Themed collection Journal of Materials Chemistry A HOT Papers

Pourbaix diagram is a critical tool in electrocatalytic research, driving innovation and improving the reliability of catalyst development.

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.

This review provides an in-depth analysis of the key aspects related to in situ grown TMS electrodes, including the selection of TMS active materials, various substrates, and materials engineering.

This review provides a comprehensive analysis of recent advancements in MXene-based AIBs, with a particular emphasis on zinc-ion batteries.

This manuscript comprehensively reviews the recent advancements in Cu-based atomic site catalysts in the NO₃RR, following a sequential order with six sections: Introduction, Mechanism, Cu-based SACs, Cu-based SAAs, Cu-based DACs, and Perspectives.

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.

MOF-derived Co-doped Cu₃P/NC octahedra are coupled with MXene to form a 3D@2D structure, which is conducive to promoting electron transport and proton transfer, thereby improving HER and IRR performance.

A novel in situ hydro-charging strategy to fabricate PVDF electret nanofibers with cascade co-polarized structures is reported for long-term air filtration.

Asymmetric sulfur vacancies were incorporated into defective SnS₂ through a Cu dopant, aimed at preserving the energy of photoexcited electrons and strengthening the metal–sulfur covalency.

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.

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 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.

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.

The widespread utilization of noble metal-based catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is hindered by their rarity and substantial expense, posing significant challenges for large-scale applications.

This study reports a metal-free heptazine-based catalyst for photocatalytic reduction of CO₂ to CO and oxidation of water to hydrogen peroxide in a CO₂-saturated aqueous solution without any sacrificial agent.

A heterogeneous nanostructured electrocatalyst Ni_0.9Fe_0.1S@NiFe(PO₄)_x/NF has been prepared by a solvothermal reaction with NiFe-LDH/NF using P₂S₅ as phosphorus and sulfur sources.

A 2D layered fluorescent CPOS has been synthesized, with layers stacked via electrostatic interactions rather than conventional π–π stacking.

F-doping forms an oxygen molecule potential well, altering the energy distribution function of oxygen. Thus, this effect induces a localized enrichment zone for oxygen, leading to enhanced O₂ adsorption.

We present a novel approach for high-density gas storage at ambient pressure, leveraging the pore and surface properties of nanoporous materials and the natural behaviour of water.

Balanced deintercalation and reinsertion of framework atoms was used to stabilize water-sensitive germanosilicate zeolites. They become resistant to structural degradation and thus available for modification and use.

A novel approach in optimizing frustrated Lewis pair chemistry on two-dimensional CeO₂via precise tuning of surface oxygen vacancies for advanced alkaline hydrogen evolution.

Electrolytes play a vital role in determining the performance of the H2–H3 phase transition in high-nickel layered oxide cathodes.

The Schottky barrier between CoP and g-C₃N₄ is tuned via nanometallic Mo with a low work function.

The rapid development of technology has resulted in increased electromagnetic radiation, causing significant impact on human health. This work provides inspiration for the development and design of microwave absorbing materials.

This work theoretically studies the photovoltaic performance and carrier dynamics of S-scheme CsSnBr₃/SnS_x (x = 1, 2) heterostructures. The V_Br(6.3%)–CsSnBr₃/SnS-based solar cell device exhibits the highest power conversion efficiency (26.58%).

The mutual restriction between hydroxide ions' conductivity and alkaline stability is the main obstacle for the practical application of anion-exchange membranes (AEMs) in anion-exchange membrane fuel cells.

A solid hot-injection solvent-recycle method is developed for cost-effective synthesis of Cu-based metal oxide nanocrystals towards CO₂ hydrogenation with the recovery of organic ligands and solvents.

We demonstrated that the spin moment of magnetic metals in 2D MOFs is correlated with the stability and catalytic activity of 2D MOFs, which can guide the rational optimization of catalytic activity by tuning the spin states of the metal center.

The efficient visible-light-driven cleavage of C_α–C_β bonds was realized through green and sustainable methods using a lead-free S-scheme perovskite heterojunction.

A reduced Cu_0.75Zn_0.15Mg_7.1Al₁Sc₁O₁₁-HEO catalyst was highly active and stable for the dehydrogenation of cyclohexanol, and the conversion of cyclohexanol could be evidently enhanced when acetone was used as the solvent and/or hydrogen acceptor.

Ultrathin conjugated microporous thermoset nanosheets (CMT-n) was successfully synthesized based on a solvent-free, catalyst-free thermosetting process and CMT-n shows excellent discharge capacity and cycling stability as anodes for lithium storage.

CIP@LM heterointerfaces can efficiently control polarization losses, balance impedance matching in magnetic materials, and boost electromagnetic wave absorption.

The atomic-scale mechanism of enhanced ionic conductivity in (Ba,Ca)F₂ with isovalent cation mixing is revealed via a first-principles investigation of defect formation and migration.

ZLB GF separator was prepared based on a conventional GF separator through a simple self-assembly method that can realize dendrite free aqueous zinc ion batteries.

The relationships among molecular structure, liquid crystal behavior, and phase separation morphology of small molecule donors were explored. The BT-CAR4-based device achieved an ideal morphology, leading to a 15.52% efficiency for binary ASM-OSCs.