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.

We have successfully achieved the nonpolar-polar transition to a polar junction in apatite materials by using size-differentiated atomic substitution to induce spontaneous polarization, and prepared a material with excellent pyroelectric properties.

This research successfully achieved deep CO₂ electroreduction on non-Cu metals (Pd, Ag, Zn and Ga) through a general strategy of modulating the local environment.

A highly concentrated electrolyte of KN(SO₂F)₂ (KFSA) and sulfolane (SL) was developed as a K-ion battery electrolyte. The equimolar mixture solution of KFSA/SL exhibited a wide potential window and improved the rate capability of K₂Mn[Fe(CN)₆].

Interpenetration-regulated pore size engineering is leveraged to fine-tune pore size in interpenetrated Zn-SDBA-dpe/bpy MOFs that creates a discrepancy in geometric symmetry, thus inducing noticeable differences in C₂H₂/C₂H₄ separation performances.

The environment on which people depend for their survival is becoming increasingly complex and deteriorating due to increasing electromagnetic pollution and extreme hot weather.

A skin-effect-inspired solar evaporator (SEISE) with non-uniform porosity was designed to match thermal localization and water transport localization, thus simultaneously achieving excellent evaporation performance and ultra-high salt resistance.

The CO₂RR performance of Si-based DACs was studied, identifying several DACs with enhanced activity for CO₂ conversion. The Si atom's p_z band, influenced by d-electrons, TM atom radius, and coordination, is the key descriptor for catalytic activity.

Target compound BDNTT exhibits excellent detonation performance and indicates the potential as a novel type of high-energy density material (HEDM).

Two pyrazine-MOFs with AB-stacked geometry, which block pore channels, were synthesized to enhance capacitive performance without in-channel mass transport.

Highly ordered supramolecular nanobelt structures self-assembled via π–π interactions boost photocatalytic hydrogen evolution.

DSDA simultaneously down-converts ultraviolet light and enhances the conductivity of SnO₂; DSDA effectively passivates defects at the SnO₂/perovskite interface while providing in situ protection against lead leakage.

Polymeric ionic conductor networks are designed and fabricated to effectively prevent the oxidative decomposition of the poly(1,3-dioxolane) electrolyte on the LiCoO₂ cathode surface, thereby enabling stable cycling of solid-state LiCoO₂‖Li cells.

The glaze component is successfully utilized as a sintering aid to obtain a NASICON with high Na⁺ conductivity and relative density.

A new type of POM-encapsulated {Ag₆} cluster has exhibited a high proton conductivity of 3.0 × 10⁻² S cm⁻¹ at 368 K and 98% RH and excellent catalytic activity for reduction of nitrobenzene with 98.55% conversion and >99% selectivity in 2.5 h.

CeO₂/NiCoOOH was fabricated by self-reconstruction of NiCoCe-MOF. CeO₂ acts as an ‘electron trap’, refining the electronic configuration of NiCoOOH, expediting the electron transfer kinetics and improving the electrocatalytic performance.

A novel strategy for spin-state regulation has been proposed to promote charge transfer, strengthen the Mo–S bond and activate S atoms of the MoS_x-based materials for simultaneously enhancing the intrinsic activity and stability toward efficient HER.

A schematic of the full-area GaAs/NP hybrid HJSC configuration and the energy band diagram of its heterojunction upon illumination.

Gelatin–CNF–CNT aerogels with durable mechanical properties used for efficient interfacial solar evaporation.

Oxygen doping reduces free volume yet paradoxically enhances amorphous framework flexibility, facilitating Na⁺ ion diffusion. This balance leads to an initial increase, then a decline, observed in conductivity of NaPSO electrolytes.

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.