Themed collection 2024 Journal of Materials Chemistry A Lunar New Year collection

Sorbent-assisted AWH and moisture-enabled energy generation are reviewed in parallel to reveal the correlation between these two technologies.

The design strategies and underlying mechanisms of versatile carbon superstructures for energy storage are reviewed. Current challenges and development roadmaps are proposed to spur the further exploration of carbon superstructures.

Herein, to provide ideas for the design of highly selective CO₂ reduction materials, we introduce each step of the photocatalytic CO₂ reduction process and summarize how each step is adjusted to promote the selectivity of CO₂ reduction.

Lithium–sulfur batteries (LSBs) are one of the most promising next-generation batteries because they have higher theoretical capacities, lower cost, and smaller environmental impact than lithium-ion batteries (LIBs).

The oxygen evolution reaction (OER), as an essential process in water decomposition and air batteries, has received increasing attention in the context of clean energy production and efficient energy storage.

The synthetic strategies, application and future development of non-precious metal-based self-supporting electrodes for Zn–air batteries have been systematically summarized according to the recent research progress.

Herein, we summarize the recent developments in structure optimizations of oxygen evolution reaction catalysts for promoting photoelectrochemical water splitting performances.

A review on metal-free COF photocatalysts from an environmental perspective is presented.

Lignin is one of the most abundant natural polymers and is affordable, has high carbon content and abundant active functional groups. It has been utilized as electrode materials in electrical double-layer supercapacitors and pseudo-supercapacitors.

Aerogels are highly porous structures produced by replacing the liquid solvent of a gel with air without causing the collapse of the solid network.

A three-dimensional carbon-reinforced ionic-electronic composite (CRIEC) boosts the cycling areal capacities of working anode-free all-solid-state lithium batteries.

In single atoms confined in amorphous MoO₃ (In₁/a-MoO₃) are reported to be an efficient catalyst for NO electroreduction to NH₃, attributed to the ability of single-site In to inhibit hydrogen evolution and optimize NO-to-NH₃ hydrogenation energetics.

NiFeS nanosheet array on Ni foam (NiFeS/NF) behaves as a superb bifunctional electrocatalyst for overall seawater splitting, attaining a commercially demanded current density of 500 mA cm⁻² at a low cell voltage of 1.85 V with robust stability.

The MnCoO_x solid solution catalysts show excellent catalytic efficiency and stability in the acidic OER. The investigation and DFT studies highlight the essential role of Co³⁺ and Mn⁴⁺ cations and oxygen vacancies in the OER mechanism.

Atomically doped Au in NiFe-LDH effectively passivates defect sites, substantially enhancing overall PEC water oxidation properties.

Kinetic-oriented design of ZnIn₂S₄via P-filling can modulate the surface activity by diminishing H adsorption–desorption barrier for sacrificial-free H₂ evolution.

This study demonstrated the fusion of machine-learning, ab initio, and experimental approaches model to develop new NASICON type cathodes including Na_3.5MnV_0.5Ti_0.5(PO₄)₃, Na_3.5MnV_0.5Fe_0.5(PO₄)₃, and Na_3.5MnV_0.5Al_0.5(PO₄)₃ for SIBs.

Ce(SO₄)₂ was introduced as an electrolyte additive for aqueous zinc batteries. The MnOOH generated in situ in the electrolyte was deposited on MnO₂ cathodes and compensated for the influence of disproportionation.

Zn-doping populates the catalytically active Ni³⁺-OOH sites, and subsequently prevents the detrimental competition between the UOR and OER. Consequently, Zn@Ni-MOF demonstrates an outstanding ultra-high UOR current density.

Novel WO₃/In₂O₃ S-scheme heterojunctions unveiled enhanced CO₂ photoreduction performance with ∼53.7% CH₄ selectivity, attributing to unique S-scheme charge separation and efficient CO₂ activation.

The electrocatalyst FeNi₃/NCS was prepared via the low-temperature pyrolysis of the melamine tube@FeNi-LDH heterostructure, which delivered impressive activity and stability towards water splitting with a low cell potential of 1.53 V at 10 mA cm⁻².

We show that the pore size of the gas-diffusion layer used in electrochemical CO₂ reduction affects CO₂ mass transport. This directly influences the local reaction microenvironment, controlling the selectivity between CO and formate on Ag catalysts.

Perovskite nanocrystals with high chirality and stability were synthesized via chirality transfer from a chiral supramolecular nanoreactor assembled from an achiral block copolymer complexed with racemic alanine.

Enlargement of micropores in zeolitic imidazolate framework particles into mesopores is achieved via an ethylene glycol-assisted aqueous etching method. The etched carbon shows a higher specific capacitance than unetched one at high scan rates.

Three nonfullerene acceptors with different inner chain lengths were studied on blade-coated organic solar cells to manipulate the Marangoni flow. Consequently, L8-i-EB, with the shortest inner chain, exhibits homogeneous morphology and performance.

GF/PANI separators were prepared by in situ polymerization of aniline monomers on GF. A PANI layer homogenizes the electric field distribution and induces the uniform deposition of zinc, thereby improving the electrochemical performance of batteries.

Ultralong and high velocity drop transportation is achieved through the combination of gradient hydrophobic backgrounds and cascaded super-hydrophilic divergent channels.

A low-temperature liquid phase sintering method combined with post heat treatment was employed to prepare p-type Bi_0.5Sb_1.5Te₃/SiC composites with enhanced thermoelectric properties.

The PEC performance of antimony selenide (Sb₂Se₃) is increased by removing oxide impurities from the surface using (NH₄)₂S etching solution and passivating dangling bonds with a CuCl₂ solution treatment.

A 2,2′-bipyridine based ketoenamine COF (TpBpy), which can be synthesized by a facile and eco-friendly hydrothermal method, is used to promote CO₂ photoreduction processes by bridging CdS nanoparticles and a homogeneous [Co(bpy)₃]²⁺ cocatalyst.

A dual-functional device to integrate solar-driven water evaporation and evaporation-induced power generation is demonstrated to concurrently produce clean water and green electricity, with the aim to address the inevitable water and energy crises.

We proposed a facile porous organic cage (POC) composite membrane fabricated with the RCC3 cage crosslinked by terephthaloyl chloride for CO₂/N₂ and CH₄/N₂ separation. The amine-rich subnanochannel provided by RCC3 promoted the rapid penetration of CO₂.

Fe, Cu dual metal single atom catalyst on commercial carbon black exhibited excellent oxygen reduction reaction performance.

Electronic structure modification of Ni₃S₂ with Co and Sn co-doping boosts OER property.

Novel gamma-phase Ni–Co oxyhydroxides nanoplate networks with cationic vacancy defects and crystalline–amorphous interfaces achieve ultrahigh mass/areal/volumetric energy-density flexible all-solid-state asymmetric supercapacitor.

Ti₃C₂T_x MXene-integrated porous carbon nanofiber freestanding/flexible electrodes are engineered and the optimized MX-5@PCNF is used for the fabrication of flexible symmetric and asymmetric supercapacitor devices with high energy density.

For the first-time, recycled RW waste is decorated with a ZIF-67, MXene and reduced graphene oxide as the photothermal evaporator. Solar-thermal conversion efficiency of 153.7% was achieved under 1 sun illumination.

As a cathode in aqueous zinc-ion capacitors (ZICs), nitrogen-doped carbon with a 2D bimetallic chalcogenide (NbMo₆S₈/NC) was used. The assembled ZIC demonstrated exceptional electrochemical stability and energy efficiency over thousands of charge–discharge cycles.

In recent years, the development of multi-functional supercapacitors with high flexibility and strong environmental adaptability has gradually become a focus of attention.

A lithium/sulfide/polysulfide cell design with a solid-state sulfide electrolyte and a polysulfide cathode shows a liquid–solid interface with a fast charge-transfer path, high polysulfide retention, and smooth lithium-ion diffusion.

Chemical bath-deposited SnO₂ widely used as an electron transport layer has hydroxyl defect, which is responsible for degradation of perovskite solar cell. Surface passivation of SnO₂ with 4-fluorothiophenol improves stability.

This work presents red emissive CDs as a promising fluorescent sensor with excellent photostability, high fluorescence quantum yield, and negligible cytotoxicity for real-time sensing and visualizing polarity changes in mitochondria and lysosomes.

Herein, we report the transition metal dependent deprotonation of layered type materials during their high voltage (>4.5 V vs. Li/Li⁺) operation as a potential degradation cause in an electrochemical system.

The VSe₂–ZrO₂/C/MXene composite derived from a MXene-MOF hybrid with excellent cycling stability and high reversible capacity exhibited satisfying lithium-ion storage performancedde.

A stepwise optimization route yields a general way to design synthetic ESP ceramics. NBT-BST-BMS-VPP ceramics obtain an ultrahigh W_rec of 7.5 J cm⁻³ under 440 kV cm⁻¹.

An S-scheme heterojunction of core–shell MoO_3−x@ZnIn₂S₄ is first constructed for photothermal-coupled solar photocatalytic CO₂ reduction with high efficiency and selectivity.

Hydrophobic side chain grafted poly(fluorenyl-co-aryl piperidinium) ionomers simultaneously possess outstanding peak power density of 2.6 W cm⁻² at 80 °C along with durable in situ stability of 0.4 mV h⁻¹ voltage decay rate under 0.6 A cm⁻² at 70 °C.

Taking an alkaline-earth (AE) metal single-atom catalyst supported on graphene as the representative, the feasibility of AE metals as active centers for the electrocatalytic nitrate reduction reaction to produce NH₃ has been theoretically explored.

The comprehensive multiphysics theoretical model on hydrovoltaics shows that the asymmetric protonation gradient and electrokinetic dynamics are the key factors for the mysterious electricity generation of porous carbons.

A PTZ-based D–A COF with low exciton binding energy and high charge separation efficiency exhibited an enhanced photocatalytic performance in oxidative amine coupling and cyclization of thioamide reactions.