Themed collection Journal of Materials Chemistry A HOT Papers

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

We first investigate the electrochemical dealloying effect and mechanism of a high-chromium alloy in alkaline NaNO₃ solution at oxygen evolution potential.

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.

Metal-cation vacancies in CoAl-LDH nanosheets prepared by simple etching facilitate abundant surface oxygen vacancies. They promote the formation of frustrated Lewis pairs, which enhance the electrocatalytic NO reduction to NH₃.

Functionalized porous liquids were designed to enhance the fire safety, mechanical properties, and chemical resistance of a polyurea elastomer. This work provides insights into porous liquids to improve the comprehensive performance of composites.

A series of larger POSS-functionalized boron nitride nanosheets were prepared and utilized to address the trade-off between low dielectric constants and high thermal conductivity in polymer composites.

Triazole obstructs water induced corrosion and modulates Zn ion flux through its hydrophobic and zincophilic properties.

The increased conformational barrier endows P(VDC-VC) with superior dielectric energy storage performance.

Herein, we report a two-step electrochemical approach encompassing pre-intercalation and post-exfoliation/oxidation, enabling the mass exfoliation of graphene oxide with customizable oxidation levels on a timescale of minutes.

A deep learning-based framework (DeepDonor) has been developed to find high-performance donor materials. The experimental PCEs of devices based on two discovered candidates were 16.27% and 15.07%.

Macroscale and durable near-zero wear performance of ternary deep eutectic solvent-based lubricants was elaborated by systematic experimental analysis and molecular dynamics simulation.

Simultaneous physisorption in micropores and hydrate-enclathration in meso- and macropores within an activated carbon host can enhance H₂ storage capacity under milder conditions.

AgBiS₂ alloying combining with Ge doping facilitates the band convergence and suppresses the phonon transport, leading to a competitive zT of 1.6 in SnTe.

For photodetectors based on chalcogenide semiconductor materials, a novel device structure has been proposed that utilizes a Se/Sb bilayer to replace conventional organic transport layers and noble metal electrodes.

A high recoverable energy density (W_rec) of 7.0 J cm⁻³ and a large efficiency (η) of 81.5% were achieved in a Bi_0.5Na_0.5TiO₃-based lead-free relaxor by modulating polymorphic polar nanoregions.

A graphene oxide interlayer between the cathode and the separator could address the shuttle issue of metal chloride cathodes. The electrochemical performance of metal chloride cathodes was significantly enhanced.

Bi atoms dispersed on Pd nanosheets promote electrochemical glycerol oxidation to C₃ products by modulating the Pd electronic structure and lowering the adsorption energy of reaction intermediates.

A novel alloying method was developed to etch Ga rapidly from Mo₂Ga₂C, which reduces the reaction energy barrier and improves the kinetics of Ga etching. Simultaneously, Li₃N in the molten salt generated new nitrogen-containing functional groups.

A heterostructured electrode coated with a Cr-tolerant Sr-free material, that exhibits a low oxygen vacancy concentration and contains reducible sites, showed excellent performance and stability in a Cr atmosphere.

H4 (T_d = 365 °C, D = 8844 m s⁻¹) synthesized in this work possesses both super heat resistance and high explosive properties, strongly supporting it as a candidate for advanced ultra heat-resistant explosives.

We report a series of 2D tetrathiafulvalene (TTF)-based COFs incorporating different organic linkers between the electroactive moieties that were investigated as p-type organic cathode materials for lithium-organic batteries.

A Zn anode artificial interface capable of accelerating Zn²⁺ transfer/transport while achieving uniform and promoted Zn nucleation, ultimately resulting in stable and corrosion-free Zn anodes.

H₂O₂-assisted generation of colorless stable complex ions (FeF₆³⁻) for tunable doped iron fluoride material preparation.

TDA-COF, a triazine-based COF with an irreversible thiadiazole linkage, swiftly carries out the blue light-powered selective conversion of thioanisoles with O₂.

The subsurface Zr doping induced by diffusion in NaNi_0.8Mn_0.2O₂ is used for the Na-ion battery cathode. A uniform subsurface Zr-rich region aided by polyacrylic acid facilitates the primary particle growth of the cathode.

We manipulated the ionic defects (protons and oxygen vacancies) in perovskite nickelates through thermochemical dehydration. We quantified the correlation between the physical properties of nickelates and oxygen vacancy concentration.

The energy sum of bandgap and Fermi level shift (E_g + ΔE_shift) is a better indicator than E_g alone for judging the ease of intrinsic excitation and bipolar conduction in thermoelectric materials.

Substrate modification achieves spatial decoupling of the hydrogen evolution reaction process, thereby greatly improving the efficiency and stability of the catalyst.

The synthesized K–N, O/C catalyst demonstrates remarkable CO selectivity with over 90% Faraday efficiency (FE) in a wide potential window between −0.5 V and −0.9 V vs. RHE and the FE of CO is nearly unchanged during 24 h stability experiment.

Surface structures of Au nanocubes were tuned from concave to flat to convex using trace amounts of copper ions, and their corresponding catalytic performances were investigated.

We report conjugated microporous polytriphenylamine as a high-performance anion-capture electrode for capacitive deionization (CDI), thus opening a new pathway for the rational design of advanced polymer-based anodes in CDI and beyond.

The problem of stability degradation is solved by adjusting the lattice distortion, resulting in ceramics with the highest ceiling temperature and excellent thermal stability.

Synergy between Ti⁴⁺ and F⁻ dual-doping significantly improves the cycling stability of P2-Na_0.67Ni_0.33Mn_0.67O₂ at high voltage and enhances its rate performance by suppressing the P2–O2 transition.

Nanocrystalline *MRE zeolite domains registered in quasicrystal-like, decagonal order is generated, which has strong acidity, reduced unidimensional channel length and mesopores, exhibiting enhanced n-dodecane hydroisomerization properties.

A facile “two-in-one” strategy was proposed to achieve a V₂O₅-TEMPO cathode for large capacity and long-life zinc–organic batteries.

We report a successful preparation of a TiO₂ photoanode with dominant (211) facets on various substrates. This photoanode can be used in rooftop PEC systems due to its low cost, high stability, good durability and acceptable efficiency.

Adding N dopants (melamine or urea) to biomass during activation modulates the porosity of activated carbons to enhance CO₂ storage (up to 4.7 mmol g⁻¹ at 1 bar and 25 °C) and methane uptake (0.42 g g⁻¹ and 266 cm³ (STP) cm⁻³ at 25 °C and 100 bar).