Lizi He

Platinum remains the benchmark catalyst for proton exchange membrane fuel cells, but its long‐term durability and tolerance toward CO impurities are still insufficient for demanding practical operation. Here, we propose a novel perspective to address the degradation and CO‐poisoning of Pt by introducing a quasi‐covalent interaction via trace Nd incorporation into ordered L1 ₂ ‐Pt ₃ Co intermetallic nanoparticles. Our design enables highly robust proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) assembled with L1 ₂ ‐NdPt ₃ Co as the cathode, which achieves a high mass activity (MA) of 1.16 A mgPt ^{− 1} and a peak power density of 1.60 W cm ^{− 2} in H _2– O ₂ mode, as well as an extraordinary durability with a MA retention of 84.86% after 30 000 accelerated durability tests (ADTs), all of which exceed the relevant 2026 DOE targets, due to the Nd‐induced local bonding regulation that strongly restricts metal dissolution and optimizes intermediate adsorption. Moreover, the high current density of 0.34 A cm ^{− 2} at 0.8 V and rated power density of 0.68 W cm ^{− 2} at 0.67 V under realistic H ₂ –air operation suggest the great potential for application of L1 ₂ ‐NdPt ₃ Co in practical heavy‐duty vehicles. This rare‐earth‐induced local bonding regulation provides new perspectives to design highly durable Pt electrocatalysts.

Serious self‐corrosion and passivation film of Al‐air battery reduces the actual energy density and limits its commercial application. The corrosion inhibition effect of l ‐cysteine on low‐cost Al anode alloy and Al‐air battery was studied using hydrogen evolution and electrochemical tests. The results show that l ‐cysteine can significantly reduce the corrosion current density of the Al electrode in 4 M KOH and improve the activity of the Al electrode. The optimum amount of inhibitor (0.5 M) improved the performance of the Al battery. The anode utilization efficiency reached 82.73%, and the battery life was prolonged by nearly three times. The cell capacity, energy, and maximum power density increased from 1990.67 mAh·g ⁻¹ , 1672.16 Wh·kg ⁻¹ , and 34.62 mW·cm ⁻² in the system without inhibitor to 2465.33 mAh·g ⁻¹ , 2144.84 Wh·kg ⁻¹ , and 64.4 mW·cm ⁻² in the system with 0.5 M l ‐cysteine. The researchers also used X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and other techniques combined with quantum chemistry calculation to obtain that ─COOH, ─NH ₂ , ─SH in l ‐cysteine form physical adsorption films on Al surface, which improves the corrosion resistance of Al alloy anode.

Exploring and developing low-cost, high-performance, and stable catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is of great importance, though progress is ongoing. In this work, a simple evaporation-pyrolysis method is employed to synthesize 3D porous electrocatalysts, referred to as Fe-Co-NC, which are carbonization products at 900°C. These catalysts are composed of carbon nanoparticles and metallic FeCo doped nitrogen-enriched carbon nanotubes, produced through the carbonization of pristine ZIF-8, resulting in highly efficient and durable ORR electrocatalysts. The Fe-Co-NC structure exhibits a 3D open porous texture, abundant active sites, favorable nitrogen bonding, and a high specific surface area, all of which contribute to excellent ORR activity. The optimal Fe-Co-NC catalyst demonstrates exceptional ORR performance, with a high onset potential of 0.96 V and a half-wave potential of 0.86 V versus RHE, rivaling the performance of commercially available Pt/C in an alkaline electrolyte. Additionally, the Fe-Co-NC catalyst shows superior stability compared to Pt/C, which is crucial for the development of novel electrocatalysts based on non-precious metals.

The effects of Bi content (0–0.12 wt.%) on the self-corrosion properties, the open-circuit potential, the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, the potentiodynamic polarization curves, and the battery performances of Al-0.4Mg-0.05Sn-0.015Ga alloys were investigated; meanwhile, the microstructures and the post-discharge surfaces of the alloy were also examined by SEM. The results show that Bi can increase the amount of the precipitated phase containing Bi. The Al-0.4Mg-0.05Sn-0.015Ga-0.10Bi alloy exhibits the optimum electrochemical properties; it has the greatest negative open circuit potential of −1.780 V, the highest constant current discharge voltage of 1.287 V, and a minimum self-corrosion rate of 0.132 mL cm⁻² min⁻¹; a uniform corrosive surface is obtained after discharge.

Evolutions of microstructures and properties of 6061 alloy during homogenizing at 500-560oC for 3h without current (Normal), with direct current (DC) or alternating current (AC) were investigated by hardness test, electric conductivity measurement, field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). When the homogenized temperature increases from 500 oC to 560 oC, the hardness increases by 33%, while the electric conductivity decreases by 2.6%, and the area fractions of AlFeSi and Mg2Si phases decrease by 53% and 92%. The samples homogenized with DC or AC have higher hardness, lower electric conductivity and area fractions of AlFeSi and Mg2Si phases, compared with those of the normal homogenized sample at the same temperature. The application of DC or AC during homogenization can significantly promotes the dissolutions of AlFeSi and Mg2Si phases.