Group III–V semiconductors are suitable for solar‐driven hydrogen production due to precise lattice matching (for tandem device combinations), high carrier mobilities (>103 cm2 V–1 s–1), tunable bandgaps (1.1–2.5 eV), strong absorption coefficients (>105 cm–1), and a large range of doping possibilities. GaInP2, GaAs, and InP have a theoretical solar‐to‐hydrogen efficiency of more than 20%. Still, their high susceptibility to chemical and photochemical corrosion during prolonged photoelectrochemical water splitting (PEC‐WS) is a major industrial hurdle. This review comprehensively covers critical strategies to enhance the photostability of group III–V semiconductors for industrial‐scale PEC‐WS, emphasizing artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) support. We discuss three main intrinsic and extrinsic strategies that include (i) AI‐driven crystal structure modification and faceted growth control, (ii) physical and chemical surface passivation coupled with machine learning for passivation material screening strategies, and (iii) combining III–V semiconductors with appropriate band‐aligned materials via preferable heterojunctions, utilizing algorithms to select optimal compositions. We examine the underlying mechanisms of each strategy and conclude with perspectives on achieving optimal materials for PEC‐WS using advanced AI and ML screening tools. Implementing these effective modification strategies, the wide commercial potential of III–V photoelectrodes for PEC‐WS technology can be unlocked.
Broadband photodetectors with enhanced ultraviolet sensitivity are critical for applications including environmental monitoring and optical communications, yet achieving high performance at low operating voltages remains challenging. Hydrazopyridinium lead iodide (HPDLI), a two‐dimensional Dion–Jacobson (DJ) perovskite synthesized via in situ reduction of 4,4′‐azopyridine, achieves a bandgap of 2.13 eV, among the lowest reported for n = 1 lead halide systems, through an orthorhombic crystal structure with nearly linear Pb─I─Pb bonding (179.46°). This geometry maximizes metal‐halide orbital overlap, extending the broadband response toward the visible, with wavelength‐dependent absorption coefficients giving stronger sensitivity at shorter (deep‐UV) wavelengths. Lateral photodetectors exhibit 6 A/W responsivity, 1.01 × 1012 Jones shot‐noise‐limited detectivity, and 2900% external quantum efficiency at 254 nm under a low 0.2 V bias. High‐gain response is consistent with trap‐mediated photoconductive mechanisms and a proposed type‐II band alignment, where hydrazopyridinium cations may extend carrier lifetimes. Millisecond rise/fall times (40/70 ms), preliminary stability screening (2000‐s cyclic and continuous‐illumination protocols, a 48 h/80% RH switching‐shape comparison), and retention of characteristic PXRD peak positions after 5 months of ambient storage support crystal engineering as a route to energy‐efficient UV‐to‐visible photodetection, though longer, quantitative operational testing remains necessary.
Molecular self‐assembly offers a powerful route to engineer sophisticated materials that mimic biological compartmentalization. Inspired by liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS), which drives the formation of cellular membraneless organelles, we rationally designed glycolipid‐based coacervates by tuning the attractive and repulsive intermolecular interactions. The low‐molecular‐weight glycolipid‐based polyanionic amphiphiles self‐assemble into stable coacervate droplets in an aqueous medium at low micromolar concentrations. The glycolipid‐based self‐coacervates demonstrate the ability to sequester dyes, drug‐like molecules, proteins, and microorganisms, including influenza and lentiviruses. During the sequestration, the coacervates appear to mask the viral surface proteins, blocking viral attachment to host cell receptors and thereby preventing viral entry into host cells.
Tailoring the surface morphology of electrocatalysts is one potential opportunity for improving the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in alkaline media. Direct laser interference patterning (DLIP) emerged as a promising surface engineering technique for enhancing the HER performance of nickel electrocatalysts in alkaline media. In this study, DLIP is employed to fabricate periodic line‐like microstructures on Ni electrodes using a picosecond‐pulsed laser system (λ = 1064 nm, τ = 70 ps). By varying cumulated laser fluence up to 2.4 kJ cm−2, a maximum structure depth of 2.35 ± 0.04 μm and interfacial area ratio up to 87% is reached. HER is evaluated by linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) at 22 and 60 °C. The DLIP‐structured electrodes exhibit significantly enhanced HER activity compared with untreated Ni, showing overpotential reductions of up to 28% at 22 °C and 53% at 60 °C, in conjunction with an increase in electrochemically active surface area (ECSA) from 2.24 to 31.04 cm2 at 22 °C and from 1.95 to 74.84 cm2 at 60 °C, respectively. These findings highlight the favorable interplay between DLIP‐induced surface modification and thermally enhanced HER kinetics.
Seawater uranium extraction is a promising sustainable energy pathway; however, practical application requires advanced adsorbents that combine reversible, high uranium‐uptake capacity with the ability to track sorption cycles. Herein, we report self‐indicating porous organic polymers (POPs), Sal‐POP and Im‐POP, containing uranyl (UO22+) ion‐coordinating salphen and o‐hydroxy imine cores with UO22+ binding energies up to −71.94 kcal mol−1 as uranium adsorbents, and demonstrate their reversible, high uranium extraction capacities up to 0.114 g g−1 h−1. Enabled by the extended conjugation of salphen unit and strong UO22+ binding, Sal‐POP readily changes color at uranium saturation from yellow to black and allows visual tracking of uranium adsorption/desorption cycles. With a high density of UO22+ binding sites, both Sal‐POP and Im‐POP demonstrate rapid, reversible, and high uranium uptake capacity, with distribution coefficients (Kd) of 1.88 × 105 and 2.94 × 105 mL g−1, and removal efficiencies up to 70% and 78%. The uranyl capture is highly reversible, and the POP color changes from black to yellow upon simple elution with Na2CO3, thus acting as a self‐indicating POP adsorbent.
