Themed collection Chemistry at the Forefront of the Sustainable Energy Transition

The doping mechanism of high entropy materials and research status in polyanionic cathode materials for lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries are reviewed. The influence of polyanionic doping on the materials and its mechanism of action are analyzed.

Focusing on five key concepts, we review the roles of cation and oxygen vacancies in determining the surface reconstruction pathway, reaction mechanism, and ultimate activity of cobalt-based oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts.

A comprehensive analysis of recent advances in oxychalcogenide photocatalysts is provided to help guide the rational design of next-generation photocatalysts for efficient and scalable solar hydrogen production.

This review highlights and integrates defect chemistry insights to systematically enhance ionic conductivity and stability of sulfide-based sodium-conducting solid electrolytes for all-solid-state sodium batteries.

Ternary metal sulfides represent a pivotal advancement in photocatalysis for solar-driven hydrogen production, offering tunable bandgaps, visible-light responsiveness, and superior stability over binary analogs.

This highlight summarizes various strategies to enhance the safety of electrolytes in lithium-ion batteries, including the design of non-flammable and flame-retardant electrolytes and suggests next directions for safer electrolyte development.

PEDOT:PSS is one of the most researched polymers for thermoelectrics due to its solution-processability, flexibility, and high electrical conductivity. This highlight discusses recent strategies reported on PEDOT:PSS based thermoelectric materials.

Two-dimensional layered hybrid perovskites create charge carriers upon photoexcitation, which often couple with the lattice modes. Using steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopic techniques, electron–phonon coupling can be evaluated.

Polyoxometalate photocatalysts with tunable electronic structure drive CO₂, H₂O, CH₄, N₂ conversion, enhancing sustainability via charge dynamics and active sites.

This review establishes a functional taxonomy of electrolyte additives in AZIBs, elucidating their mechanistic roles in modulating Zn²⁺ solvation structures, guiding oriented deposition, and suppressing parasitic reactions.

Recent advances in spatiotemporally resolved optical imaging techniques for real-time visualization of electroplating/stripping dynamics in anode-free secondary batteries have been summarized.

This highlight outlines the significance of understanding electrolyte solution chemistry and interface dynamics for ultrafast-charging dual-ion batteries.

This review provides an introduction to electrochemical hydrogen pumps, which allows for the purification of H₂ from gas mixtures and provides an alternative method to compress H₂.

Bismuth titanate has found wide-spread applications in photocatalysis for hydrogen production, degradation of organic pollutants, among others, due to its unique crystal structure and electronic energy band configuration.

Photo-excited electrochemical surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (EC-SERS) emerges as a powerful analytical tool for elucidating intricate interfacial mechanisms in photoelectrocatalytic systems.

This feature article provides a fundamental and mechanistic view of the profound alteration of solvation structure in aqueous electrolytes by an antisolvent strategy to improve the electrochemical performances of aqueous zinc ion batteries.

COFs with ordered pores and tunable chemistry enable ion selectivity and stability. This review summarizes their synthesis, structure, and applications in energy storage systems.

This review provides a comprehensive understanding of photo–thermal–electric energy conversion based on diverse energy conversion systems, and potential strategies are proposed to optimize these systems and enhance its cross-system applications.

This review summarizes recent advances in the catalytic asymmetric transformation of three key biomass-derived platform chemicals and their applications in the total synthesis of natural products.

Biophotoelectrochemical cells: configurations, components, and their potential products.

Liquid organic hydrogen carriers (LOHCs) technology is based on the inverse process of storing hydrogen in unsaturated organic liquids by complete hydrogenation reactions and releasing hydrogen by corresponding dehydrogenation reactions.

Edible batteries integrate exceptional energy efficiency with a safe energy supply, advancing the intersection of sustainable energy and biomedical engineering.

Selected molecular catalyst systems for electrochemical alcohol oxidation are highlighted, including co-catalyst systems with redox mediators. Structural and activity trends are examined, with a focus on future catalyst system development principles.

This review examines the potential of biomass-derived semiconductor materials in renewable energy technologies, highlighting key synthesis strategies from biomass precursors, as well as their properties and applications.

This review highlights on engineering space dimension and surface chemistry of MXene-based nanocomposite photocatalysts for sustainable environmental application.

Spin-polarized catalysts have garnered significant interest in electrocatalysis, namely in the electrocatalytic oxidation of water, which has very sluggish kinetics due to its high overpotential.

This review article discusses the limitations and potential of covalent organic frameworks (COFs) for cathodes applications and introduces key molecular and structural engineering strategies to enhance the performance of COF cathodes in batteries.

Aqueous Zn–metal batteries have attracted wide attention due to the abundant Zn reserves and the safety and non-toxicity of aqueous electrolytes, and have become a research hotspot in the field of electrochemical energy.

The sacrificial cathode additive (SCA) method holds great promise for industrial application. This review explores recent progress in SCA presodiation technology, with a focus on optimizing strategies to develop near-ideal SCAs.

In-depth understanding of the optimization of the catalytic reduction of nitrogen oxide and its derivatives using a structure regulation strategy of polyoxometalates.

This Highlight presents an emerging strategy for methane photocatalytic oxidation using chlorine species, emphasizing their advantages and outlining future challenges.

Room-temperature sodium–sulfur (RT Na–S) batteries can allow an ultrahigh specific capacity and a high energy density but unfortunately suffer from a lot of intractable challenges from sulfur cathodes.

Recent advances in synthesizing multi-metallic nanoparticles (MMNPs) with diverse architectures and their applications in electrocatalysis and thermal catalysis for energy conversion and green chemistry.

Two energy transfer mechanisms at the molecule–Si surface are identified: Förster-type resonance dominates at a few nanometers, while photon tunnelling into the Si waveguide’s forbidden zones becomes dominant at larger distances.

The electrochemical CO₂ reduction reaction (eCO₂RR) offers a promising route for converting CO₂ into value-added chemicals and fuels using renewable electricity.

This review provides a comprehensive overview of high-entropy strategies for designing various types of solid-state electrolytes, with emphasis on structural optimization and performance enhancement.

In this Feature article, we review three aspects of monolayer C₆₀ networks based on our recent first-principles calculations: (1) Are these monolayers stable? (2) Are they promising photocatalysts? (3) Are their chemical functionalities tuneable?

Recent advances in dye-sensitized photocatalytic systems (DSPs) for H₂ evolution are highlighted, focused on TiO₂-based systems, self-assembled porphyrins and chromophore–catalyst dyads, paving the way for sustainable solar-driven fuel production.

Spontaneous heterointerface modulators, including alkyl-primary-ammonium-based ionic-liquids (RA–TFSIs) passivating perovskites during hole-transport material (HTM) deposition, for perovskite solar cells are highlighted.

This review aims to provide insights into the relationships among the preparation methods, structural characteristics, and properties of carbon materials derived from coal tar pitch.

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) have demonstrated significant potential as environmentally friendly energy alternatives.

This review summarizes design principles to advance high-nickel-content cathodes, reframing what was generally considered a failure mechanism into a strategic advantage for lithium-ion battery technologies.

In the review, nanoscale charge transfer dynamics in energy storage/conversion about interface dynamics and electrochemical reaction mechanism are summarized. And future developments on SECCM combined with machine learning are putting forward.

The power conversion efficiency of perovskite solar cells has reached 27%, but lead (Pb) toxicity limits their commercialization. To solve this, Pb-free Bi-based alternatives' fabrication strategies are reviewed to advance Bi compound development.

This minireview highlights the recent advances in the design and preparation of vacancy-containing MOF derivatives for supercapacitors and electrocatalytic water splitting.

Quantum electroanalysis involves low dimension scale structures (LDSSs) for achieving attomolar sensitivity for drug discovery purposes.

The recent progress in synthesis methods and improvement strategies of advanced TMS-based electrodes for supercapacitors is summarized.

PSC-assisted PV–EC and PEC systems enable unbiased solar fuel production via water splitting and CO₂ reduction. This review highlights recent advances in PSC-driven fuel production, focusing on strategies to improve efficiency and stability.

Different operando characterization techniques for the time-dependent screening of SACs under working conditions and the electrochemical CO₂RR applications of SAC-derived materials have been reviewed.

A perspective on NiCo₂O₄-based photocatalysts is presented from fundamentals, modification strategies to applications, which provides comprehensive review and research gaps for boosting the development of heterogenous catalysts based on NiCo₂O₄.

Promoting hematite by water oxidation reaction on the surface, charge separation and transport in the bulk, and parallel multi-stacked design.

Electrocatalytic zero-carbon energy systems based on the N–H bond have achieved a complete cycle of energy storage and conversion, providing guidance for the application of clean energy storage and conversion.

Various computational methodologies, encompassing quantum chemistry, molecular dynamics simulations, and high-throughput screening, have been reviewed for their applications in electrolyte design for lithium-ion batteries.

Substrate surface modification engineering is a novel method to prepare electrode and can be called self-derived reaction of substrates. Pristine substrates, such as foil, mesh, and foam, can react directly with modifying agents to obtain electrode.

Protocols for long-term stability of perovskite solar cells.

We highlight the use of 3D printing in creating a stacked MFC–ECC–MEC system in conjunction with a photobioreactor (PBR) to produce significant quantities of H₂.

This review summarizes the mechanism of dipole moments to promote interfacial energy level alignment. Typical organic interlayer materials are compared to conclude the structure–property relationship on directing molecular design.

A two-step thermochemical cycle for solar fuel production from H₂O or/and CO₂.

Nanocomposites of single-ion-conducting polyelectrolyte (SICP) and SICP-functionalized carbon nanotubes provide a platform for the preparation of polymer electrolytes with enhanced lithium-ion conductivities and high lithium transference numbers.

This research has developed co-catalyst- and solvent-free polyaniline-based porous organic polymers for efficient CO₂ capture and conversion to cyclic carbonates.

In this study, graphene-wrapped poly(1,4,5,8-naphthalenetetracarboxylic sulfonyl)imine (PNSI/EG) served as a redox-active anode material for aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs).

The creation of efficient, earth-abundant electrocatalysts is crucial to address the sluggish kinetics of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER).

Bi₂S₃ was synthesized via sulfurization of Bi and Bi₂O₃ (α, β) films. Elemental Bi showed higher sulfur uptake and full conversion, leading to purer phase, which enhanced PEC activity due to improved charge transport and reduced recombination.

A dual-functional PAZ-S gel electrolyte is developed, which enhances anode stability and facilitates deposition of Mn ions onto the cathode.

Amorphous Nb₂O₅ with carbon composite as an excellent pseudocapacitive long-cycle performance anode material for sodium ion storage.

This work decorates highly active zinc oxide quantum dots onto CNTs to form ZnO@CNT architectures. Such a “conductivity–polarity coupling” strategy efficiently rationalizes sulfur envolution procedures and hence boosts the battery performance.