Themed collection New horizons in materials for energy conversion, optics and electronics

Jinlan Wang, Yuanjian Zhang, Seeram Ramakrishna and Guihua Yu introduce the cross-journal themed collection on new horizons in materials for energy conversion, optics and electronics, in celebration of the 120^th anniversary of Southeast University, China.

This minireview summarizes the recent cutting-edge works of 2D MXene-based flexible antennas, discusses the existing bottlenecks, and provides some guidelines for the future development of this promising field.

As a member of graphene analogs, metallenes are a class of two-dimensional materials with atomic thickness and well-controlled surface atomic arrangement made of metals or alloys.

We focus on the new horizons in operando/in situ characterisation techniques in electrocatalysis, providing a critical analysis of how advanced in situ techniques help us to deepen our understanding of reaction mechanisms and material evolution.

Surface acoustic wave (SAW)–matter interaction provides a fascinating key for inducing and manipulating novel phenomena and functionalities in two-dimensional (2D) materials.

This review covers the recent nanoelectrode-based electrochemical studies on 0-dimensional and 2-dimensional catalytic nanomaterials for water splitting electrocatalysis.

LPI-CVD growth not only avoids the use of solid powders, but also enables the uniform distribution of precursors on the substrate, which are favorable for the monolayer synthesis, substitution doping and corresponding heterostructures of 2D TMDs.

This review introduces fundamental aspects of the electrocatalytic CO₂RR process together with a systematic examination of recent developments in Cu-based electrocatalysts for the electroreduction of CO₂ to various high-value multicarbon products.

Microbial electrosynthesis (MES) is a sustainable approach to producing fuels and value-added chemicals from anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO₂).

Degradation of single-site model Fe–N–C powder tracked using cryo-Mössbauer spectroscopy suggests a simple mechanism comprising the oxidation of Fe(II) to Fe(III) followed by precipitation of iron oxide. Curiously, the characteristic doublet D2 is converted into D1 upon exposure to air.

C₆₀ moiety is shielded and liquefied by bulky yet flexible branched alkyl chains as excellent charge-holding liquid electrets enabling us to create mechanoelectric generators with ultimate deformability such as folding, twisting, and rolling.

Effective tuning of carrier dynamics in two-dimensional (2D) materials is significant for multi-scene device applications.

The color-preserving daytime radiative cooling can be achieved by selective spectral absorption of nanofibers.

A new catalytic approach is pioneered to achieve CO₂ methanation via a single atom alloy Ir/Ni catalyst using a ball-milling method.

Multiscale defect engineering has been designed to decouple the electron–phonon transport in 2D bismuth antimony, simultaneously achieving high electrical and low thermal conductivity with 420% enhancement of the ZT value.

A novel design idea of optimizing through-space interaction for intramolecular singlet fission is proposed by using macrocyclic structures.

A novel Ti 2D monolayer is successfully fabricated with a metallic bonding. The electronic topological transition is observed accompanied by the variance of the Fermi surface. A medium electron–phonon coupling is presented with a superconducting temperature of 3.8 K.

The novel antiperovskites exhibit a low dimensional electronic structure, making them a potential luminous material. Herein, our study explored the new and ecofriendly antiperovskites to identify six promising luminous candidates.

Plasmonic nanocavities enable the manipulation of field polarization, thereby to selectively enhance the Raman modes of specific target molecules.

Metallic nanorings (NRs) with an open hollow structure are of particular interest in energy-related catalysis due to their unique features, which include the high utilization of active sites and facile accessibility for reactants.

The presence of a small amount of oligomer can induce ordering and crystallization of the parent conducting polymer, resulting in highly conductive, compositionally homogeneous crystals with defined molecular weights.

Polymeric carbon nitride (CN) has emerged as an attractive material for photocatalysis and photoelectronic devices.

MoS₂ in a graphene-like structure that possesses a large interlayer spacing is a promising anode material for sodium ions batteries (SIBs).

Dion–Jacobson double perovskites BDA₂M_IM_IIIX₈ are explored for stable and high-efficiency lead-free solar cell absorbers.

α-Antimonene has recently been successfully fabricated in experiment; hence, it is timely to examine how various types of point defects in α-antimonene can affect its novel electronic properties.

Photoinduced carriers recombine almost twice slower and diffuse 20% faster in the disordered, β-phased samples than in the ordered, γ-phased ones.

The electrocaloric effect (ECE) is an efficient and environmentally friendly method for solid-state refrigeration driven by an electric field.

We introduce a self-healing polymerized-ionic-liquid-based polymer electrolyte for solid-state Li metal batteries, which can spontaneously reconstruct dendrite-induced defects at the Li/electrolyte interface, and, in turn, tailor Li deposition.

The performance of supported catalysts is largely decided by metal–support interactions, which is of great significance for the rational design of catalysts.

The quasi-BIC modes are formed in silicon photonic crystal slabs by controlling both the lateral and vertical etched geometries. A high Q factor of 136, sensitivity of 1703 nm per RIU and figure-of-merit of 65.5 are observed in the optical sensor experiments.

Large hole surrounded by a stable double-boron chain in liquid borophene.

V₂O₅ nanoclusters can inhibit CoS₂ from serious surface oxidation in air, and the lower surface oxidation degree, the better HER performance.

Nano-sized Ti₂InC prepared by ball milling combines the benefits of insertion-type and alloy-type electrodes and thus has a favorable capacity and long cycling life, suggesting that downsized MAX phases would be a promising anode.

The thermodynamic mechanisms as well as the optimal experimental parameters of controllable growth of 2D uniformly ordered boron-doped graphene have been proposed by establishing the substrate-mediated phase diagrams.

In two-dimensional (2D) Fe-doped MFe-LDHs, volcano-shaped relationships between the catalytic activity descriptors and the Fe contents are identified, and a new activity descriptor, the intermediate adsorption capacitance (CPE_ad), is proposed.

Four TM₁TM₂@C₉N₄ candidates (TM₁TM₂ = NiRu, FeNi, TiNi, and NiZr) with end-on N₂ adsorption configuration, and two candidates (TM₁TM₂ = TiNi and TiFe) with side-on adsorption configuration, were screened out as high efficiency NRR catalysts.

Active and reversible modulation in thermal conductivity can realize efficient heat energy management in many applications such as thermoelectrics.

This work proposes an ultrasensitive and high-specificity whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) sensing method, which combines the light-matter interaction enhancement on a WGM cavity and the “fingerprint spectrum” of surface-enhanced Raman scattering.

O-functionalized orthogonal and hexagonal MBenes exhibit extremely high carbon monoxide oxidation reaction (COOR) catalytic activity and high thermal stability under 1000 K.

Electrospun TiO₂ nanofibers could be reinforced from a macro-scale to a molecular-scale, by promoting length–diameter ratio, suppressing crystal sintering, repairing surface grooves, constructing lubrication zones, and toughening chemical bonds.

The Cu and Si co-doping could rationally regulate the electronic structure of TiO₂ nanosheets and maneuver the reactive oxygen species for methane activation, which achieves significant photocatalytic methane conversion into ethane.

A perovskite-derived nickel phosphide catalyst exhibits excellent electrocatalytic oxidation performance for biomass valorization to replace the competitive oxygen evolution reaction.

In situ anodic oxidation strategy is demonstrated to fabricate flexible long-life and high-capacity aqueous zinc-ion batteries adopting a 3D N-doped/defect-rich V₂O_5−x·nH₂O nanosheets as fibrous cathodes and Zn nanosheets arrays as the anode.

A pair of 3D hybrid rare-earth double perovskites with large piezoelectric responses and CPL was constructed by introducing chirality. This study provides a strategy to prepare high-performance molecule-based piezoelectric and CPL materials.

Nanosheet-like sorghum biomass obtained by mild alkaline treatment and high-energy ball milling is heteroatom-doped with N and S during pyrolysis. The resulting N, S co-doped carbon shows a significantly improved K-ion storage as an anode material in potassium ion batteries.

Carbon nanowires can be made via the insertion-and-fusion of short carbon chains inside carbon nanotubes, and carry H adatoms that can tune the electronic and magnetic properties of carbon chains upon the varied H positions in C–H nanoelectronics.

Chemiluminescence (CL) of NS-GQDs in the presence of CPPO and H₂O₂ was discovered to be a concerted process of intrinsic structure, AIE and surface state emissions by means of spooling CL spectroscopy and absolute CL efficiency measurements.

By confinement into a hygroscopic sponge, reversible spin-state switching and color variation has been triggered by naturally occurring humidity capture/release cycles, providing a prototype for molecular switches mediated by natural energy.

This work unravels that the plasmon-induced electric field enhancement of Ti₃C₂T_x cooperates with the electron-reservoir role to extract photoinduced electrons, affording multichannel electron transfer towards improved photocatalytic efficiency.

A Bi–Ni bimetal nanosheet with mesoporous structure is prepared via a self-template electrochemical in situ method. The alloying effect between Bi and Ni regulated the electronic structure, thus improving the intrinsic activity of Bi–Ni catalyst.