Themed collection Journal of Materials Chemistry A Emerging Investigators

Journal of Materials Chemistry A profiles contributors to the Emerging Investigators issue.

Emerging trends and future prospects for nanoparticle synthesis and colloidal ink formulation, additive printing processes, and functional devices are highlighted.

This review explores the effects of mechanical constriction on the phase stability of ceramic-sulfide solid-electrolytes.

In this review, systematic overlook of recent research on anionic redox in SIBs is given, along with discussion of relative theories that explain the mechanism of activating and stabilizing anionic redox activity.

Monitoring stress development in electrodes in-situ provides a host of real-time information on electro-chemo-mechanical aspects as functions of SOC and electrochemical potential.

Understanding charge heterogeneity can inform designing high performance Li ion battery cathodes.

The progresses, challenges, and perspectives on emerging 2D lead-free halide perovskite materials and relevant light-emitting diodes/solar cells have been elaborately summarized.

2D molecular crystal lattices form a compelling class of 2D materials with synthetically-tunable properties and the potential to spawn a new generation of devices for optoelectronics and energy sustainability.

This short review highlights the recent development of block copolymer-based porous carbons as supercapacitor electrodes.

This review summarizes the recent advancements in constructing two dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures for applications in water splitting, Li⁺/Na⁺ ion batteries, and supercapacitors.

The separation of olefin and paraffin is one of the most challenging and energy-intensive processes. In this review, we summarize the separation mechanisms and materials developed for membrane separation of olefin and paraffin.

The impact of H-bonding on the optoelectronic properties and device morphology of diketopyrrolopyrrole derivatives is reviewed.

Recent advances in exfoliation techniques of layered and non-layered materials for energy conversion and storage are summarized.

Significant efforts have been devoted to design and develop supported catalysts for electrochemical energy conversion and storage systems since they have enhanced electrocatalytic activity.

The nanomaterial-based wearable energy storage devices will usher in exciting opportunities in emerging technologies such as consumer electronics, pervasive computing, human–machine interface, robotics, and the Internet of Things.

This review highlights the opportunities and challenges in stability of organic solar cells arising from the emergence of non-fullerene acceptors.

Recent advances in the fabrication of novel electrocatalysts for dinitrogen reduction to ammonia synthesis under ambient conditions are comprehensively reviewed.

This review provides an up-to-date summary of the progress of organic quinones as electroactive materials for advanced electrochemical energy storage devices.

Viologen-inspired aromatic molecules, polymers, and functional materials and their versatile applications will be introduced in this review.

IrO_x-networks exhibit excellent catalytic activity towards oxygen evolution in acid media. A novel alternating sputtering process enabled simple and scalable fabrication of self-supported and highly dispersed iridium networks.

In situ synchrotron radiation X-ray diffraction studies reveal reaction environment-induced PbS–PbCO₃–Pb evolution under eCO₂RR conditions. The produced Pb nanocatalyst exhibits 97.6% FE (−1.2 V) and 74.9 mA mg_Pb⁻¹ MA (−1.4 V).

A simple defect engineering approach to systematically tune the band gap of the prototypical zirconium-based metal–organic framework UiO-66 is reported. Defect engineered materials display enhanced photocatalytic activity.

A novel 1D copper-benzoquinoid coordination polymer with both metal and ligand redox activities delivered a capacity as high as 268 mA h g⁻¹.

Data-driven analysis shows that low effective mass is favorable for high band degeneracy and power factor towards new thermoelectric materials.

In situ optical microscopy measurements show that thermochemical H-spillover and electrochemical H-intercalation in tungsten oxide proceed by a congruent mechanism at room temperature in the presence of an acidic electrolyte.

Graphene quantum dots were intercalated into graphene fiber nanochannel as a nano-charger for high surface charge density. The hybrid nanochannel shows efficient ion transport behaviors and ion selectivity facilitating superior osmotic power generation.

High-capacity sodium anodes with long-term reversibility and stability are presented by synthesizing tin nanoparticles homogeneously embedded within a conductive carbon network.

Large size cation (PA) was introduced into the grain boundary and film surface of the 3D perovskite to improve the solar cell efficiency and moisture stability.

Hollow TiO₂ submicrospheres assembled by 10 nm-sized units via a facile hydrothermal strategy exhibit excellent rate capability and long-term stability.

Porous boron nitride particles were embedded within carbon nanotube aerogels to produce electrically-conducting sorbents that combine remarkable desulfurisation performance with the capability for rapid, energy-efficient Joule-heating regeneration.

Mo_0.9W_1.1BC and ReWC_0.8 are compressed nonhydrostatically to explore anisotropic deformation behavior and better comprehend hard materials. Slip is likely dictated by planar density in ReWC_0.8 and directional covalent B–B chains in Mo_0.9W_1.1BC.

Coupled CV/SQUID measurements allow tracing the changes in magnetization during conversion reaction of FeF₃·3H₂O in a Li-ion cell.

Molecular simulations reveal that mesoporous metal–organic frameworks display large volumetric negative thermal expansion, which has a considerable effect on mechanical stability, outlining an alternative application for these ultra-porous materials.

Reducing the coordination of critical intermediates can improve the selectivity of electrochemical CO reduction.

Biodiesel fuel production remains one of the most promising alternatives to non-renewable fossil fuels such as conventional oil and diesel.

A facile route for electrochemical synthesis of single-phase Ni₅P₄ on copper foam results in a core-shell nanostructures catalyst for the efficient generation of hydrogen with a very less overpotential and excellent stability at high current density.

A model is developed to explain and predict the characteristics of conducting polymer-redox biopolymer supercapacitors.

Reversible intercalation of Zn ions in tetragonal K_1.33Mn₈O₁₆ delivers 312 mA h g⁻¹ capacity at a galvanostatic cycling rate of 0.1C with an average voltage of 1.5 V.

A dual coating of LATP and CNTs accelerates the transportation of Li⁺ and electrons, resulting in improved rate capability.

We have devised an approach to fabricate dense textured V₂O₅ thin films, which allows us to scrutinize the root cause of capacity fade in V₂O₅ cathodes of Li-ion batteries.

Changes in perovskite structural dimensionality brought by mixing A-site cations play an important role in determining the measured charge carrier mobility, and in the solar cell performance.

An ultrahigh loaded MoO_3−x electrode was developed with improved rate capability through incorporating layered structure graphite sheets and oxygen functional groups.

We report cathodic exfoliation of bulk SnSe for a high yield (>90%) synthesis of sub-5 nm scale SnSe quantum dots.

Moving from hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), a well-known crystalline insulator, to amorphous BN, leads to the creation of a semiconductor able to photoreduce CO₂ in the gas/solid phase, under UV-vis and pure visible light.

Hybrid solid state electrolyte structure was imaged using synchrotron nanotomography. Accessible surface area of ceramic particles in the electrolytes governs ion transport.

Amorphous boron is employed as a novel and high-performance metal-free catalyst for activation of peroxymonosulfate for degrading various organic contaminants in water.

Nanosheets assembled into nickel sulfide nanospheres were synthesized in a controlled manner, and exhibited superior tri-functional activities owing to optimized binding with hydrogen/oxygen intermediates.

A biopolymer PASP layer works effectively to passivate the surface traps in MAPbI₃ perovskite solar cells.

The fabrication of a unique heterostructure composed of MoS₂/Mo₂N with nitrogen doped carbon was synthesized by a stepwise cooperative assembly-directed strategy.

Subnanometric PdZn at a defect enriched ZnO/ZIF-8 interface acts as an efficient and selective catalyst for CO₂ hydrogenation to methanol.

Doping of a strong-binding single-atom element into inert close-packed substrates leads to highly active and selective initial dehydrogenation at the α-C–H site of adsorbed ethanol.

Cobalt hexacyanoferrate (CoHCF) materials were used for TRECs; when complexed with HCNTs they show higher heat-to-electricity conversion efficiency.

To expand the range of hydrazine oxidation catalysts active in alkaline pH – a key challenge in fuel cell electrocatalysis – we studied the effect of doping on the nanostructure of carbide–carbon composites.

An ordered mesoporous niobia catalyst is synthesized by niobia overcoating on silica and shows high activity and stability for acid catalysis.

Sustainable catalysts based on earth-abundant elements are considered as economical alternatives to precious-metal-bearing catalysts and could be impactful for many applications.

Experimental and theoretical study on the effect of shallow and deep defects on photovoltaic performance, luminescence, surface photovoltage, and density of states.

The dependence of small molecule transport on the water content of ion exchange materials frustrates the development of membranes with both high ionic conductivity and low alcohol permeability for artificial photosynthesis devices.

The in situ TEM observation disclosed that the 4H-phase Au nanowire can maintain stable ABCB stacking up to 800 °C without significant phase changes or melting.