Minireview
Hydrogen bubble evolution and its induced mass transfer on zinc electrodes in alkaline and neutral media
Hydrogen bubble evolution presents both challenges and opportunities in Zn-based batteries. While bubble evolution induces electrode instability and dendrite formation, it can also optimize mass transfer through controlled fluid dynamics.
Insight into the structural reconstruction of alkaline water oxidation electrocatalysts
This review explores precatalysts’ structural reconstruction during alkaline OER, summarizes methods probing structural evolution and influencing factors, guides dynamic reconstruction regulation, and discusses reconstruction impacts on performance.
Synergizing superwetting and architected electrodes for high-rate water splitting
Review of recent advancements in tackling bubble-related issues through the design and implementation of superwetting electrodes, including surface modification techniques and structural optimizations.
Advanced strategies for controlling three-phase boundaries in photocatalysis
This review highlights the crucial role of TPBs in enhancing photocatalytic efficiency for nitrogen, oxygen, and water reduction. It covers recent progress, challenges, and future directions to optimize TPBs for sustainable energy technologies.
Fabricating 3A optical films via transfer printing from a nickel nanocone array template
A nickel nanocone array template is fabricated by controlling screw-dislocation growth through electrodeposition and then is applied to transfer-print resin structures, resulting in a nanostructured 3A optical film.
Lorentz force-assisted growth of romanesco-like Ni–Fe nano-cone arrays for enhanced oxygen evolution reaction at high current densities
A novel Lorentz-force-assisted electrodeposition method is introduced to fabricate Romanesco-like Ni–Fe nano-cone arrays with enhanced stability and efficient bubble release for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) under high current densities.
Communication
Single gold nanowires with ultrahigh (>104) aspect ratios by triphasic electrodeposition
We introduce a new fabrication concept (triphasic electrodeposition), forming single gold nanowires with unprecedented aspect ratios and spatial control.
Nano-bismuth vanadate supported on fibrous silica reduces the intrinsic charge impedance for superior photoelectrochemical water-splitting performance
An FSBVO photoanode was synthesized for PEC water-splitting, and it showed a photocurrent density of 19.8 mA cm−2 at 1.23 VRHE.
Triboelectric charge-separable probes for potential single-droplet biochemical sensing
Self-powered sensors featuring triboelectric charge-separable probes utilize electrical signals generated by the interaction between droplets and the device to reflect the concentration information of substances contained within the droplets.
P(TT-TPA) featuring a conjugated extended structure: enabling high-performance flexible electrochromic-supercapacitors
Electrochromic-supercapacitors (EC-SCs) based on conducting polymers hold broad application prospects in fields such as smart electronic devices, wearable devices, and the Internet of Things.
Substitutional Mo Doping in Ta₃N₅ Photoanode: Mitigating Native Defects Engineering and Enhancing Water Splitting performance
Formation of electron-deficient Ni in a Nb/NiFe-layered double hydroxide nanoarray via electrochemical activation for efficient water oxidation
The Nb/NiFe-LDH nanoarray material was successfully synthesized, which has high-efficiency alkaline oxygen evolution activity.
Dual-enhancements of stability and wettability in O3-Na0.95Ni1/3Fe1/3Mn1/3O2 cathodes by converting surface residual alkali into ultrathin Na2Ti3O7 coatings
Residual-alkali-derived Na2Ti3O7 coatings boost electrolyte wettability and electrochemical performance of a layered oxide cathode for sodium-ion batteries.
Water oxidation on a sustainable polymeric proton relay: the role of post-phosphating of an oxide sub-layer on PCET
Proton transfer is greatly enhanced by combining the phosphate underlayer with the interfacial amine groups of the poly-lysine.
Rice leaves microstructure-inspired high-efficiency electrodes for green hydrogen production
Rice leaves inspired the development of an anisotropic microstructured gas conduction electrode featuring rapid desorption and transfer of bubbles to achieve highly efficient hydrogen production.
Ultralight flexible 3D nickel micromesh decorated with NiCoP for high stability alkaline zinc batteries
The stability of the positive and negative electrodes in alkaline zinc-ion batteries is improved by the incorporation of highly oriented metal micromesh electrode structures and interfacial modifications.
Paper
Machine learning-guided discovery of gas evolving electrode bubble inactivation
Experimental interrogation unveils that as much as 75% of the area underneath bubbles is electrochemically active. A simple method for estimating the degree of electrode inactivation due to bubbles is demonstrated.
Metal oxide plating for maximizing the performance of ruthenium(IV) oxide-catalyzed electrochemical oxygen evolution reaction
TiO2 nanowire array anode coated by a uniform single-crystalline RuO2 film with a thickness of ∼2.5 nm produced O2 from water with an efficiency of ∼100% and a mass specific activity of 341 A gcat−1 at 1.50 V (vs. RHE).
Bi-doped ruthenium oxide nanocrystal for water oxidation in acidic media
Bi atoms were introduced into rutile RuO2 (i.e., Bi0.05Ru0.95O2) for enhancing its catalytic activity and stability toward the acidic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) with a low overpotential (203.5 mV at 10 mA cm−2) and excellent stability.
A self-powered droplet sensor based on a triboelectric nanogenerator toward the concentration of green tea polyphenols
We developed a simple, three-layered and self-powered liquid droplet sensor based on a triboelectric nanogenerator. The current sensitivity of the self- powered sensor reaches −40.12 μA mg mL−1, and the voltage sensitivity reaches −0.195 V μg mL−1.
About this collection
Concerns about global warming from fossil fuels and high oil prices are driving up demand for renewable energy, including wind or solar powers, which currently generates about one-fifth of the electricity used worldwide and is continuously growing. Owing to the intermittent characteristic of distributed renewable energy such as wind power and photovoltaic cell, electricity powered production including hydrogen production, is put forward as the strategy of energy carrier and suppressing the power fluctuations, which lead to the demands for designing better electrode with higher stability and efficiency.
Biomimetic surfaces, which generally show regular micro/nanostructures, offer new insights to address this issue because the intrinsic activity can determine the electrocatalytic behaviours at low overpotentials near the onset, but management on bubbles have a significant influence on the slope under high overpotential where diffusion and mass transfer are more important. Although a series of nanoarray-based structured electrodes have been constructed and demonstrated with excellent performances for gas-involving electrochemical reactions, understanding of bubble wetting behaviour remains elusive. The design of nature-inspired superwetting surface topography for unique functions will spur new thinking and provide paradigm shift in the development of next-generation of new materials and devices, and dramatically extend the boundaries of renewable energy.
This themed collection in Nanoscale is guest edited by ProfessorsZuankai Wang (The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong), Alex Bell (University of California, Berkeley, USA), Alberto Vomiero (Luleå University of Technology, Sweden) and Xiaoming Sun (Beijing University of Chemical Technology, China), and collates some of the latest research focusing on fundamental understanding and practical applications of superwetting nanoelectrodes.