atmospheric moisture, a stable source, offers an alternative. This article reviews technologies and challenges of using atmospheric water for H₂ production.

The present review gives an overview of the different state-of-the-art X-ray techniques employed for the characterisation of photoelectrocatalytic systems, focusing on the possibilities of the studied techniques, cell designs and relevant results.

This review provides a summary of recent advancements in 1D/2D carbon materials (carbon nanotubes, graphene, MXenes, and carbon fibers) for FZIBs. It mainly introduces the functions of 1D/2D carbon materials in enhancing the performance of FZIBs.

This review summarizes the progressive understanding of the mechanism of the Pd-catalyzed CO₂ reduction reaction, together with recent advances in the rational design of Pd-based electrocatalysts.

A critical review of the regulatory mechanisms, structural design, cooling performance, and applications of hybrid cooling to advance its commercial use in passive cooling.

This review summarizes the recent progress in the regulation of local reaction intermediates and protons near active sites and discusses how their microenvironment affects the C–C coupling efficiency in the electrocatalytic CO₂RR.

This review analyzes advancements in CO₂-resistant perovskite cathodes for solid oxide fuel cells, detailing CO₂-poisoning mechanisms, evaluation methods, enhancement strategies, and characterization techniques for future cathode development.

State-of-the-art HEAs with outstanding water splitting performance is rationally designed, which provides a blueprint for the design of a next-generation platform for hydrogen regeneration.

In this review, we summarized the application methods of SECM in electrochemical reactions and also discussed the challenges and prospects of SECM in characterizing the activity of electrocatalysts.

Carbon-support-free platinum and non-platinum catalysts are reviewed to clarify the source of recent controversial results and to propose experimental conditions for their use in future fuel cell vehicles.

We summarize the influence of polymer coatings on cathode particles for electrochemical energy storage applications. We report on the effect of different polymer types, their properties, and their influence on thermo-electro-chemical behavior.

Dual-metal site catalysts embedded in a carbon matrix (referred to as DMSCs) are gaining significant interest in sustainable energy research.

The current review discusses on vanadium- and manganese-based metal–organic frameworks and their derivatives for energy storage and conversion applications along with the potential future advancements in these fields.

A comprehensive review of direct captured CO₂ electro-conversion technology, a promising Carbon Capture and Utilization (CCU) technology that can achieve both techno-economic and environmental viability.

Nano-sized high entropy alloy (HEA) catalysts have attracted much attention as extraordinary electrocatalysts in water-splitting applications, i.e., the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER).

This review addresses four key factors and underlying mechanisms of doping engineering from crystal-field, molecular orbital, and ligand-field theory.

Metal/covalent organic frameworks (MOFs/COFs), with orderly aligned pores and adjustable pore characteristics, offer advantages over traditional fillers in constructing thin film nanocomposite (TFN) membranes for task-specific separations.

The review illustrates that the magnetic field effect can promote the generation of different nanostructures in material synthesis, achieve the transition from 1D to 2D and 3D structures in material assembly and improve the energy density of supercapacitor by the direct and indirect roles.

The efficient removal of trace impurities is significant for the production of high-purity olefins. This review summarizes the latest advancements in the deep purification of ethylene and propylene using MOF materials.

The d-band center of Pt nanoparticles has been demonstrated as an effective parameter for modulating their catalytic activity for toluene hydrogenation, thereby promoting the H₂ strong in liquid organic molecules.

The unique piezoelectric effect of Exp-MoS₂ significantly promotes NH₄⁺ transfer and leads to a faster diffusion rate, making Exp-MoS₂/CC act as an outstanding anode of an integrated ammonium-ion asymmetric supercapacitor.

The Mg@DL-Ti₂CCl_x composite, synthesized using MXene with partially removed terminal groups, shows enhanced hydrogen storage properties by forming a direct Ti–Mg interface which promotes charge transfer and weakens the Mg–H bond.

We first investigate the electrochemical dealloying effect and mechanism of a high-chromium alloy in alkaline NaNO₃ solution at oxygen evolution potential.

We report a strategy of catalyst design to modulate oxygen vacancies through the control of Au/ceria interface structures, promoting Au activity for carbon monoxide production in carbon dioxide electroreduction.

Prelithiation of LiMn₂O₄ balances the low first cycle efficiency of silicon anodes for improvements in energy density and prospective cell chemistry enabled by naturally abundant elements.

Tailoring the bismuth defects in ultrathin Bi₂WO₆ nanosheets can efficiently activate the C–H bond in toluene to produce benzaldehyde under light irradiation.

A novel heat storage ionomer binder with highly efficient heat-storage ability is proposed to function as an internal temperature conditioner, which allows the battery to function steadily over a wider temperature range.

An efficient adsorptive molecular sieving strategy to separate aromatic and cyclic aliphatic hydrocarbons via an intrinsic/extrinsic approach.

Three-dimensional porous NiCoP foam supported on Ni foam is a superb bifunctional electrocatalyst for overall seawater splitting, attaining a large current density of 1000 mA cm⁻² at a low cell voltage of 1.97 V with robust stability over 300 hours.

A g-C₃N₄ isotype heterojunction photo-electrode is reported for high-performance photo-accelerated zinc-ion capacitors.

A novel electron-rich alkynyl-functionalized HOF material was designed and synthesized for efficient C₂H₆/C₂H₄ separation. The alkynyl groups serve as functional binding sites to result in high C₂H₆ adsorption capacity and selectivity.

The subsurface Zr doping induced by diffusion in NaNi_0.8Mn_0.2O₂ is used for the Na-ion battery cathode. A uniform subsurface Zr-rich region aided by polyacrylic acid facilitates the primary particle growth of the cathode.

We manipulated the ionic defects (protons and oxygen vacancies) in perovskite nickelates through thermochemical dehydration. We quantified the correlation between the physical properties of nickelates and oxygen vacancy concentration.

Poly(aryl quinuclidinium) AEMs with improved anion conductivity and dimensional stability were prepared by introducing twisted structural units.

Designing flexible single-atom catalysts with tunable single-atom centers and coordination environments is crucial for highly active and selective electrochemical catalysis.

The combustion synthesized Na₄Fe₃(PO₄)₂(P₂O₇) cathode exhibited outstanding electrochemical performance due to its higher purity, thin and dense carbon layer, and optimized pore structure compared to the one synthesized by the sol–gel method.

The isolated Ni₁ atoms with short distances between them would aggregate and facilitate carbon removal during CH₄/CO₂ reforming.

Guanidinium acetate (GAAc) was applied to treat a perovskite film for fabricating n–i–p perovskite solar cells. The synergistic effect of GA⁺ and Ac⁻ on regulating the perovskite surface enabled high-efficiency and stable perovskite solar cells.

The energy sum of bandgap and Fermi level shift (E_g + ΔE_shift) is a better indicator than E_g alone for judging the ease of intrinsic excitation and bipolar conduction in thermoelectric materials.

Understanding CO₂RR selectivity of Sn-based catalysts by considering both the real-time structural evolution of catalysts and all key intermediates involved.

V can exist as three vanadium-based species, i.e., doped V^III in LDHs laminates, intercalated VO₃⁻ between LDHs interlayers, and free VO₃⁻ as an additive in KOH electrolyte. The study shows their role in altering the OER performance of NiFe-LDHs.

The O3-type cathode of NaNi_0.4Fe_0.2Mn_0.4O₂ stands out for its remarkable theoretical capacity, straightforward production process, affordability, and ecological compatibility for sodium-ion batteries.

A novel Co-FCVA device was employed to prepare a synergistic dual-functional layer-modified Cu current collector for anode-free lithium metal batteries (AFLMBs), which provides an effective solution for the large-scale commercialization of AFLMBs.

A moisture-resistant glassy plastic (MRGP) with hyperbranched structure and terminal thiocarbonyl groups is demonstrated. Its hydrogen bonding network exhibits remarkable moisture resistance and enables complete and fast healing at room temperature.

The synergistic effect of PdCu alloys on TiO₂ nanosheets expands the light-absorption range, improves the adsorption of CO₂ and H₂O, and accelerates photogenerated electron migration, resulting in an increased CH₄ yield with a selectivity of 98.7%.

Herein, we report a two-step electrochemical approach encompassing pre-intercalation and post-exfoliation/oxidation, enabling the mass exfoliation of graphene oxide with customizable oxidation levels on a timescale of minutes.

Solid state NMR and SCXRD analysis characterises the low-dimensional structures of hybrid metal halide perovskites (MHPs) templated by xylylenediammonium isomer cations, providing insight into the structure and dynamics of archetype 3D MHPs.

Cs-promoted In₂O₃ has demonstrated excellent catalytic activity and selectivity in photo-thermal CO₂ hydrogenation. Mechanistic studies suggest that non-thermal effects prevail, particularly at low reaction temperatures and high light intensities.

Enhancing electrochemical CO₂ reduction of Cu₂SnS₃via surface polarization manipulation proves effective for designing efficient CO₂-to-formate electrocatalysts.

A molten salt-assisted synthesis and Li-refeeding strategy is applied to prepare single-crystalline slightly Li-rich Li_1.06Ni_0.90Mn_0.04O₂ with low magnetic moment and mitigated Li⁺/Ni²⁺ cation mixing, which enhances cycling performance.

Negative magnetoresistance of in situ carbon-coated amorphous SiO₂ nanoparticles is used for controlling the electrode kinetics in lithium-ion batteries to achieve maximum electrochemical performance.

BT@PDA powder catalysts are gradually anchored onto the surface of porous PVDF via hydrogen bonding. The piezocatalytic performance is comparable to that of using only powder catalysts and limits secondary pollution.

A polydopamine amphiphilic compatibility layer was applied to meliorate filler dispersion, and enhance the electrochemical performance and stability of all-solid-state sodium metal batteries.

A weakly solvating non-flammable electrolyte system enables a safe high-voltage lithium battery by simultaneously facilitating the decomposition of anions and FEC at the electrode surface.

Structurally oriented BP/Ti₃C₂T_x heterostructured fibers with high conductivity, excellent mechanical properties and high specific capacitance were fabricated via electrostatic assembly for high-performance flexible fiber supercapacitors.

A microporous metal–organic framework with multiple N/O/F sites achieves high-efficiency one-step C₂H₄ purification from C₂H₆/C₂H₄ mixture.

An ionic liquid-modified polydiphenylacetylene derivative achieves ultra-high sensitivity (K_sv > 10⁵) and selectivity for picric acid detection, driven by electrostatic attraction, charge transfer, and fluorescence resonant energy transfer.

An enhanced catalytic performance for selective methanol electrooxidation to formate was achieved derived from the “shuttle-like” role of Se and the bimetallic synergism in NCS/CF.

Glucose biofuel cells (GBFCs) are special energy conversion devices using naturally abundant glucose as fuel.

Dual-doped ruthenium-based nanocrystals were developed as efficient and stable electrocatalysts for acidic overall seawater splitting with superior activity and durability.