The advancement of cost-effective, energy-efficient, and durable proton-exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE) devices is essential for the conversion and utilization of renewable electricity. Currently, the primary contributors to the cost of PEMWE devices are noble metal catalysts and electrochemical cell modules. In this study, we have developed a straightforward method to load metal active components-both noble and non-noble metals-onto a porous titanium mesh, thereby constructing an all-in-one porous transport electrode for the oxygen evolution reaction in PEMWE devices. Utilizing porous titanium mesh as both the transport layer and the support for metal catalysts can significantly reduce the overall cost of PEMWE devices. Moreover, by developing tri-metallic Ir-Au-Sn sites on the titanium mesh, we achieve an exceptionally high specific activity of the iridium catalyst for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in PEMWE devices, measuring 2.7 A/cm2 at 2.0 V with an iridium loading of 0.14 mg/cm2. We employ various electron microscopy and spectroscopy characterization techniques to explore the structural evolution of the metal sites under severe operating conditions, providing valuable insights into the nature of the active sites for OER in PEMWE and identifying potential degradation mechanisms of the materials under these conditions.

Abstract The realization of solar-charging within rechargeable batteries has been a dream of several generations of scientists, marking a transformation in sustainable energy storage. The key challenge is that the photo-rechargeable electrodes need to simultaneously possess high photovoltaic efficiency and cycling stability. Herein, through dynamic reconfiguration of sp-hybridized carbon networks via direct photoexcitation, we present nitrogen-substituted graphdiyne as a metal-free photoelectrode for integrated solar-charging in rechargeable batteries. Nitrogen-substituted graphdiyne accelerates oxygen evolution reaction kinetics by the synergistic effect of improved intermediate adsorption and hole-mediated oxidation under light excitation. Nitrogen-substituted graphdiyne-based photo-coupled positive electrodes are applicable to multiple metal||air batteries (Zn||air, Li||O2, Mg||air, Fe||air, and Al||air), including a low charging voltage of 1.33 V and 96.9% energy efficiency in Zn||air batteries, along with stability over 230 cycles at 100 mA cm−2. The Li||O2 battery achieved an efficiency of 96.3%, while Mg||air, Fe||air, and Al||air systems exhibited reduced charging voltages. This research has pioneered a class of photoelectrodes whose active sites are directly and dynamically defined by light, opening avenues for high-efficiency solar-driven energy conversion and storage.

High power conversion efficiency (PCE) and long-term operational stability are essential prerequisites for the commercialization of organic solar cells (OSCs). Small-molecule acceptors (SMAs) have driven remarkable advances in OSC performance, enabling continuous breakthroughs in device efficiency. However, OSCs based on SMAs generally suffer from poor long-term stability, which severely limits their practical application. This instability primarily originates from the low glass transition temperatures (Tg) of SMAs, resulting in rapid molecular diffusion and aggregation, as well as morphological degradation of the active layer, leading to a subsequent decrease in device performance. Oligomeric small-molecule acceptors (OSMAs) have recently emerged as a promising molecular design strategy to overcome these challenges. OSCs incorporating OSMAs have achieved impressive PCEs approaching 20%, while simultaneously exhibiting outstanding photothermal and mechanical stability. In this perspective, we systematically review recent progress in OSMA-based OSCs and discuss the key factors governing their efficiency and stability, including molecular structure, aggregation behavior, and morphology evolution. Finally, we outline the current challenges and future opportunities for OSMA materials in advancing high-performance and durable OSC technologies.

Although conducting polymers (CPs) have catalyzed the development of advanced optoelectronic devices, their performance in aqueous environments remains largely underexplored due to the quenching of electron/hole by water molecules. In this study, we present an unconventional electrochemical strategy to achieve unexpected hydroxyl radical (•OH) generation at a remarkably low voltage of 0.4 V (vs. Ag/AgCl). This is realized through an integrated system comprising CPs of poly(fluorene-alt-thienopyrazine) (PFTP) adsorbed onto the partially oxidized copper sheet. Microscopy and surface analysis techniques demonstrated that the Cu2O layer on the copper sheet surface could enhance the interaction between PFTP and copper sheet, thereby tuning the oxidation potential of PFTP from 1.27 to 1.70 V (vs. Ag/AgCl). It was the specific shift that makes thermodynamically capable of oxidizing water into •OH upon electrical stimulation. Theoretical calculations and mass spectrometry imaging results indicated that the PFTP/Copper interaction is mainly attributed to the interaction between the S atoms on the PFTP backbone and Cu2O sites, and the weak interfacial interaction effectively tuned the HOMO energy level of PFTP. Finally, the PFTP/Copper system demonstrates a superior sterilization rate of 99% against bacterial biofilms at low operating voltages, offering a sustainable and energy-efficient solution for anti-biofouling applications.

This study focuses on the synthesis and the performance of non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) with varying chlorine dispersion in organic solar cells (OSCs). Four chlorine-mediated acceptors, BO3Cl-a, BO3Cl-gamma, BO3Cl-beta, and BOEH3Cl-beta are synthesized with isomeric terminal groups and then integrated with donor PBDB-TF to fabricate OSCs. It finds that increased chlorine dispersion improves device efficiency with enhanced current and BOEH3Cl-beta-based devices achieving a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of over 19%, which is one of the highest values reported for asymmetrically chlorinated acceptors. In OSC devices, Enhanced exciton dissociation and reduced carrier recombination are observed with more chlorine dispersion, along with improved charge transport due to modulation of molecular packing in the active layer. Furthermore, transient absorption spectroscopy elucidates that chlorine dispersion augments exciton diffusion time, thereby elevating the current density of devices, while the branching strategy further amplify the exciton lifetime of BOEH3Cl-beta, preserving the value of short current in the face of spectral blue shifts of it. The findings suggest that chlorine-mediated dispersion is a key factor in enhancing OSC performance with improved current by progressive molecular packing arrangement and aggregation behaviors.

Well‐defined high‐molecular‐weight acceptors have recently emerged as promising materials for organic solar cells (OSCs), offering high power conversion efficiency (PCE), long‐term stability, and intrinsic stretchability. However, the limited synthetic accessibility of these materials hampers their large‐scale application. Herein, we propose an efficient “brush‐like” synthetic strategy to construct high‐molecular‐weight acceptors (diYCl, teYCl, and pYCl) with precisely controlled molecular structures. Our results reveal that the well‐defined molecular architecture and enlarged molecular sizes effectively suppress molecular diffusion, thereby improving thermodynamic stability. Among them, teYCl achieves the optimal balance between efficiency and stability, affording a PCE of 18.02% in D18/teYCl‐based quasiplanar heterojunction (Q‐PHJ) OSCs. The device also exhibits remarkable operational durability, with T 80 lifetimes of 5000 h at 65°C and 61 600 h under dark storage. Moreover, when teYCl is employed as a coacceptor in Q‐PHJ architectures, the PCE further rises to 20.19%, representing the highest efficiency reported for such bilayer‐dominated Q‐PHJ devices. The enlarged molecular size also endows the OSCs with enhanced mechanical robustness, with teYCl‐ and pYCl‐based stretchable devices maintaining 80% of their initial PCEs at 31% and 40% strain, respectively. This study offers a practical molecular design strategy for developing high‐efficiency, stable, and intrinsically stretchable acceptors toward next‐generation OSCs.

The charge transfer at heterointerface can significantly influence the sodium‐storage kinetics and durability of metal–oxide anodes for sodium ion battery. Here, this study reported the in situ fabrication of FGDY@SnO 2 nanotube arrays electrode directly on a copper foil current collector. The FGDY/SnO 2 heterointerface composed by fluorinated graphdiyne (FGDY) confined tin dioxide (SnO 2 ) nanotube arrays feature incomplete interfacial charge transfer, with electrons transferred from FGDY to SnO 2 , creating a locally modulated electronic environment that accelerates Na + transport and interfacial redox kinetics. Combined experimental and theoretical calculations have systematically revealed the synergistic advantages of the advanced FGDY@SnO 2 electrode in terms of improving electrochemical reaction kinetics, stabling solid–electrolyte interphase and electrode structure. Thus, the FGDY@SnO 2 anodes show high rate‐performance and stability. At a high current density of 5 A g −1 , FGDY@SnO 2 can achieve a sodium storage capacity of 563.8 mAh g −1 . This work provides a material design paradigm for the fabrication of high‐rate and long‐cycle‐life Sn‐based anode toward advanced sodium‐ion batteries.

How to manipulate the surface of the supports to control metal atoms is frontier research that has emerged in recent years in the field of catalysis. However, the precise and controllable synthesis of metal atom systems with well-defined structure and valence states remains a significant challenge. Herein, based on theoretical predictions, we report a new catalytic system of GDY, where metal atoms and quantum dots coexist. Precise structural studies have determined that Ni atoms and RuNix quantum dots (denoted as Ni-RuNix/GDY) are distributed on GDY surface. GDY has the ability to act as an electronic medium to control the strong interaction between Ni atom and sp-C within a long-range distance, leading to promote the hydrolysis abilities of Ni atom adjacent to RuNix. The as-synthesized Ni-RuNix/GDY catalyst exhibits astonishing results in the alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), with overpotentials of only 17 mV and 116 mV achieving current densities of 10 and 1000 mA cm- 2, respectively. This work presents a new method for creating highly efficient multi-component atom catalysts, and a new concept for long-range control of catalysis to open up new routes for the frontier research on developing advanced catalytic systems in the future.

The design of a coupled system based on a non-radical reaction pathway mediated by photogenerated holes is of great significance for improving pollutant removal efficiency. In this work, ferroelectric PbTiO3 was employed to construct an efficient Vis/PMS/PbTiO3/Co3O4 coupled system for the first time by selective deposition Co3O4 on polarized (001) facet of PbTiO3. The coexistence of a polarized electric field and oxygen vacancy modulates the electronic structure of the catalyst surface. This modulation not only creates favorable conditions for PMS adsorption and activation, but also significantly promotes the generation of high concentrations of 1O2. Consequently, under visible light with a PMS concentration of 10 mg/L, the BPA degradation rate in the Vis/ PMS/PTO/Co3O4 system reached 100 % within 9 min. This work demonstrates the effectiveness of ferroelectric polarization engineering in optimizing the Vis/PMS coupled system and provides a design strategy for the application of other integrated advanced oxidation technologies in water purification.

Designing small-molecule acceptors (SMAs) with long exciton diffusion length (LD) and high electron mobility is vital for boosting power conversion efficiency (PCE) of organic solar cells (OSCs). However, the limited LD of most advanced SMAs hinders their practical applications in thick-film OSCs. Herein, we develop four SMAs (named Yq-0F, Yq-2F, Yq-4F, and Yq-6F) with fluorine-free/fluorinated phenyl-substituted quinoxaline cores by manipulating the number of fluorine atom. Among them, polyfluorophenyl-substituted Yq-4F exhibits superior 3D network crystal framework and favourable intermolecular packing, leading to optimal blend morphology with polymer donor D18. Therefore, D18:Yq-4F system achieves improved carrier mobilities and suppressed charge recombination loss. Consequently, the D18:Yq-4F based binary OSCs provide a PCE of 18.30%, surpassing these ones based on D18:Yq-0F (11.27%), D18:Yq-2F (17.73%), and D18:Yq-6F (17.00%). When introducing Yq-4F as a guest into D18:L8-BO host to fabricate ternary OSCs, the PCE further increases to 20.77%, as the highest reported value among quinoxaline-derived SMAs. Moreover, ternary D18:Yq-4F:BTP-eC9 and D18:L8-BO:Yq-4F OSCs with ~500 nm active layer thickness offer impressive PCEs of >17%, ranking among the top values for thick-film devices with similar thickness. This work offers an effective SMA design strategy for opening a path towards efficient thin-film and thick-film OSCs simultaneously.

Vacuum-deposited organic solar cells (v-OSCs) are alternative candidates for photovoltaics technologies. Their advantages include well-defined molecular structures, high purity of materials, excellent batch-to-batch reproducibility, and solution-free fabrication process that enables good compatibility with underlying perovskite layer for tandem devices. Triarylamine-based small-molecule donors are commonly used in v-OSCs, however, their power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) are constrained by low short-circuit current density (Jsc). Moreover, to match with the photocurrent of perovskite subcell, enhancing Jsc of v-OSCs is highly demanded. Herein, four small-molecule donors (named PT, PF, BT, and BF) based on triarylamine electron-donating moieties are designed. Compared with linear analogues PT and PF, BT and BF with fused-ring building blocks including benzothiophene and benzofuran exhibit smaller bandgaps, lower highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy levels, and higher hole mobilities. Consequently, v-OSCs based on BT and BF exhibit surprisingly high Jsc values (17.91 and 18.13 mA cm-2, respectively), representing the highest reported Jsc for v-OSCs. Moreover, the Jsc enhancement leads to improved PCEs of devices based on BT and BF (10.53% and 10.11%, respectively). Remarkably, the PCE of 10.53% for the BT-based device represents the best PCE reported for v-OSCs. This work opens a promising avenue to develop high-performance small-molecule donors for v-OSCs.

The rapid development of non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs), particularly Y6 and its derivatives, has propelled organic photovoltaics (OPVs) to power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) exceeding 20%. This achievement stems from the rational design of core structures that regulate energy levels, optical absorption, and molecular packing. However, the potential of the 1,2,4-triazine motif remains underexplored despite its unique electronic features. Here, we introduce the benzo[1,2,4]triazine (BTAZI) core as a promising building block for NFAs. Density functional theory calculations reveal that BTAZI possesses lower-lying energy levels than the benzothiadiazole (BT) unit in Y6, arising from its reduced electron density. Through heteroatom substitution (S, O, and Cl), we finely tune the sigma-inductive and p-pi conjugative effects, yielding three BTAZI-based acceptors: BTAZI-IC-SMe, BTAZI-IC-OMe, and BTAZI-IC-Cl. Among them, BTAZI-IC-SMe achieves an optimal balance between molecular orbital alignment and absorption profile with the donor polymer D18, affording a PCE of 18.14%, surpassing the others. This study highlights the benzo[1,2,4]triazine framework as a new core unit for efficient NFAs and offers valuable insights into the molecular design of high-performance and stable OPVs.

The sluggish oxygen evolution reaction (OER) remains a major obstacle to industrial alkaline water electrolysis for green hydrogen production. Herein, sulfur-vacancy-rich Ni3S2 nanostructures are in situ grown on metallic Ni substrates via a scalable one-step anodization top-down strategy, yielding binder-free electrodes with ultra-strong metallurgical catalyst/substrate bonding for robust industrial-current operation. Experiments and DFT calculations reveal that sulfur vacancies modulate the Ni d-band center, optimize OER intermediate adsorption, and lower the rate-determining step barrier. The optimized Vs-Ni3S2-400C electrode delivers a low overpotential of 162 mV at 10 mA cm-2 and, more notably, outstanding industrial durability with merely a 2% potential increase after 1000 h of continuous operation at 1 A cm-2. Furthermore, the Ni substrate can be directly recycled for catalyst regeneration, enhancing process sustainability. This work establishes a scalable top-down strategy for integrating defect engineering and robust electrode architecture, providing industrially relevant OER electrocatalysts for large-scale alkaline water electrolysis.

Controlling the aggregation and mechanical compliance of non-fullerene acceptors remains a key challenge for the development of high-efficiency and mechanically robust organic solar cells (OSCs). Oligomeric acceptors offer an attractive strategy to bridge small molecules and polymers; however, most reported architectures adopt star-shaped topologies that often suffer from steric congestion, limiting packing order and increasing non-radiative recombination. Here, we report a topology-regulated design strategy by constructing a linear-extended tetramer (TY-TAT). The linear architecture effectively enhanced the molar extinction coefficient (6.04 & times; 105 m-1 cm- 1) and photoluminescence quantum yield to 2.93%. Consequently, quasiplanar heterojunction devices based on TY-TAT exhibit a markedly reduced non-radiative energy loss of 0.192 eV and an elevated open-circuit voltage. Importantly, the incorporation of long flexible chains imparts excellent film ductility, delivering a crack-onset strain of 42.5% in blend films without severely compromising molecular ordering. When employed as a guest acceptor in a D18/BTP-eC9 ternary system, TY-TAT regulates host crystallization behavior and enables a high-power conversion efficiency of 20.31% with improved device stability. This work demonstrates that linear topology engineering of oligomeric acceptors provides an effective strategy to simultaneously modulate aggregation, suppress non-radiative losses, and enhance mechanical robustness, offering new design guidelines for next-generation high-performance organic photovoltaics.

Achieving both high efficiency and long-term stability in organic solar cells (OSCs), particularly those based on non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) with emerging structures, remains a major challenge. Here, we propose a synergistic design strategy that combines nitration and chlorine-mediated interactions to enhance the photovoltaic performance of quasi-planar heterojunction (Q-PHJ) OSCs. The nitrated NFAs, NO2Q-2Cl and NO2Q-2F, show blue-shifted absorption compared to the benchmark molecule BTP-eC9, along with improved molecular packing and crystallinity. In particular, the introduction of chlorine-mediated strategy in NO2Q-2Cl enables preferable miscibility with the donor D18. As a result, D18/NO2Q-2Cl-based devices achieve a record Q-PHJ efficiency of 20.0%, outperforming all previously reported Q-PHJ systems and ranking among the highest for nitrated or chlorinated NFAs to date. Moreover, these devices exhibit excellent photostability, retaining 80% of their initial efficiency (T 80 lifetime) after 2982 h of continuous light exposure, far surpassing many of the latest systems. This work demonstrates the effectiveness of the combined strategy and offers valuable insights for advancing high-performance OSCs.

Photocatalytic two-electron oxygen reduction reaction (2e- ORR) offers a sustainable route for green H2O2 synthesis. However, its efficiency is fundamentally constrained by the kinetic mismatch between proton transfer and electron migration across heterogeneous interfaces. Inspired by concerted proton-electron translocation in natural hydrogenases, we report a catechol-triazine donor-acceptor (D-A) covalent organic framework, 2,3-Dhta-Tt, for directional concerted proton-electron transfer (DCPET) during photocatalytic H2O2 production. The intrinsic built-in electric field, combined with a catechol-derived dynamic proton-relay network, aligns proton and electron fluxes and establishes a periodic co-transport channel toward triazine acceptor sites. At the molecular level, the catechol donor units dominate the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO), acting simultaneously as photoexcitation centers and initial proton-release sites, thereby synchronizing proton delivery with electron migration. This vectorial coupling lowers the activation barrier for O─O hydrogenation and promotes highly selective 2e- ORR, affording an H2O2 production rate of 27.22 mmol g-1 h-1 in pure water. The framework also exhibits proton conductivity of 6.09 × 10-5 S cm-1 and an extended excited-state lifetime of 94.45 ps. Isotope labeling, operando spectroscopy, and DFT calculations support a proton-cycling process and directional proton/electron participation. This work advances heterogeneous photocatalyst design beyond conventional PCET cooperativity.

Light-assisted lithium-oxygen (Li-O2) batteries promise integrated solar-to-electrochemical energy storage, yet their efficiency is limited by inefficient coupling between photogenerated charges and complex reaction pathways. Here, we report a photo-responsive carbon cathode with hierarchically porous based on fluorine-substituted graphdiyne (FGDY) that enables dynamic regulation of Li-O2 electrochemistry through excited-state electronic reconfiguration. Upon illumination, strong electron-withdrawing fluorine substituents induce pronounced intramolecular charge redistribution within the conjugated carbon framework, thereby modulating active-site states and adsorption energetics of Li+ and oxygen intermediates. This light-induced regulation redirects the reaction pathway, promoting uniform, membrane-like Li2O2 growth along the fibrous FGDY network rather than conventional disk-shaped deposits. Consequently, the photo-assisted Li-O2 battery achieves a round-trip efficiency of up to 97.5%, together with reduced charging energy consumption and enhanced discharge power output. This work demonstrates that engineering excited-state electronic structures of carbon frameworks provides a new strategy for high-efficiency solar-electrochemical energy storage.

Conventional strategies to address sluggish polysulfide conversion and the shuttle effect have primarily focused on interactions between sulfur anions and catalytic centers, while largely neglecting the enrichment and transport of lithium ions at the cathode. Herein, we report a niobium (Nb) atomic catalyst anchored on graphdiyne (Nb-GDY) that enables a unique dual-end binding mechanism for the simultaneous regulation of polysulfide conversion and lithium-ion transport kinetics. Density functional theory calculations reveal pronounced electronic coupling between Nb─S and Li─C pairs, creating synergistic binding sites that immobilize LiPSs while lowering the energy barriers for their transformation. This mechanism is corroborated by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and comprehensive in situ characterizations, which demonstrate significantly accelerated electrode kinetics and efficient Li+ flux. Consequently, the Nb-GDY-based cathode exhibits exceptional high-rate capability and long-term durability, achieving a high capacity of 724 mAh g-1 at 10 C and maintaining stable operation over 1200 cycles at 5 C with a low-capacity decay of 0.025% per cycle. Our research ingeniously combines dual ends binding, activating the synergistic interaction between atoms and the substrate, providing a new concept for the management of multi-species transport for high energy density Li-S batteries.

Intrinsically stretchable organic solar cells (IS‐OSCs) are emerging as promising candidates for powering next‐generation wearable electronics. However, developing molecular design strategies to achieve both high efficiency and mechanical robustness in IS‐OSCs remains a significant challenge. In this work, we present a novel approach by synthesizing a dimerized electron acceptor (DY‐FBrL) that enables rigid OSCs with a high power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 18.75 % and a crack‐onset strain (COS) of 18.54 %. The enhanced PCE and stretchability of DY‐FBrL‐based devices are attributed to its extended π‐conjugated backbone and elongated side chains. Furthermore, we introduce an innovative polymerized acceptor (PDY‐FL), synthesized via the polymerization of DY‐FBrL. While PDY‐FL‐based devices exhibit a slightly lower PCE of 14.13 %, they achieve a significantly higher COS of 23.45 %, representing one of the highest PCEs reported for polymerized acceptors containing only flexible linkers. Consequently, IS‐OSCs fabricated using DY‐FBrL and PDY‐FL achieve notable PCEs of 14.31 % and 11.61 %, respectively. Additionally, the device stretchability improves progressively from Y6 (strain at PCE 80% =11 %), to DY‐FBrL (strain at PCE 80% =23 %), and PDY‐FL (strain at PCE 80% =31 %). This study presents a promising molecular design strategy for tailoring electron acceptor structures, offering a new pathway to develop high‐performance IS‐OSCs with enhanced mechanical properties.