Themed collection Journal of Materials Chemistry A Emerging Investigators 2026

Auxiliary methods including thermal, electric, magnetic, ultrasound, and Fenton-like assistance enhance plastic photoreforming for efficient solar-driven hydrogen and value-added chemical production.

A mechanism-driven and material-centered framework is proposed to advance CDI technologies toward targeted anion removal for sustainable water treatment.

This review summarizes BiVO₄ photoanode instability mechanisms and recent strategies (protective coatings, cocatalysts, electrolyte engineering) to enhance long-term stability for PEC water splitting and organic oxidation.

Surface defect engineering, including the creation of surface vacancies, heteroatom doping and other defect strategies, is leveraged to enable the efficient photocatalytic conversion of NO into N₂, NH₃, and NO₃⁻.

Ultrafast Joule heating (UJH) has emerged as a cutting-edge technology for synthesizing advanced functional materials (AFMs), representing a burgeoning field of research with significant scientific and industrial implications.

This review focuses on two crucial core components: pretreatment processes and direct regeneration methods. It highlights recent technological advancements, identifies industrial bottlenecks, and outlines critical directions for future development.

Mechanically interlocked polymers possess significant potential as advanced battery materials for enhanced battery performance, including as electrolytes, and as electrode binders and electrode coatings. We discuss the interface of research between batteries and mechanically interlocked polymers.

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

Compositionally fine-tuned PtAu thin films prepared with magnetron sputtering boost ethylene glycol electrooxidation activity and glycolic acid selectivity, through modifying the electronic and geometrical structure of Pt by surrounding Au atoms.

A functionalized polythiophene autonomously produced ∼1 × 10⁻⁴ mol H₂O₂ per g polymer (18% doping level) in aqueous O₂ solutions via ORR. This work opens new applications driven by this process and elucidates degradation mechanisms in OE devices.

Mechanistic study of alcohol oxidation over a Co-doped Ni-based catalyst (aCo BDC/NF) revealed an HAT pathway for C–H bond breaking as the rate-limiting step. The catalyst is used for electrochemical PET upcycling.

In this work, a calcium citrate-assisted strategy is proposed, in which preferential reaction with HF suppresses fluorination side reactions arising from PVDF pyrolysis, thereby enabling efficient and stable regeneration of cathode materials.

This study developed a material that synergistically utilizes both interfacial evaporation and moisture-driven electricity generation by loading Fe–Co PBA onto waste natural sponges.

The peony shell exhibits high feasibility as a sustainable raw material for the hard carbon anode of the sodium-ion battery.

Single-atom Pt-integrated MCOFs derived from [Pt(C^N)(O^O)] motifs enable cocatalyst-free photocatalytic hydrogen evolution, with the Pt–C motifs as the active sites, offering a strategy for designing single-atom-based MCOF photocatalysts.

A Cu-loaded hydrogen-bonded organic framework enables visible-light-driven semi-hydrogenation of acetylene to ethylene in water, combining photosensitizer and catalyst in a single material to achieve ≥99.9% selectivity under mild conditions.

Supramolecular D–A architectures were constructed through robust π–π interactions, resulting in significantly enhanced intermolecular charge separation and improved photocatalytic hydrogen production.

Y-doped SrSnO₃ constructs YO₆–Sn interactions, achieving selective CO₂-to-HCOOH reduction in acids with >90% FE at 200 mA cm⁻². The interface stabilizes in situ metallic Sn, suppressing dissolution to enable excellent 180 h stability.

A surface-localized MF_x-rich layer generated by PVDF-derived fluorination stabilizes high-Ni NCM cathodes by suppressing surface reconstruction, preserving Li⁺ transport kinetics, and improving long-term cycling performance.

A vacancy-defective NiCo₂O₄ catalyst with high-valent Ni/Co species and strong adsorbate binding enables the enhanced electrooxidation of 1,4-butanediol, which realizes the upcycling of PBS plastics to value-added C₄ platform chemicals.

A superaerophobic electrode engineered by femtosecond laser ablation achieved high electroflotation performance by generating fine bubbles and thereby promoting bubble–pollutant interactions.

Low-crystallinity polymer donor PL2 enables efficient semitransparent organic solar cells under substantial donor dilution by maintaining donor–acceptor interfacial area and balanced charge transport.

We establish a “distribution-aware” density functional theory-machine learning workflow for scalable discovery of high-performance and flexible piezoelectric hybrid organic–inorganic perovskites.

Hierarchical Pt–Cu/CF monolithic electrodes enable high-efficiency single-device co-production of value-added chemicals and green hydrogen with 1.6 V voltage reduction.

A trifluoromethyl-functionalized volatile solid additive was developed to optimize the crystallization and vertical phase distribution of blend films, thereby boosting device performance in organic solar cells across multiple systems.

A 2D Hg(II)-acetylide framework with coherently aligned dipole moments creates a built-in electric field. It achieves 338.57 μmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹ CO evolution with 65% selectivity via synergistic piezoelectric-photocatalytic charge separation.

An anion-anchoring additive (ISAA) regulates Li⁺ flux and promotes the formation of a robust LiF-rich interphase, effectively mitigating electrode swelling and ensuring superior cycling stability for silicon/graphite anodes.

A dual-layer PM-PC nanofibrous membrane with MIL-101 cooling and CB photothermal layers enables efficient, continuous atmospheric water harvesting by combining night-time passive cooling for adsorption and daytime solar heating for regeneration.

Fluorinated surface-to-bulk modification of Na₂Ti₃O₇ lowers the bandgap energy and strengthens the Ti–F bonds, thus effectively improving its rate capability and cycling stability.

Schematic synthesis route of the one-pot preparation of Fe₃O₄-Ni-DBP on an NF substrate.

A conjugated microporous polymer (PTTA) integrating a donor–acceptor structure with hierarchical pores and bipolar redox-active sites is developed for facilitated kinetics and high capacity. PTTA-based SAOBs show highenergy density and power density.

Growth of classical dendrites in metal anodes represents a far-from-equilibrium, diffusion-limited crystallization process that critically impacts the safety and performance of energy storage systems.

A hierarchical Ni₂P nanosheet array–graphene composite cocatalyst prepared via low-temperature phosphorization achieves a high photocatalytic hydrogen evolution rate of 20035 µmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹ with eosin Y as the photosensitizer.

A single-atom Co catalyst constructed from three-dimensionally stacked carbon nanosheets exhibits high catalytic activity across the full pH range and outstanding stability, enabling high-performance zinc–air batteries.

Topochemical fluorination and RP layering tune local Ti coordination, symmetry, and local polarity in Sr-based titanates, establishing structure–photocatalysis relationships.

A “molecular scissoring” strategy prepares IEIC-4F with enhanced photothermal performance. Integrated with a hierarchical microporous sponge, it forms a self-floating evaporator for seawater desalination and photocatalytic water purification.

Cu–Al nanocrystals with dominant (111) facets were prepared using the CVD method. Specifically, Cu₉₆Al₄ nanocrystals exhibit superior CO₂RR performance due to synergistic effects. Meanwhile, a clear structure–activity relationship was established.

Thermally soluble solid electrolyte interphase on negative electrodes triggers alkyl fluorophosphate-driven negative-to-positive electrode crosstalk, accelerating positive electrode interface and cracking-based degradation in lithium-ion batteries.

Ultralow-loading Pt single atoms anchored on N-doped carbon-coated Mo₂C microspheres exhibit exceptional HER performance.

Inducing spin-polarization by employing chiral camphor sulfonic acid with metalloporphyrin complexes, mimicking the functionality of haemoglobin, for enhancing the ORR activity of the overall system.

A novel Janus microgel was developed. A multiscale model integrated with life cycle assessment (LCA) was established to optimize the architecture and composition of thermoresponsive hydrogels for sustainable desalination.

This study presents a catalyst design principle based on vacancy engineering that promotes CO₂ activation by precisely controlling oxygen vacancies with atomically dispersed WO_x.

Our findings establish a unified mechanistic picture of the precision synthesis of supported metal nanoparticle from single-atom moieties.

PSF-DETA-C demonstrated excellent thermal stability and superior anti-fouling capability in both nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) processes.

Pentyl propionate (PAAC) weakens DMF–Pb²⁺ coordination via dipole interactions, moderating nucleation and crystallization, enabling high-quality films and devices with a power conversion efficiency of 24.06%.

Sluggish interfacial kinetics hinder the practical use of boron‑centered Mg electrolytes. A bromine‑rich artificial interphase stabilizes the Mg interface, promotes uniform deposition, enhances coulombic efficiency and extend cycling durability.

Binder effects in aqueous Na-ion batteries are probed by comparing PVDF with PTFE for NiHCF cathodes. PVDF's better adhesion and wettability optimize the mesostructure, significantly enhancing electrode kinetics versus PTFE-based counterparts.

The activity of Cu-based catalysts in acetylene hydrochlorination are linearly regulated by phenylphosphine-based ligand engineering.

The transformation from open to closed pores via metal coordination and secondary carbonization substantially improved the plateau region capacity of hard carbon.

Herein, a novel cottonseed cake-derived hard carbon anode material was synthesized via pre-oxidization, acid–base treatment and carbonization, which provides a promising potential toward highly reversible and durable sodium-ion batteries.

We present a method to induce anisotropic swelling in pH-responsive hydrogels through polarity differences between zwitterionic and non-zwitterionic monomers. This results in chemical gradients that enable controlled deformations upon pH change.

Proton-irradiation-driven microstructural tuning provides a powerful route to control phase stability and electrochemical reversibility in layered oxide battery materials.

Large-scale molecular dynamics simulations illustrate that highly correlated cation–anion motion leads to negative t⁰₊ on the order of 1 in lithium electrolytes with star-shaped multivalent anions.

The MOF-on-MOF-derived V₃O₅/ZnO heterostructure detects MB at 10⁻⁸ M with a 5.9 × 10⁴ SERS enhancement factor. TA spectroscopy confirms its high SERS performance, resulting from efficient charge transfer between the heterojunction and MB.

Asymmetric FeN₂O₂ coordination on boron nitride precisely regulating adsorption energies of NO_x reduction intermediates to boost nitrate-to ammonia electrocatalysis.

2D ¹H–¹H spin diffusion experiments in solid state NMR spectroscopy revealed direct insights into side chain arrangement across pores.

A deep learning framework converts X-ray computed tomography (XCT) images with low-resolution and large field of view (FoV) into XCT images with high-resolution and large FoV, enabling visualization of fine microstructure over representative areas.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.