Themed collection Journal of Materials Chemistry A Recent Review Articles

Let's quantum: topological quantum materials offer high electron mobility, stable surface states, and resistance to contamination, making them ideal candidates for next-generation heterogeneous catalysts.

Single-atom catalysts (SACs) have demonstrated great potential as ideal electrocatalytic hosts for sulfur cathodes in lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries.

This perspective highlights advances in capturing pH-dependent surface structures, reactivity, and mechanisms via electric field-based methods.

Combining a comprehensive discussion of literature with new mechanistic insights, we derive two fundamental design principles for material systems with optimal oxygen exchange kinetics: a shallow O 2p band center and a low work function.

This work emphasizes the importance of performing electrochemical impedance spectroscopy analyses in loading mode rather than under open circuit voltage conditions.

We discuss how tribocatalysis utilizes friction-generated charges to drive chemical transformations. The proposed mechanistic understanding, catalyst design, and future research directions are examined.

Entropy-engineered oxides for thermoelectric energy.

TOF reflects intrinsic catalytic activity by measuring per-site efficiency, unlike current density. Accurate TOF estimation requires identifying true active sites and RDS, enabling rational design of efficient electrocatalysts for sustainable water splitting.

PVA-based slime is an unexplored, cost-effective, and spill-proof alternative to conventional electrolytes. Its inherent ionic conductivity makes it a promising electrolyte for portable electrochemical surface-monitoring probes.

Ultrafine intermetallics (<5 nm) offer unique catalytic properties but face sintering challenges. We highlight carbon-supported synthesis strategies for precise control, focusing on electrocatalytic applications and future directions.

In addressing the urgent challenges facing the energy industry, this perspective emphasizes the importance of offering efficient, clean and low-carbon ordered energy conversion systems by integrating biology and engineering.

Plants and protists: promising sources for Si-based Li-ion battery anodes.

This work raises concerns about the unintentional mistakes made by researchers developing OER electrocatalysts by overlooking the fundamentals.

This perspective highlights how electrode substrate choice critically affects electrocatalyst performance in water splitting, guiding researchers to design better catalysts by leveraging each substrate’s unique properties.

Flexible supercapacitors have made significant progress, as they can be integral to the wearable technology field due to their unique ability to allow seamless movement for the wearer.

Evolution, research focus, industrialization and recovery techniques of LiFePO₄ cathodes are reviewed, highlighting their critical role in meeting energy demands, especially in EVs.

Zinc–air batteries (ZABs) stand at the forefront of energy storage technologies. However, challenges like slow kinetics and low rechargeability persist. MOF–MXene hybrids enhance performance, enabling sustainable ZAB technology.

Higher energy density can be obtained by increasing the charging cut-off voltage of Ni-rich materials to meet the range requirements of electric vehicles.

Fast-charging materials are necessary for a battery-centric future. Ionic and electronic transport crucially determine performance where their capacity-weighted figures-of-merit account for performance across all states-of-charge.

Scanning probe microscopy can be used to obtain topographical, mechanical, electrical, and electrochemical information on a wide range of materials in a variety of environments, including in situ and operando studies for rechargeable battery systems.

Atmospheric water harvesting is an emerging technique that can potentially increase water access to water-constrained communities.

Cathode interface modification involves stabilizing CEI, building artificial CEI, boosting mechanics, inhibiting metal dissolution, and more.

This review summarizes electrospinning wearable strain sensor optimization, focusing on materials/structure to boost sensing performance. It explores health monitoring and human–machine interfaces, offering future development guidelines.

This work provides a closed-loop iterative strategy to develop POCs for adsorbing radionuclides and heavy metals, encompassing “synthetic strategy → structure–function analysis → performance feedback → strategy optimization.”

Organic materials are promising regulators for stabilizing zinc anodes in AZIBs. This review highlights recent advances in organic interphases and electrolyte additives, explaining how organic materials regulate interfacial stability.

This review introduces the latest progress of Zn–CO₂ batteries from the aspects of battery systems, electrolytes, electrodes, while the structural engineering of carbon cathodes at both the macroscopic level and the atomic level is summarized.

Three typical types of multifunctional molecules used in PSCs and their corresponding functional groups.

This review addresses the challenges faced by all-solid-state lithium metal batteries (ASSLMBs), analyzes the properties of lithium alloys, summarizes the recent applications of lithium alloy anodes in ASSLMBs, and presents outlooks.

A comprehensive review on the structural reconstruction and associated dissolution/redeposition equilibria of the electrocatalysts during reactions is proposed, which is pivotal for addressing the delicate balance between activity and stability.

This review aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of waxberry-like structures, from their unique design and synthesis to their functional advantages and application potential.

The escalating concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂), primarily driven by fossil fuel consumption, presents critical challenges to environmental sustainability and climate change mitigation.

In this review, we systematically summarize the structure, modification method and photocatalytic hydrogen production coupling organic reaction applications of ZnIn₂S₄-based composites.

The article offers a thorough analysis of MoS₂, including its crystallographic phases (1T, 2H, and 3R), basic structural, optical, electrical, mechanical, and thermal characteristics, as well as synthesis and characterisation methods.

Metal foams, combining porosity and conductivity, are ideal self-supporting electrodes. This review outlines advances in their surface and structural design, providing insights and challenges for sustainable hydrogen energy systems.

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have great potential in nuclear wastewater treatment.

Quinones are prime candidates for aqueous redox flow batteries. This review discusses the chemistry of quinones and degradation pathways in aqueous solution, illuminating their pathway to successful implementation through case studies and examples.

This review explores the properties, design, and synthesis of MXene materials and analyzes the unique advantages of MXene-based composite gels with polymers, nanomaterials, and biomass in seawater desalination.

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

Asymmetric metal–organic framework composites (AMOFs) have garnered increasing attention due to their distinctive functional properties, demonstrating considerable promise in catalysis, particularly as micro- and nano-structured catalysts.

This review reveals how microstructural design simultaneously governs coloration and thermal radiation control for advanced passive thermal management materials.

In light of growing energy shortages and environmental challenges, hydrogen energy has emerged as a promising renewable energy alternative to fossil fuels.

This review focuses on the eco-friendly electrochemical etching synthesis of MXenes and their cutting-edge advancements compared to the conventional strategy, highlighting the innovations, challenges, and future outlooks.

Single-crystal substrates have significant influence on the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method for preparing low-dimensional materials.

This review explores how ML accelerates data-driven design and synthesis of Zn-ion batteries, addressing data gaps, interpretability, and validation while emphasizing standardized datasets, explainable AI, and experiment–theory integration.

Perovskite materials have emerged as a class of multifunctional materials with exceptional optoelectronic, physical and chemical properties, which have aroused great interest in their applications in functional fibers and fabrics.

Two critical challenges impede the advancement of lithium–sulfur batteries: lithium dendrite growth and polysulfide shuttle. This review systematically examines diverse solutions leveraging various all-solid-state and quasi-solid-state electrolytes.

This paper reviews the latest research progress in hydrogen production by AB hydrolysis from the perspective of supported catalysts of different dimensions and discusses their catalytic mechanism, synthesis methods and reaction processes.

Metal halide perovskites are expanding beyond photovoltaics, showing promise in lithium-ion batteries, supercapacitors, and photo-induced energy storage systems through their unique properties.

Copper chalcogenides (CuS, CuSe, CuTe) are emerging as promising electrode materials for high-performance supercapacitors due to their tuneable structural and electrochemical properties.

This review sheds light on the developments made in the affordable Ni-based oxygen evolution catalysts and their potential application in anion-exchange membrane water electrolyzers (AEMWEs) for green hydrogen production.

Five microenvironment engineering strategies are proposed to modulate single-atom active sites, integrating computational catalysis, functional materials design, and sustainable energy applications to drive interdisciplinary advances.

This review focuses on the humidity stability of halide solid-state electrolytes, including the root causes, characterization methods and mitigation strategies for humidity instability, as well as key challenges and future research directions.

Core–sheath phase change fibers provide an innovative strategy for precise thermal regulation, scalable PCM encapsulation, and multifunctional integration, offering scalable routes toward advanced thermal management and sustainable energy systems.

State-of-the-art strategies adopted for the improvement of photovoltaic performance and stability in multi-component perovskite materials and devices.

Schematic of a solid-state battery with a MOF-based electrolyte, where Li⁺ ions migrate through the porous framework, facilitating ionic conduction between the cathode and anode.

This review summarizes recent advances in spin- and ferroelectric-driven photocatalysts, highlighting material design strategies that control electron polarization to promote charge separation and boost CO₂ photoreduction efficiency.

This review comprehensively summarizes the recent advances in OSC reproducibility of organic solar cells from material synthesis, film preparation, and interfacial & electrode, which would provide significant insights into large-scale fabrication.

The present review systematically outlines recent progress in utilizing magnetron sputtering for lithium metal batteries, highlighting emerging coating strategies such as target design and their corresponding characterization methodologies.

This review highlights advanced hollow fiber membranes for natural gas processing, focusing on innovative materials and fabrication techniques that overcome permeance-selectivity trade-offs while addressing plasticization and aging challenges.

This review presents a comprehensive discussion of the multifunctional applications of 2DPA.