Themed collection RSC Applied Interfaces HOT Article Collection

This perspective discusses the advancements, challenges, and future directions of heterojunction photocatalysis, offering insights to guide future research efforts that balance academic curiosity with practical applications.

Covalently bonded SPAN cathodes eliminate polysulfide shuttling and enable high stability in Li–S batteries. This review highlights structural designs, doping strategies, and electrolyte/binder innovations driving their practical advancement.

To address the challenges of complex application environments, multifunctional polyurethane coatings have emerged as a key focus of future research. Achieving an optimal balance among their diverse functional properties remains critically important.

This review article focuses on the recent advances in various bismuth-based materials for photocatalytic CO₂ reduction to fuel or value-added products.

Filiform corrosion is the dominant underpaint corrosion form on aluminium alloys. The state of knowledge of filiform corrosion specifically on aluminium is reviewed in this article.

Preventing ice formation on surfaces (anti-icing) and easy removal of ice formed on surfaces (de-icing) are of great technological importance for aircraft and overhead power lines.

Porous carbon textiles modified with UiO-66 via dip-and-dry deposition or in situ synthesis demonstrated efficient adsorption and catalytic detoxification of 2-chloroethyl ethyl sulfide, a mustard gas simulant.

Water pollution of natural water sources has been rapidly augmented because of the continuous discharge of wastewater as a result of industrial globalization.

SrTiO₃ NCs/PHI nanohybrids synthesized by sonication showed enhanced photocatalytic degradation of dyes under UV-vis light, driven by improved charge separation through a type-I heterojunction, offering a promising route for wastewater treatment.

Polymer/(reduced) graphene oxide nanocomposite coatings with high loadings.

A “green” rGO-modified GCE enables ultrasensitive ampicillin detection with a 6.75 nM limit, good selectivity, and reliability, enhancing electron transfer for precise analysis.

In this study, nitrogen-doped carbon dots (N-CDs) were successfully incorporated into an acrylic-based cathodic electrodeposition (CED) coating to develop an advanced nanocomposite anti-corrosion system.

This study addresses rapid charge recombination and instability in MAPbI₃ photocatalysts for hydrogen production by constructing a Nb₂CT_x MXenes-modulated composite.

Emerging light weight composite materials with potential in aerospace, automotive and sports industries.

As the length of the hydrophobic chain of the surfactant increases, the antibacterial performance of the four quaternary ammonium cationic surfactant monomers shows an increasing trend.

This report provides an analytical platform for interactions between peptides and accumulated amino acid-side chains on self-assembled monolayers combined with field-effect transistors.

To visualize the PtTFPP/APTES grafting complex, AFM studies have been performed. The figure shows the bound platinum porphyrin dye in its optimized molecular structure at a distance of about 2.5 nm to the surface of anchored silane oligomers.

The Cu–TiO₂ catalyst efficiently dehydrogenates propane to propylene at low temperatures, providing high propylene yield and selectivity by leveraging defect-induced synergy.

Mn₃O₄ nanoparticles without pore ordering present improved performance in the ORR as compared to Mn oxide compounds with pore ordering. It shows the absence of the need for complex synthesis procedure for pore ordering in the use of MnO_x for the ORR.

Fe-doped CdS single dot rectifying diodes were characterized using scanning tunneling microscope (STM) at ambient atmosphere. Fe doping reduced the threshold voltage for a single dot electronic device with minimal electrical power loss.

The reactivity of different Ru surfaces towards hydrogen dissociation as well as polyethylene hydrogenolysis was investigated computationally.

The systematic study of the impact of the thermal treatment of IrO_x supported onto Ta–SnO₂ fibres led to active and stable electrocatalysts, exhibiting comparable electrolysis performance to that of unsupported IrO₂ with 7 times higher loading.

Understanding how the physical and electronic structures of metal-oxide surfaces evolve under varying conditions is crucial for optimizing their performance in applications such as catalysis.

Solid-supported polymer–lipid hybrid membranes (SSHM) on gold electrodes, modified with mixed SAMs of 6-mercapto-1-hexanol and 1-hexanethiol at a 1 : 1 ratio, display oxidoreductase activity of the co-imbedded cytochrome bo₃.

We demonstrate an approach to lower desolvation energy and increase rate performance through the introduction of a metal to the silicon surface.

Nanorods were synthesized from disordered Sandia octahedral molecular sieves (SOMS), and these materials were characterized for their tolerance to neutron irradiation.

This work demonstrates selective C₆ hydrocarbon separation using functionalized ZIFs, revealing tunable adsorption via structural flexibility and host–guest interactions.

Gluing with light: molecular design of low molecular weight arylazoisoxazole adhesives enhances their photoreversible phase transition and adhesive strength.

A lattice GCMC method (LGCMC) was attempted to accurately and rapidly simulate the water adsorption performance of adsorbents using a coarse-grained Molinero water (mW) model.

Herein, zinc-instructed fluorescence turn-on and conformational tuning of self-assembled nanostructures of L-phenylalanine-based pseudopeptides are reported.

O₂ evolution activity of La_1−xSr_xFeO₃ depends on the presence of hole states below the conduction-band-minimum, whose stability is compromised by Sr-leaching.

Defect engineering of graphitic carbon nitride photoelectrocatalysts promotes the degradation of fenitrothion (FNT), a persistent organophosphate pesticide, paving the way to the development of eco-friendly platforms for wastewater purification.

A Fe₃O₄ QDs@C/RGO composite anode with superior rate capabilities is rationally engineered from a metal–organic framework (MOF) domain on surface modulated RGO precursor.

An in situ introduction approach of Pt species can effectively build up the point-defects on the surface of CeO₂ to promote the dispersion and anchoring of Pt species, which can accelerate the oxidation rate of the toluene molecule.

We present novel buffer systems with paramagnetic cations and radical oxygen promoters which significantly enhance single-molecule LAPAP-efficiency due to specific cation-fluorophore interactions.

Al-surface doped Ni-rich single crystal material translates into better capacity retention in long-term cycling at higher UCV and cycling temperature.

This study unveils organic photodetector toggling narrowband/broadband with ultra-thick layers. Low bias enhances near-infrared for narrowband; strong electric field boosts overall efficiency, enabling broadband.