Zinc dendrite growth limits the life-time of aqueous zinc ion batteries and hinders their large-scale application. Magnetic fields can suppress dendrites, but the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Herein, a phase-field model considering magnetic effects has been developed. It reveals that dendrite growth is promoted by concentration gradients and electric field intensity. The magnetic field counteracts this through localized electrolyte convection at dendrite tips, driven by the Lorentz force. This convection reduces tip concentration gradients and weakens the local electric field, inhibiting vertical tip growth and favoring lateral branching. As a result, under perpendicular fields, increasing magnetic flux density (0.2 T to 1.0 T) enhances suppression efficiency from similar to 12 % to similar to 37 %, while spatial utilization rises from similar to 33 % (0 T) to similar to 58 % (1.0 T), indicating a more compact and uniform morphology. This work elucidates the microscopic regulation mechanism for optimizing magnetic field-assisted electrodeposition energy storage systems.

Despite their high voltage and safety, Zn-CoNi batteries suffer from cathodic oxygen evolution, leading to low energy efficiency and poor stability. Although a zinc-air hybrid design offers a solution, the lack of highly bifunctional oxygen reduction reaction/oxygen evolution reaction (ORR/OER) catalysts has hindered its development. To address this, we develop an outstanding multifunctional cathode by integrating iron phthalocyanine (FePc) with cobalt-nickel layered double hydroxide (CoNi-LDH). Through Fe-O axial coordination, FePc interacts with CoNi-LDH, causing charge redistribution. This effect significantly enhances electrocatalytic activity, resulting in a low combined ORR/OER overpotential of 0.608 V. Consequently, the assembled Zn-CoNi/air hybrid battery maintains a high energy efficiency of 79.2% over 1000 cycles while delivering outstanding cycling stability at 5 mA cm-2.

The co-electrolysis of formaldehyde and water generates hydrogen at both the anode and the cathode. Non-stoichiometric cuprous oxide (Cu2+1O), with its synergy between Cu+ and Cu0, shows high activity for C–H bond cleavage and converts intermediates selectively to formate and hydrogen. However, copper-based catalysts inevitably leach soluble copper ions during oxidation in alkaline electrolytes, which limits their use in formaldehyde oxidation reaction (FOR). Here we graft N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) onto Cu2+1O to form a strongly coordinated surface layer. The NHCs play a dual role: they donate electrons to surface Cu atoms, shifting the d-band center from -2.106 to -2.416 eV and lowering the energy barrier of the rate-determining step from 2.56 to 1.38 eV; concurrently, they form stable Cu-C covalent bonds that effectively suppress copper leaching. The Cu2+1O-NHC catalyst drives formaldehyde oxidation at potentials as low as 0.1 V vs. RHE, with a Tafel slope of 90 mV dec-1 (vs. 96 for the unmodified material). Faradaic efficiency for both formate and anodic hydrogen exceeds 99%. After 100 h of continuous operation, copper leaching drops from 8 mg L-1 to 0.05 mg L-1, a 160-fold reduction, and the cubic morphology remains intact. The strategy, using a strongly coordinating ligand to both activate and stabilize an oxide surface, should work for other systems that suffer from the same activity-stability trade off.

Aqueous zinc‑iodine (ZnI2) batteries are promising candidates for grid-scale energy storage due to their low cost, intrinsic safety, and attractive energy density. However, their practical application is hindered by the polyiodide shuttle effect in the conventional two-electron system and the instability and high redox barriers of high-valence iodine species in the emerging four-electron chemistry. Herein, we design a cobalt single-atom catalyst anchored on nitrogen-doped porous carbon (Co-NC) derived from a bimetallic CoZn-ZIF precursor, featuring atomically dispersed CoN4 active sites within a hierarchically porous carbon matrix. The CoN4 moieties offer optimized adsorption strength for iodine intermediates, enabling a dual-catalytic function. In the two-electron system, they effectively immobilize polyiodides and facilitate the iodine redox reaction, delivering exceptional rate capability and an ultra-long lifespan with 163.2 mAh g−1 retained after 60000 cycles at 10 A g−1. More importantly, the CoN4 sites also lower the energy barrier for the critical I0/I+ conversion, thereby promoting the four-electron iodine redox reaction. This catalytic advantage, synergized with electrolyte modulation, yields a stable high-voltage plateau and a discharge capacity of 444.0 mAh g−1 at 1 A ‍g-‍1. This work establishes CoN4 as a dual-functional catalyst for both two-electron and four-electron iodine chemistries, providing a new design strategy for high-energy-density ZnI2 batteries based on multi-electron transfer.

A grain-boundary-rich GB-RuP2/C catalyst is developed to enhance alkaline HER by disrupting the rigid hydrogen-bond network and enriching K+-H2O. The catalyst delivers ultralow overpotentials (12 mV at 10 mA cm-2), achieves 1.0 A cm-2 at 1.76 V in AEMWEs, and exhibits exceptional durability over 300 h.

Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) are attractive for large-scale energy storage but suffer from severe hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and uncontrolled dendritic zinc growth, both rooted in the interfacial water structure. Here, a trace amount of DL-2,3-dimercapto-1-propanesulfonic acid sodium salt (DMPS) is introduced as an electrolyte additive. Owing to its Zn affinitive dual thiol (-SH) groups and the highly negatively charged, hydrophilic sulfonate (-SO3 -) moieties, DMPS anion (DMPS-) preferentially adsorbs on the Zn surface, enabling simultaneous coordination with Zn2 + and interaction with H2O molecules. As a result, DMPS- enters the Zn2+ solvation sheath and simultaneously disrupts the interfacial hydrogen-bond network, lowering water activity and impeding proton transfer. Consequently, HER is effectively suppressed. Moreover, through selective adsorption onto specific zinc crystal planes, DMPS- promotes uniform zinc deposition with a preferred (101) orientation. As a result, Zn||Zn symmetric cells exhibit ultralong cycling stability exceeding 2000 h, and Zn||MnO2 full cells deliver enhanced rate capability and prolonged cycling life. This work demonstrates that rational modulation of interfacial water via trace electrolyte additives is an effective strategy for stabilizing Zn metal anodes.

The intrinsically sluggish kinetics of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in alkaline media are a long-standing challenge in electrocatalysis. Such slow kinetics originated from the water structure at the electrocatalytic interface, yet a general strategy to modulate interfacial water remains elusive. Here, we use C60 nanorod substrates to construct layered water structure at electrocatalytic interfaces, boosting HER across diverse catalysts. In situ characterizations and electrochemical analysis reveal that the layered interfacial water facilitates rapid K+-H2O transfer through the electric double layer, cutting the HER energy barrier. When applied to Pt, this design achieves a more than 140% increasement in exchange current density and a 3.19-fold higher turnover frequency compared to commercial Pt/C, while stably operating at 500 mA cm-2 for over 1000 h in an anion exchange membrane cell. This work establishes interfacial water engineering as a universal lever for manipulating alkaline HER kinetics, with implications for catalyst design beyond hydrogen evolution.

The growing usage of industrial dyes makes the sewage treatment a global issue, therefore low-cost, highly efficient catalysts are urgently demanded for wastewater purification. We present an ultrasonic-engineered catalytic technology, which can achieve an extremely high efficiency in azo dye degradation via a tiny dosage of 0.1 g L−1 (only one-fifth of the normally used dosage) Fe81Si9B10 amorphous powders (APs) with a low activation energy of 45.32 kJ mol−1 and a high reaction rate of 0.70291 min−1. The non-destructive ultrasonic vibration (UV) treatment with very short processing times (0.43–1.08 s) amplifies degradation efficiency by an astonishing 55-fold compared to untreated APs. Combined with high-energy X-ray diffraction and small-angle neutron scattering analyses, we reveal that the UV-induced structural reconstruction at both short- and medium-range order effectively lower reaction energy barriers while accelerating charge transfer kinetics. The high-energy ultrasonic attacks promote the exposure of massive fresh active sites, which enhance the Fe2+/Fe3+ redox circulation and thereby lead to the fast Fenton-like oxidation processes. By integrating ultrasonic physics with amorphous materials, this work develops an energy-efficient catalytic activation method, enabling sustainable water purification and innovative pollutant treatment strategies.

Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) offer high safety, low cost, and environmental compatibility, yet their largescale deployment is hindered by dendrite growth and severe side reactions arising from non-uniform Zn2+ deposition. Constructing artificial interphase layers (AILs) to regulate Zn2+ nucleation and growth has emerged as an effective strategy to mitigate these issues. One-dimensional (1D) Sn metal, featuring a high specific surface area, tunable structure, strong zinc affinity, and high hydrogen evolution overpotential, is an ideal candidate for interphase engineering. However, existing synthesis methods for 1D Sn, which rely on template-assisted electrodeposition, face challenges in scalability. In this work, Sn whiskers are synthesized via the mechanochemical decomposition of the Ti2SnC MAX phase and employed to construct a three-dimensional (3D) Sn whisker network as an artificial interphase layer on zinc anodes (Sn whisker@Zn). This continuous network effectively guides Zn2+ migration and deposition, promotes preferential growth along the (002) crystal plane, reduces local current density, and suppresses dendrite formation. Simultaneously, it retards corrosion and inhibits the formation of by-products. Symmetric cells based on Sn whisker@Zn anodes exhibit exceptional cycling stability, sustaining over 1600 h of stable operation at 1 mA cm-2 with a capacity of 0.5 mAh cm- 2, and exceeding 1000 h at a high current density of 10 mA cm- 2. Moreover, the Sn whisker@Zn||NH4V4O10 full cell retains 89.94 % of its capacity after 1400 cycles at 5 A g- 1, demonstrating strong application potential. This approach provides a scalable and effective strategy for developing durable zinc anodes, advancing the prospects of AZIBs in energy storage systems.

Efficient bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysts are crucial for overcoming the high overpotentials and sluggish kinetics of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in rechargeable zinc-air batteries (ZABs). Iron-based single-atom catalysts exhibit promising ORR activity, however, their excessive adsorption of oxygen-containing intermediates, together with the scaling relationships between these intermediates, limits their bifunctional performance. Herein, a unique Fe-Dy dual-atom catalyst (FeDy-DAC) is constructed, leveraging the strong orbital coupling between Fe-3d and Dy-4f orbitals to precisely modulate the electronic structure of the Fe sites. This modulation effectively weakens the overly strong adsorption of oxygen-containing intermediates on Fe sites, facilitating *OH desorption. Meanwhile, the unique dual-site co-adsorption configuration of *O drives efficient O─O bond coupling, ultimately leading to a significant reduction in the rate-determining energy barriers of both ORR and OER. Therefore, FeDy-DAC exhibits outstanding bifunctional catalytic performance, with a high ORR half-wave potential of 0.90 V and a narrow ORR/OER potential gap of 0.68 V. Moreover, FeDy-DAC maintains stable operation for over 2500 h in ZABs, showcasing excellent long-term durability. This work provides a novel strategy and insights for high-performance bifunctional electrocatalyst design.

Achieving a stable dispersion of liquid metal within hydrogels remains a key challenge for developing durable multifunctional sensors. Here, we report a green and facile one-pot synthesis of high-performance eutectic gallium-indium (EGaIn)-reinforced hydrogels via a dual-level stabilization and interfacial reinforcement strategy. This strategy employs the synergistic effect of plant-derived tannic acid (TA) and guar gum (GG) to homogeneously disperse EGaIn droplets, followed by their spontaneous polymerization and cross-linking without any external initiators. The resulting hydrogel integrates remarkable stretchability (1770%), high toughness (3.75 MJ m-3), strong adhesion to diverse substrates, and exceptional anti-swelling capacity (swelling ratio of 4.1%). It also maintains high electrical conductivity (11.2 mS cm-1), enabling real-time and accurate monitoring of human motions. Furthermore, the hydrogel exhibits efficient photothermal conversion, demonstrating great potential for infrared camouflage applications. This work provides a universal and sustainable platform for fabricating integrated soft materials for next-generation wearable electronics and adaptive interfaces.

MAX phases feature exceptional compositional and structural tunability, serving as a versatile materials platform for electrochemical energy storage and conversion, both as direct active materials and as chemical precursors for an array of functional derivatives. However, a unified framework connecting compositional and structural evolution across the MAX-phase platform materials with electrochemical functionality remains underdeveloped. Here, we review recent advances in MAX phases and their derivatives for electrochemical energy storage and conversion. We focus on compositional design, structural modulation, and derivative engineering and their roles in shaping charge-storage mechanisms, reaction kinetics, and long-term stability across secondary batteries, supercapacitors, and electrocatalysis. Finally, we outline future perspectives and design principles based on compositional-structural-functional relationships to guide the rational design of MAX-based materials for electrochemical applications.

Piezoelectric catalysis stemmed from lead-free piezoelectric ceramics is an emerging catalytic technology applied extensively in degradation of organic pollutants due to its low energy consumption and non-pollution. However, the dissatisfied catalytic efficiency of lead-free piezoelectric ceramics has constrained their further development and application. Herein, we employ ion doping to modulate the phase boundary construction of BaTiO3-based piezoelectric ceramics (BaTi(1-x)(Zr1/3Sn1/3Hf1/3)(x)O-3, BTZSH-x), and the degradation performances of organic dyes are explored to illuminate the piezo-catalytic mechanism. The ion doping alters the phase boundary of BaTiO3 ceramics and a two-phase coexistence of rhombohedral-orthorhombic is achieved at room temperature in BTZSH-0.04 ceramic. Consequently, the BTZSH-0.04 ceramic exhibits an excellent degradation efficiency of rhodamine B with 97.27% in 60min and a high reaction rate constant of 0.056 min(-1) under ultrasonication which is 7.4 times more than that of pristine BaTiO3. This work provides an advisable policy for constructing environmental-friendly piezoelectric materials with glorious piezo-catalytic activity.

Direct electroplating has become a key method for polymer metallization due to simplicity and efficiency, but achieving uniform metal deposition on conductive polymers remains challenging. This study investigates the mechanism of copper (Cu) electrodeposition on the surface of conductive polythiophene (PTh), with a particular focus on the role of the additive bis(3-sulfopropyl)-disulfide (SPS) in the process of pulse electroplating. Wide-frequency attenuated total reflection surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy (wf-ATR-SEIRAS) was performed to explore the interaction between SPS and PTh. Further analysis combined with density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicated that the SO3 - groups in the SPS molecule tend to adsorb onto the S atoms of the PTh chain through electrostatic interactions and dipole-dipole interactions, facilitated by the alignment of the -SO3 - group with the electron-rich sulfur atoms on the PTh surface. In addition, the additive SPS significantly accelerates the Cu deposition rate on the PTh surface without chloride ions (Cl-), thus circumventing the need for the synergistic effect of chloride during conventional copper electroplating. Specifically, when SPS was introduced into the Cu electroplating process on PTh interfaces, the absolute current increased from 1.8 to 3.3 mA, representing over 80% increase in the current. At the same time, the addition of SPS reduced the PTh interface impedance and enhanced charge transfer, which are directly correlated with the increased Cu deposition rate. This further demonstrates that SPS promotes the reduction of Cu2 + by enhancing the electron charge transfer between PTh and Cu2 +. This study provides a molecular-level understanding of the interaction between SPS and PTh and offers insights into the reaction mechanism of SPS on Cu electrodeposition on PTh.

Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) hold great promise for large-scale energy storage applications due to their low manufacturing cost and high safety. However, the growth of zinc dendrites caused by uneven zinc deposition has hindered the practical application of AZIBs. In this work, Ti3C2Tx MXene-based quantum dots (MQDs) have been employed as an electrolyte additive to mitigate the dendrite growth. The reduced dimensions of MQDs provide abundant nucleation sites, while the partial oxidation of MXene forming TiO2 promotes Zn deposition dominated by the (101) plane. This unique growth pattern ensures stable Zn plating and stripping. As a result, the Zn//Zn symmetric cell with MQDs exhibits stable cycling for over 1100 h at 10 mA cm-2 and 1 mAh cm-2, demonstrating excellent rate capability. Moreover, the full cell assembled with Mn preintercalated hydrated V2O5 (Mn@V2O5) delivers over 2000 cycles at a current density of 10 A g-1 with a capacity retention of 74 %.

Zinc-ion batteries have emerged as promising candidates for large-scale energy storage applications due to their low cost and high safety. However, the growth of zinc dendrites during Zn2+ deposition remains a critical obstacle to their commercialization. In this work, we first screened a more zincophilic MAX-phase material, Ti2AlC, through theoretical calculations of various common MAX-phase materials, and then developed a three-dimensional (3D) Ti2AlC MAX-phase coating on zinc metal (denoted as 3D-Ti2AlC@Zn) as an artificial intermediate phase to regulate the distribution of Zn2+ during plating/stripping. The MAX phase provides abundant active sites that attract Zn2+, while its 3D porous conductive network promotes uniform zinc deposition and suppresses dendrite formation, leading to enhanced cycling stability in aqueous zinc-ion batteries. Benefiting from the protective 3D-Ti2AlC coating, the symmetric cell exhibits an extended lifespan of over 1800 h at 1 mA/cm2. Moreover, full cells with MnO2 cathodes achieve higher specific capacity and improved stability compared to those using bare zinc anodes when they are operated at 2 A/g. This approach offers a viable strategy for developing durable zinc anodes, potentially accelerating the application of zinc-ion batteries in energy storage systems.

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) offer a promising approach for harvesting high-entropy mechanical energy, while hydrogel-based sensors are ideal for wearable health monitoring due to their biocompatibility and stretchability. However, conventional charge injection techniques for enhancing TENG performance face challenges such as high voltage, limited durability, and incompatibility with hydrogel devices. To address these issues, we propose an electrowetting-assisted charge injection (EWCI) strategy integrated with an anhydrous eutectic gel that resists dehydration, thereby ensuring long-term operational stability. By optimizing both the device structure consisting of a fluorinated acrylate (FA)-Ecoflex bilayer with charge-trapping characteristics and the EWCI conditions, efficient charge injection and triboelectric output enhancement were achieved on stretchable and hydrogel-integrated materials. This optimization yielded a peak open circuit voltage (Voc) of 207.9 V and a transferred charge (Q) of 88.8 nC (3 and 20 times larger respectively than pre-optimized values) when applying a bias voltage up to -2000 V for 30 min. The peak Voc only decreases by 16% after heating at 150 °C for 1 h, by 25% after exposure to 60% relative humidity for 1 h, and by 22% after 5000 contact-separation cycles, indicating excellent endurance and long-term durability. Subsequently, EWCI was applied to a wearable hydrogel-based charge-trapping TENG (HCTEG) for efficient energy harvesting from body movements and reliable electrophysiological signal monitoring. This capability was demonstrated by charging a capacitor of 0.47 μF from 0 to 20 V in only 228 s and high-quality electrophysiological signal acquisition (signal-to-noise ratio ≥23 dB).

Two-dimensional (2D) materials with tunable electronic transitions are vital for next-generation electronics and energy storage technologies. Here, we demonstrate a novel, thermally-driven, reversible modulation of electronic conductivity in the quaternary heteroanionic 2D van der Waals superlattice Bi4O4SeCl2. Systematic thermal annealing of bulk Bi4O4SeCl2 induces a striking reversible transition from insulating to semiconducting behavior, accompanied by a 106 times magnitude enhancement in electrical conductivity. This dramatic transformation originates from thermally mediated defect annihilation and grain boundary elimination, substantially reducing carrier scattering barriers and enhancing intrinsic carrier concentration. Moreover, leveraging its intrinsic layered structure, we successfully exfoliated Bi4O4SeCl2 into nanosheets ( 1.5 nm in thickness) and utilized these exfoliated layers as interfacial coatings on Zn electrodes, markedly improving dendrite suppression and extending the cycling stability of Zn-ion hybrid capacitors and Zn/MnO2 batteries. Our work elucidates crucial defect-driven microstructural mechanisms responsible for thermally-induced reversible electronic transitions, establishing heteroanionic Bi4O4SeCl2 as a promising platform for advanced electronic and energy-storage materials engineering.

Low-temperature plasma glowing on solid materials has proven to be effective for surface engineering. Plasma treatment can alter their surface structure and composition but causes negligible damage to the main framework under a proper condition. In this work, we achieved phosphorus (P) doping into nestlike clusters of nitrogen-rich carbon nanotubes embedded with cobalt nanoparticles (CoNCnc) using microwave plasma in the presence of a stable and nontoxic salt, NaH2PO4, to enhance the catalytic efficiency of oxygen reduction reactions (ORR). The results indicated that P was successfully implanted onto the surface of CoNCnc through microwave plasma irradiation. The nestlike structure and cobalt nanoparticles (Co NPs) distribution were barely affected by the plasma treatment, while its ORR catalytic activity was significantly enhanced with excellent durability and methanol tolerance. Due to the high efficiency and low energy consumption of microwave plasma, the proposed doping strategy can be a potential way for boosting the performance of earth-abundant elements based electrocatalysts.