Transition metal hydroxides have great potential as oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts, while its low reaction kinetics and unsatisfactory stability limits the further application. Herein, Co(OH)2 nanosheets with oxygen vacancies defects and anchored Ir atoms and clusters (Ir/D-Co(OH)2) were prepared by electrochemical deposition and in -situ etching. The Introduction of Ir species is beneficial to regulate the valence electron configuration on Co 3d orbit and enhance the conductivity, which contributes to improving kinetics of Co(OH)2. In addition, the introduced defects not only regulate the adsorption energy barrier of reaction intermediates, but also serve as anchor centers for stabilizing Ir atoms and clusters, thus enhancing the active surface area and catalytic stability. The Ir/D-Co(OH)2/NF catalyst owns ultralow OER potential of 270.5 mV at 100 mA cm -2, and it has superior long-term stability under high current density of 100 mA cm -2 for 100 h. This work provides a simple method to design noble atoms loaded transition metal hydroxides with specific defects for enhancing OER performance and high stability.

With the growing demand for fossil energy and the consequent environmental pollution problems, fuel cells (FCs) play a significant role in the affordable, secure and zero emission energy devices. The use of platinum (Pt) electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) has made outstanding contribution to the commercial realization of high activity FCs. Yet, the short lifetime of Pt catalyst remains a serious issue in real device evaluation system and lab-scale, demanding for the design of materials with higher stability. Thus, fundamental understanding of the connection between the elaborately designed materials and ORR stability is timely urgent in recent years. Here, the increased stability mechanisms of Pt-based nanocatalysts are summarized, focusing on the representative synthesis strategies of high stability Pt-based catalysts and the role of every design for performance enhancement. At last, several brief perspectives related to the future research of stability issues are provided in terms of catalysts’ design limitations.

A one step facile method is proposed to synthesize Co3O4/BCNO composites as efficient and stable catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction in Zn–air batteries.

The 2D perovskites (HO(CH 2 ) 4 NH 3 ) 2 (MA) n −1 Pb n I 3 n +1 showed improved UV stability due to the hydrogen bonds between the hydroxyl groups of the organic spacer cations HO(CH 2 ) 4 NH 3 + , compared with that of (CH 3 (CH 2 ) 3 NH 3 ) 2 PbI 4 without the hydrogen bonds.

Interface microenvironment regulation provides a new direction for designing efficient heterostructure electrocatalysts to produce sustainable green hydrogen through water splitting.

Silicon (Si) is becoming one of the most promising candidates for lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs) owing to its high theoretical capacity, ultralow lithiation/delithiation voltage, non‐flammability, abundant natural reserves, etc. However, Si particles undergo violent volume expansion/contraction during the charge/discharge cycles, resulting in a series of serious problems such as Si particle pulverization, solid electrolyte interphase film overgrowth, and electrode structure collapse, which severely hinders the application of silicon‐based LIBs. Herein, a composite binder crosslinked by polyacrylic acid and p ‐toluene sulfonic acid protonated polyaniline is proposed to improve the electrochemical performance of Si‐based anodes. The cross‐linked composite binder processes 3D networks, fast self‐healing features, and excellent mechanical strength, which can alleviate the damage caused by the expansion of Si particles to the electrodes and protect the structural integrity of the Si‐based electrodes. As a result, the Si‐based anodes with the composite binder present excellent cycle stability (2092.9 mAh g −1 after 300 cycles at 400 mA g −1 ). In addition, the novel binder reveals well compatibility with commercial Si microparticles. More importantly, the self‐healing Si anode is firstly equipped in an all‐solid‐LIB with solvate ionic liquid‐based quasi‐solid electrolyte and shows excellent cycling stability as well as rate capability.

Two-dimensional (2D) Dion-Jacobson-phase layered perovskites have received widespread attention for their better stability and superior photoelectric properties. In this work, the structure, optical properties, and stability of CHBMAPbI(4), OBEAPbI(4), and BDAPbI(4) with different spacer cations were investigated. The structural changes during moisture erosion were detected based on the X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns and ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) diffuse reflectance spectra; the results demonstrate that CHBMAPbI(4) with 1,3-cyclohexyl groups and OBEAPbI(4) with alkoxy groups remained stable in high-humidity environments, while CHBMAPbI(4) was more stable due to the weaker polarity of 1,3-cyclohexyl groups, suggesting that the hydrophobic functional groups in diammonium spacers play a role in improving the humidity stability of perovskites.

Developing highly durable and active catalysts with the morphology of structurally robust nanoframes toward oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) in acidic environment is crucial but still a great challenge to completely achieve in a single material. Herein, PtCuCo nanoframes (PtCuCo NFs) with internal support structures as enhanced bifunctional electrocatalysts were prepared by a facile one-pot approach. PtCuCo NFs exhibited remarkable activity and durability for ORR and MOR owing to the ternary compositions and the structure-fortifying frame structures. Impressively, the specific/mass activity of PtCuCo NFs were 12.8/7.5 times as large as that of commercial Pt/C for ORR in perchloric acid solution. For MOR in sulfuric acid solution, the mass/specific activity of PtCuCo NFs was 1.66 A mg(Pt)(-1)/4.24 mA cm(-2), which was 5.4/9.4 times as large as that of Pt/C. This work may provide a promising nanoframe material to develop dual catalysts for fuel cells. (C) 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Silicon (Si) is considered as one of the most promising candidates for next-generation lithium-ion battery (LIB) anode due to its high theoretical capacity. However, the drastic volume change of Si anodes during lithiation/ delithiation processes leads to rapid capacity fade. Herein, a three-dimensional Si anode with multiple protection strategy is proposed, including citric acid-modification of Si particles (CA@Si), GaInSn ternary liquid metal (LM) addition, and porous copper foam (CF) based electrode. The CA modified supports strong adhesive attraction of Si particles with binder and LM penetration maintains good electrical contact of the composite. The CF substrate constructs a stable hierarchical conductive framework, which could accommodate the volume expansion to retain integrity of the electrode during cycling. As a result, the obtained Si composite anode (CF-LM-CA@Si) demonstrates a discharge capacity of 3.14 mAh cm-2 after 100 cycles at 0.4 A g-1, corresponding to 76.1% capacity retention rate based on the initial discharge capacity and delivers comparable performance in full cells. The present study provides an applicable prototype of high-energy density electrodes for LIBs.

Anodes based on silicon/carbon composites promise their commercial prospects for next-generation lithium ion batteries owing to their merits of high specific capacity, enhanced ionic and electronic con-ductivity, and excellent compatibility. Herein, a series of carbonaceous framework/Si composites are designed and prepared by rational waste utilization. N, P codoped foam-like porous carbon/Si composites (FPC@Si) and N, P codoped carbon coated Si composites (NPC@Si) are fabricated by utilizing expired milk powder as a carbon source with facile treatment methods. The results indicate that the porous carbon skeleton and carbon shell can improve the conductivity of Si and stabilize the solid electrolyte interfaces to avoid direct contact between active material and electrolyte. Moreover, the influence of drastic volume expansion of Si on the anode can be efficiently alleviated during charge/discharge processes. Therefore, the Si/C composite electrodes present excellent long-term cycling stability and rate capability. The elec-trochemical performance shows that the reversible capacity of FPC@Si and NPC@Si can be respectively maintained at 587.3 and 731.2 mAh g-1 after 1000 charge/discharge cycles under 400 mA g-1. Most sig-nificantly, the optimized Si/C composite electrodes exhibit outstanding performance in the full cell tests, promising them great potential for practical applications. This study not only provides a valuable guid-ance for recycling of waste resources, but also supports a rational design strategy of advanced composite materials for high-performance energy storage devices. (c) 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Transition metal oxide (TMO)-based electrodes exhibit increased capacities, yet the mechanism behind the true cause of capacity in such materials remains unclear. Herein, hierarchical porous and hollow Co-CoO@NC spheres assembled by nanorods with refined nanoparticles and amorphous carbon have been synthesized by a two-step annealing approach. A temperature gradient-driven mechanism is revealed for the evolution of the hollow structure. Compared with the solid CoO@NC spheres, the novel hierarchical of Co-CoO@NC can fully utilize the interior active material by exposing both ends of each nanorod into electrolyte. The hollow interior provides extra space for the volume variation, leading to an up-trend capacity of 919.3 mAh g-1 at 200 mA g-1 over 200 cycles. Differential capacity curves dis-close that solid electrolyte interface (SEI) films reactivation partly contributes to increasing reversible capacity. The introduction of nanosized Co particles benefits the process by participating in the transfor-mation of SEI components. This study provides a guide for constructing anodic material with exceptional electrochemical performance.(c) 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Developing high‐activity, good‐stability oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts is the key to solving the problem of hydrogen production from electrolytic water. Cobalt hydroxide (Co(OH) 2 ) is a hopeful OER catalyst, but its poor conductivity and low inherent activity limit its OER performance. Herein, we used group IB metals of Au, Ag, and Cu to increase the OER performance of Co(OH) 2 via the electrodeposition method. All three metals can increase the carrier concentration and proportion of high‐valence cobalt ions. The analysis results disclose that the construction of Ag−Co(OH) 2 heterostructure can optimize the electronic structure through interfacial interactions, produce a moderate proportion of high‐valence cobalt centers, enhance the charge transport capacity and the adsorption of hydroxyl species, thus accelerating the OER kinetics and effectively improving the inherent catalytic activity. This work not only develops effective and steady catalysts but also provides a facile method to enhance the OER performance through interface engineering.

Metallic ultrathin nanosheets have drawn increasing attention due to their distinct properties and wide applications. Nonetheless, the successful preparation of metallic ultrathin nanosheets is still a huge challenge because metallic bonds have no direction and tend to form three-dimensional close-packed structures. Here, ultrathin curved PtPdMo nanosheets (UC-PtPdMo NSs) were obtained by controlling the anisotropic growth kinetics through the CO released from Mo(CO)(6). Meanwhile, different doses of PVP and CTAB could induce the formation of ultrathin porous PtPdMo NSs (UP-PtPdMo NSs) and ultrathin PtPdMo NSs (U-PtPdMo NSs). Among them, UC-PtPdMo NSs had the optimal catalytic activity for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), and its specific and mass activities were 4.1 and 3.6 times as large as those of Pt/C. Moreover, it showed better stability than the other catalysts after 10k cycles. The strengthened catalytic properties might have resulted from the ultrathin structures and the electronic adjustment of Pt by Pd and Mo elements.

We report an environmentally friendly strategy for the synthesis of Fe3C/Fe/graphitic carbon based on hydrothermal carbonization and graphitization of carbon spheres with potassium ferrate (K2FeO4) at 800 °C. The obtained sample consisting of Fe3C/Fe nanoparticles and graphitic carbon (FC-1-8) delivered an enhanced pseudocapacitance of 428.0 F g-1 at a current density of 1 A g-1. After removal of the Fe3C/Fe electroactive materials, the graphitic carbon (FC-1-8-HCl) possessed a large specific surface area (SSA) up to 2813.6 m2 g-1 with a capacity of 243.3 F g-1 at 1 A g-1, far outweighing the other amorphous carbon electrodes of FC-0-8 (carbon spheres annealed at 800 °C without the treatment of K2FeO4). The graphitic material with a porous structure could offer more electroactive sites and improved conductivity of the sample. This method provided guidelines for the synthesis of superior performance supercapacitors with synchronous graphitic carbon and electroactive species.

和传统电解液相比,固态电解质热稳定性好,电位窗高,力学性能好且对环境友好;更重要地,由固态电解质组成的锂离子电池能量密度比传统锂离子电池更高,因而成为当前研究的热点.综述了几种主要固态电解质,包括无机固体电解质、固态聚合物电解质、凝胶电解质及复合型电解质的优势、研究进展以及面临的问题,并展望了未来固态电解质的发展趋势.

Silicon/carbon composites promise more commercial prospects as anode materials for lithium ion batteries considering their excellent ionic and electronic conductivity as well as structural stability. Herein, N, P codoped foam-like porous carbon/Si composites (FPC@Si) and N, P codoped carbon coated Si composites (NPC@Si) are successfully fabricated by using expired milk powder as a carbon source with different treatment methods. The results indicate that the porous carbon skeleton and carbon shell can alleviate the negative effect of drastic volume expansion of silicon nanoparticles, improve the conductivity of the Si based electrode and avoid direct contact between silicon nanoparticles and electrolyte. Therefore, the composite electrodes present excellent long-term cycling stability and rate performance. The electrochemical tests show that the reversible capacity of FPC@Si and NPC@Si can be respectively maintained at 587.3 and 731.2 mAh g-1 after 1000 charge/discharge cycles under 400 mA g-1 . Moreover, the optimized FPC@Si electrodes exhibit excellent electrochemical performance in LiFePO4||FPC@Si full cell tests, promising the great potential of practical applications. The strategy in this study can also be used as valuable guidance for the rational design of high-performance energy materials in various other energy storage fields.

A Cu0.33@Co0.22Ni0.45 core–shell nanocatalyst was produced for hydrolysis of ammonia borane and hydrogen generation. The catalyst has high hydrogen release rate, low activation energies, high cycle performance and excellent structural stability.

In water splitting, the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) performance of transition metal alloy catalysts needs to be further improved. To solve this problem, the method of an external magnetic field was used to improve the OER catalytic performance of the alloy catalyst. In this paper, FeCo alloys with different composition ratios were prepared by an arc melting method, and OER catalysts with different compositions were obtained by annealing treatment. Under the action of a magnetic field, all three groups of catalysts showed a better catalytic performance than those without a magnetic field. The overpotentials of Fe35Co65, Fe22Co78 and Fe15Co85 at a current density of 20 mA cm−2 were reduced by 12 mV, 6 mV and 2 mV, respectively. It is found that, due to the magnetostrictive properties of FeCo alloys, the catalyst itself will generate strain under the action of a magnetic field, and the existence of strain may be the main reason for the enhanced OER performance of the magnetic field. Therefore, this work provides a new idea for the development of magnetic material catalysts and a magnetic field to improve the performance of catalysts.

Reasonably regulating electronic coupling to promote charge transfer and exciton separation has been regarded a promising approach in catalysis. The material engineering of van der Waals heterojunction (vdWsH) based on two-dimensional (2D) materials would be a potential way to optimize the as-prepared extrinsic physicochemical characteristics. However, it was still an almost uncultivated land waiting for exploration in catalysis. Herein, we introduced the inert h-boron nitride (h-BN) in non-metal reduced graphene oxide (GN) catalysts and constructed BN-GN vdWsH. The theoretical calculation demonstrated that the h-BN can effectively modify the electronic properties of graphene. With the introduction of h-BN, the BN-GN vdWsH can obviously enhance the catalytic activity of Li-CO2 battery. The existence of BN-GN vdWsH can reduce the overpotential more than 700 mV compared with reduced graphene oxide during the CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) and CO2 evolution reaction (CO2ER), and it extended cyclic stability more than three times, which was one of the most outstanding non-metallic catalysts. The reasonable structure design made it work as a high efficient electrocatalyst, which shed light on the development for functional treatment of catalytic materials.

The rapid capacity decay severely limits the commercial applications of metal oxide-based electrodes. Exploring innovative materials with enhanced lithium storage performance is urgent and challenging. Herein, we propose a strategy for the synthesis of NiCo-NiCoO2@C composites using layered double hydroxide (LDH) precursors. When used as the anode materials, the composites deliver enhanced capac-ity throughout the continuous charge-discharge process. In our design, the electrochemically active NiCoO2 nanoparticles pulverize the NiCo phases via a conversion reaction. The NiCo phases can increase capacity by reacting with the Li2O yielded from the conversion of NiCoO2 and participating in the rever-sible transformation of solid-electrolyte interface (SEI) films, thus ensuring fast charge transfer. Voids that appear with the consumption of NiCo phases can provide abundant channels for Li+ transportation. Carbon matrices can effectively alleviate the stress generated during repeated cycles of expansion and shrinkage. Benefiting from these features, NiCo-NiCoO2@C anode delivers a highly enhanced reversible capacity of 961.6 mAh g-1 after 300 cycles at 200 mA g-1. This LDH-based strategy may be extended to the design and synthesis of various enhanced anode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs).(c) 2022 Published by Elsevier Inc.