Metal-sulfur batteries promise sustainable high-energy storage but are plagued by sulfur-induced catalyst deactivation, which hinders long-term sulfur conversion. Here, we present a concave carbon surface confinement strategy as a universal design principle to stabilize metal catalysts against sulfur poisoning. By embedding cobalt nanoparticles within curved carbon cavities, the intimate metal-carbon contact area is dramatically enlarged, triggering strong and reversible electron transfer from cobalt (Co) to the carbon scaffold. This unique interfacial architecture creates a balanced Co2+/Co0 valence state (Co2+/Co0 ratio approaching unity) and maintains it during cycling, effectively outcompeting electron donation to sulfur species and suppressing the formation of strong Co-S bonds. Benefiting from this architecture, the Co catalyst exhibits a persistently low activation energy (0.195 eV) for the rate-determining polysulfide-to-Li2S conversion and avoids the gradual activity loss typically observed with conventional carbon-supported catalysts. Consequently, lithium-sulfur batteries deliver an ultralow capacity decay of 0.044% per cycle over 1000 cycles, while Ah-level pouch cells achieve gravimetric energy densities of up to 505 Wh kg-1 and sustain 457 Wh kg-1 with only 0.32% per-cycle fading. This carbon confinement not only overcomes sulfur poisoning but also provides a general blueprint for designing durable, high-activity metal catalysts in sulfur-rich electrochemical environments.

As next-generation high-energy batteries, lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries are promising solutions for long-range electric vehicles due to their ultrahigh theoretical energy density. However, they face fundamental challenges from low sulfur utilization, particularly under electrolyte-starved practical conditions that polysulfides are unable to dissolve. Here, we propose a chemo-electrochemical tandem catalyst, LixTiS2, which chemically catalyzes the transformation of S8/Li2S8 to Li2S4 and subsequently catalyzes electrochemical reduction to lithium sulfide (Li2S). This tandem mechanism fundamentally alters the reaction kinetics from conventional first-order to zero-order behavior, overcoming the limitation imposed by the solubility of sulfur species. It thus enables efficient sulfur conversion and an ultralow activation energy of ∼0.3 eV (a 50% reduction compared to without catalysts) under a low electrolyte-to-sulfur (E/S) ratio (5 µL mgs -1), significantly improving battery performance in practical conditions. The coin cell shows an ultralow capacity decay of 0.028% per cycle over 1500 cycles, and a 2.0 Ah pouch cell achieves the high energy density of 550 Wh kg-1 with good stability.

The sulfur conversion in lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries is largely hindered by sluggish conversion kinetics. Although highly active metal catalysts can promote this process, the intrinsic imbalance between electron transfer and ion transfer at the catalyst surface often leads to rapid passivation. Here, we address this critical challenge, particularly for highly active platinum (Pt) catalysts, by optimizing the electric double layer (EDL) at the catalyst‐electrolyte interface, thereby enabling efficient and durable sulfur catalysis for high‐energy Li–S batteries. The EDL structure is tuned by controlling the Pt surface charge density, achieved by grafting functional groups with varying electronegativities onto the carbon support to drive interfacial electron transfer from carbon to Pt. Using amine‐functionalized carbon nanotube support to moderately increase charge density on Pt surface, we establish a well‐balanced EDL that synchronizes coupled electron‐ and ion‐transfer processes. This equilibrium facilitates efficient sulfur conversion while suppressing Pt sulfuration, maintaining a low activation energy (∼0.33 eV) throughout the sulfur reduction reaction. Consequently, the corresponding batteries achieve 70% capacity retention under practical conditions after 300 cycles. A 2.0 Ah pouch cell delivers a high energy density of 516 Wh kg −1 . This work provides an effective strategy to design sulfuration‐tolerant catalysts toward practical Li–S batteries.

MXenes have aroused intensive enthusiasm because of their exotic properties and promising applications. However, to date, they are usually synthesized by etching technologies. Developing synthetic technologies provides more opportunities for innovation and may extend unexplored applications. Here, we report a bottom-up gas-phase synthesis of Cl-terminated MXene (Ti2CCl2). The gas-phase synthesis endows Ti2CCl2 with unique surface chemistry, high phase purity, and excellent metallic conductivity, which can be used to accelerate polysulfide conversion kinetics and dramatically prolong the cyclability of Li-S batteries. In-depth mechanistic analysis deciphers the origin of the formation of Ti2CCl2 and offers a paradigm for tuning MXene chemical vapor deposition. In brief, the gas-phase synthesis transforms the synthesis of MXenes and unlocks the hardly achieved potentials of MXenes.

The concept of high entropy has inspired many new ideas and led to the finding of a vast variety of new materials. Among them, high-entropy oxides (HEOs) attract particular attention for energy storage and conversion because the extensive literature implies that HEOs have great potential for exotic properties. Here, we summarize the recent progress in HEOs materials, synthetic methods, characterization technologies, and their applications in energy storage and electrocatalysis. Special attentions focus on lithium-ion, lithium-sulfur, metal-air batteries, electrolysis of water, and environmental catalysis. The mechanism of energy storage and catalysis is critically reviewed to correlate the entropy-stabilized structure with properties. Advanced characterization technologies are also discussed to differentiate the microstructure and multi-element compositions. This review will serve as a comprehensive reference and also offer inspiration for design ideas and applications in these rapid-evolving fields.

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries are promising for next-generation high-energy energy storage systems. However, the slow reaction kinetics render mobile polysulfides hardly controlled, yielding shuttling effects and eventually damaging Li metal anodes. To improve the cyclability of Li-S batteries, high-efficiency catalysts are desired to accelerate polysulfide conversion and suppress the shuttling effect. Herein, we studied a doping system with Ni2P and Ni2B as the end members and found a B-doped Ni2P catalyst that demonstrates high activity for Li-S batteries. As anionic dopants, B demonstrates an interesting reverse electron transfer to P and tunes the electronic structure of Ni2P dramatically. The resultant B-doped Ni2P exhibits short Ni-B bonds and strong Ni-S interaction, and the electron donation of B to P further enhances the adsorption of polysulfide on catalysts. The S-S bonds of polysulfides were activated appropriately, therefore decreasing a low energy barrier for conversion reactions.

Osteosarcoma, a common invasive malignant bone disease, presents therapeutic challenges due to the persistent problem of incomplete resection during surgical treatment. This often results in postoperative tumor recurrence and metastasis, and large-scale bone defects are difficult to self-repair, seriously affecting patient health. In this study, a dual-ion doped organic-inorganic composited SOH1(CP)1 injectable hydrogel system is successfully designed and constructed. This system consists of sericin protein grafted with hydrazide bonds, oxidized chondroitin sulfate, Se and Mg co-doped HAp nanorods, and polydopamine-coated CaO2 nanospheres. The system displays strong anti-tumor activity due to its mild photothermal effects combined with the chemotherapeutic efficacy of SeO32-. Because the degradation behavior of hydrogel matches the bone repair cycle, including the nutritional support of hydrogel skeleton degradation products to promote bone cell proliferation, and the positive regulation of Ca2+, Mg2+, and PO43- released via the degradation of inorganic nanoparticles to promote bone differentiation, the system shows excellent bone defect repair efficacy. Importantly, this system achieves 100% tumor inhibition after 18 days, while ensuring complete bone repair after 12 weeks. Hence, the SOH1(CP)1 injectable hydrogel system, which displays both high anti-osteosarcoma efficacy and strong bone repair properties, can serve as a new tool for osteosarcoma-related bone defect repair. The SOH1(CP)1 injectable hydrogel system is designed for osteosarcoma-associated bone defect repair. The system shows high anti-osteosarcoma efficacy and strong bone repair performance, which is attributed to the mild photothermal effect and ion release activity. The proposed anti-osteosarcoma and promoting bone defect repair sequential therapy in this system is a promising therapeutic strategy. image

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries demonstrate great potential for next-generation electrochemical energy storage systems because of their high specific energy and low-cost materials. However, the shuttling behavior and slow kinetics of intermediate polysulfide (PS) conversion pose a major obstacle to the practical application of Li-S batteries. Herein, CrP within a porous nanopolyhedron architecture derived from a metal-organic framework (CrP@MOF) is developed as a highly efficient nanocatalyst and S host to address these issues. Theoretical and experimental analyses demonstrate that CrP@MOF has a remarkable binding strength to trap soluble PS species. In addition, CrP@MOF shows abundant active sites to catalyze the PS conversion, accelerate Li-ion diffusion, and induce the precipitation/decomposition of Li2S. As a result, the CrP@MOF-containing Li-S batteries demonstrate over 67% capacity retention over 1000 cycles at 1 C, ∼100% Coulombic efficiency, and high rate capability (674.6 mAh g-1 at 4 C). In brief, CrP nanocatalysts accelerate the PS conversion and improve the overall performance of Li-S batteries.

Integrating solid-state electrolyte (SSE) into Li-metal anodes has demonstrated great promise to unleash the high energy density of rechargeable Li-metal batteries. However, fabricating a highly cyclable SSE/Li-metal anode remains a major challenge because the densification of the SSE is usually incompatible with the reactive Li metal. Here, a liquid-metal-derived hybrid solid electrolyte (HSE) is proposed, and a facile transfer technology to construct an artificial HSE on the Li metal is reported. By tuning the wettability of the transfer substrates, electron- and ion-conductive liquid metal is sandwiched between electron-insulating and ion-conductive LiF and oxides to form the HSE. The transfer technology renders the HSE continuous, dense, and uniform. The HSE, having high ion transport, electron shut-off, and mechanical strength, makes the composite anode deliver excellent cyclability for over 4000 h at 0.5 mA cm-2 and 1 mAh cm-2 in a symmetrical cell. When pairing with LiFePO4 and sulfur cathodes, the HSE-coated Li metal dramatically enhances the performance of full cells. Therefore, this work demonstrates that tuning the interfacial wetting properties provides an alternate approach to build a robust solid electrolyte, which enables highly efficient Li-metal anodes.

A heterojunction of Cu2O and Cr-doped SrTiO3 (SrTi1-xCrxO3) was designed for selective photocatalytic isopropanol (IPA) oxidation under visible light irradiation. The photocatalytic oxidation of IPA was measured in a fixed-bed reactor. Cr dopants can increase the light absorption and improve the activity of the catalyst. The formation of the Cu2O/SrTi1-xCrxO3 heterojunction can further broaden the absorption range of lights and dramatically increase the photocatalytic activity for selective oxidation of IPA. The 3% Cu2O/SrTi0.99Cr0.01O3 catalyst can fully convert ∼1000 ppm IPA under illumination in 2 h. The selectivity of acetone is ∼100%. The yield is 83 and 4 times higher than that using SrTiO3 and SrTi0.99Cr0.01O3 as catalysts, respectively. By measuring the ultraviolet-visible absorption spectra and Mott-Schottky plots, we obtained the band structure of the heterojunction, which shows that the conduction and valence bands of Cu2O are higher than those of SrTi1-xCrxO3, therefore facilitating the separation and transfer of photogenerated electrons and holes. In addition, electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy and radical trapping tests reveal that the generation of hydroxyl and superoxide leads to photocatalytic oxidation of IPA by the heterojunction photocatalyst.

Nonuniform Li deposition causes dendrites and low Coulombic efficiency (CE), seriously hindering the practical applications of Li metal. Herein, we developed an artificial solid-state interphase (SEI) with planar polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) on the surface of Li metal anodes by a facile in situ formation technology. The resultant dihydroxyviolanthron (DHV) layers serve as the protective layer to stabilize the SEI. In addition, the oxygen-containing functional groups in the soft and conformal SEI film can regulate the diffusion and transport of Li ions to homogenize the deposition of Li metal. The artificial SEI significantly improves the CEs and shows superior cyclability of over 1000 h at 4 mAh cm(-2). The LiFePO4/Li cell (2.8 mAh cm(-2)) enables a long cyclability for 300 cycles and high CEs of 99.8%. This work offers a new strategy to inhibit Li dendrite growth and enlightens the design on stable SEI for metal anodes.

Current lithium-sulfur (LiS) batteries have some severe issues such as shuttle effect of polysulfides and volumetric expansion of sulfur, even though their high theoretical energy density is attractive. Herein, we present a porous multi-walled ZnCo2O4 sphere prepared by a self-reduction approach as sulfur host for LiS battery cathode. During the annealing of an inorganic-organic hybrid precursor, ZnCo2O4 spheres are partially reduced by the released carbon monoxide, resulting in the formation of ZnO and CoO nanoparticles which are subsequently etched by acid, finally forming mesopores throughout the multi-walled ZnCo2O4 spheres. The multi-walled ZnCo2O4 provides sufficient space for accommodating the volumetric change of sulfur. The adsorption measurements show that the multi-walled ZnCo2O4 can adsorb the polysulfides efficiently, which suppresses the shuttle effect. After cycling 1000 times at a rate of 0.5C, the multi-walled ZnCo2O4@S composite remains a capacity of 590 mAh g(-1). The rate-performance is well recoverable during repeated tests. Moreover, the capacities at relatively low and high temperatures of - 5 and 50 degrees C are 654 and 619 mAh g(-1) after 100 cycles, respectively, indicating a potential for applications