Themed collection Journal of Materials Chemistry A Emerging Investigators 2026

Seawater electrolysis is of great significance for sustainable hydrogen production, particularly in coastal and offshore regions with abundant renewable energy but limited freshwater resources.

The SERS signal between the noble-metal-free surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrate Oxygen-driven ReS₂–ReO₃ and the probe molecules originates from charge transfer coupling.

Surface hydration engineering enables decoupled charge and ion transport, enhancing OER kinetics via inner-sphere transfer and intermediate stabilization.

Employing a fluorinated copolymer strategy enhances performance by broadening Li⁺ pathways to 7.3 × 10⁻⁴ S cm⁻¹, enhancing stability beyond 5.9 V and 300 °C, and facilitating LiF-rich interphase formation.

Ultrathin g-C₃N₄ nanosheets co-decorated with rGO for O₂ reduction and CoO_x for water oxidation, thereby enhancing charge separation, redox kinetics and overall photocatalytic performance in H₂O₂ production from O₂ and water.

Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) have recently attracted widespread interest due to their intrinsically high specific capacity and inherent safety.

Biuret-assisted synthesis was developed for simultaneously optimizing the TiO₆ concentration and specific surface area of hierarchical TS-1 zeolites, which thus improved the catalytic performance in oxidative desulfurization and 1-hexene epoxidation.

A PEMFC flow field, inspired by the lotus root structure, has been developed and designed to enhance synergistic catalytic ability and electrochemical output performance.

Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) demand sustainable anode materials to address the limitations of lithium resources.

Atomic Ta doping via a molten-salt route forms asymmetric Ta–O–Ru active sites that optimize Ru–O covalency and reinforce the Ta–O–Ru linkage, enabling RuO_x–10Ta to achieve 189 mV at 10 mA cm⁻² and >700 h stability of acidic OER.

Redox potential-regulated HPA fuel enables the development of efficient, noble metal-free direct liquid fuel cells with hydrogen-cycle sustainability.

The introduction of the SmCl₃ additive suppresses dendrite formation and side reactions by adjusting the electric double layer and occupying the protruding active sites on the anodes. The symmetrical and full batteries show good performance.

Batteryagent, an LLM-driven multi-agent system, unifies fragmented optimization in ASSB research through multifaceted analysis, delivering holistic insights and actionable strategies to accelerate next-generation energy-dense ASSB development.

The effect of dual cation magnesium/tungsten substitution in ultra-Ni-rich LiNiO₂ cathodes was investigated. Combined bulk and surface stabilisation afforded through this coat-doping method improved the cyclability of these cathode materials.

Engineering dual vacancies in NiCo-LDH promotes glucose adsorption and facilitates C–C bond cleavage, synergistically enhancing selective glucose oxidation to formic acid.

Reversible photomodulation of chitosan thin-films with an azobenzene: impact of degrees of deacetylation, polymerisation and azobenzene concentration on mechanical properties and water vapor permeability under UV irradiation.

High-throughput gradients in composition and temperature enable both rapid optimization and mechanistic insight, revealing how titanium influences hematite photoanode performance through bulk doping and surface modification.

We developed a dual-modified carbon nitride photocatalyst achieving enhanced H₂O₂ production via improved charge separation and AQ-driven ¹O₂ conversion.

The inverse CeO₂/Cu catalyst exhibits a significantly higher activity than supported catalyst towards the methanol steam reforming reaction.

An ab initio DFT study of zwitterionic polymers and their interactions with water and ice towards understanding their anti-icing behaviors.

We investigate the thermodynamic stability of the Mo_1−xW_xSe₂ alloy at the atomistic level and introduce an innovative cost-effective protocol for predicting and characterizing its optoelectronic properties, explicitly incorporating excitonic effects.

The three halide variants (PEAX, X = I, Br, and Cl) were investigated for their impact on defect traps, charge recombination, ion migration, and charge-carrier dynamics by forming the 2D/3D heterostructure.

All-inorganic perovskites have emerged as promising candidates for tandem and photovoltaic applications due to their wide bandgap and enhanced stability.

Neutrons allow one to probe interfaces in next generation high-energy batteries including solid-state Li metal batteries. Understanding these interfaces is key to enabling these batteries to reach their potential.

Na⁺-ions migrate through water channels in transparent and flexible solid-state electrolytes.

Encapsulated copper nanoparticles (Cu-in-CNT) exhibit higher stability and electrochemical nitrate reduction performance as CNT prevents Cu leaching compared to surface-attached particles (Cu-on-CNT).

Machine learning interatomic potentials, fine-tuned for complex solid-state electrolytes, enable accurate modeling and discovery of novel compositions with enhanced ion transport for next-generation batteries.

The dicyanamide anion (DCA) stabilizes perovskite films by suppressing trap formation and δ-phase degradation, leading to enhanced phase integrity under operation. Devices exhibit improved PCE, moisture resistance, and long-term stability.