Murugavel Kathiresan

Aqueous Zn batteries offer high energy density, low cost, and abundant zinc resources; however, uncontrolled dendrite growth, hydrogen evolution, and Zn corrosion or dissolution severely hinder their electrochemical stability and commercial commercialization.

Covalent Organic Polymers (COPs) garnered significant attention as a versatile category of porous materials due to their modular design, structural versatility, and environmental benignity. Recently, numerous reports have demonstrated that structural modifications of COPs dictate their material properties. In this context, our review highlights the evolution of COP design through a classification based on interactions between core monomers and linkers, particularly emphasising the selection of the right building blocks that decide the morphology, stability, and application‐specific performance. Furthermore, this review points out structural features of COPs, including π‐conjugation, a rigid backbone, and a heteroatom‐rich backbone, and correlates them with characteristic properties, such as conductivity, porosity, and affinity towards Lewis acid‐type molecules. In addition, the significance of post‐synthetic modification is highlighted, as it is a crucial method for refining porosity, tuning active sites and metal species, and enhancing the overall stability and performance of COPs. The review further discusses the key strategies involved in the synthesis, design, and functional adaptations that have shaped the development of COPs. The rapid progress has created opportunities to develop more advanced methods for pollutant removal, chemical separation, gas conversion, and energy transformation.

A significant portion of produced energy is dissipated as heat, making it crucial to find ways to capture and reuse it. Organic thermoelectric (OTE) materials have emerged as promising contenders in this field owing to their molecular engineering properties, low thermal conductivity, tunable electronic characteristics, lightweight nature, and compatibility with flexible substrates. While these advantages are notable, improving the electrical conductivity remains critical for achieving efficient thermoelectric performance. This review comprehensively scrutinizes recent advances in OTE materials, highlighting strategies such as backbone and sidechain engineering, heteroatom substitution, solvent and acid treatments, ionic modifications, organic and inorganic dopants. Apart from carbon nanostructure hybrids, this review highlights effective ways to improve electrical conductivity without compromising the Seebeck coefficient. It provides insights into future research directions aimed at advancing cost‐effective, high‐performance organic thermoelectric technologies.

The escalating global demand for renewable energy sources and chemicals necessitates sustainable and resource-conscious production protocols that address future demands with a minimal environmental impact. The current study presents the viability of the AgCoAc@Ti3C2Tx-based catalyst for the CO2 fixation and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) reactions at mild operational parameters. Unlike previously reported MXene-based electrocatalysts, this work integrates a controlled electrodeposition methodology to create a synergistic AgCoAc active interface directly on a conductive MXene support. This tailored architecture leads to dual functionality, demonstrating enhanced performance in both electrocarboxylation and the OER, which has not been explored in similar systems. The multilayered Ti3C2Tx, having a large electroactive area, improves the physicochemical properties and charge-transfer pathways of AgCoAc moieties, restricting particle aggregation and stabilizing the composite structure. Meanwhile, AgCoAc anchored on Ti3C2Tx amplifies its conductive properties and provides dual metal coordination sites, elevating the catalyst efficiency for the electrocatalytic process. Electrocarboxylation of benzyl bromide with CO2 was carried out in a single-chamber cell comprising tetrabutylammonium bromide/acetonitrile (TBABr/ACN) as the electrolytic medium to generate phenylacetic acid (PAA). This synergy in AgCoAc@Ti3C2Tx yielded a maximum of 70% PAA at a current density of 50 mA cm–2 at room temperature. The performance of AgCoAc@Ti3C2Tx was further investigated for the OER in 1 M KOH, which showcased a low overpotential of 251 mV at 10 mA cm–2 with a Tafel slope of 93 mV dec–1, validating excellent OER performance. Hence, the developed protocol provides a facile catalyst preparation strategy for the dual-purpose multimetallic AgCoAc@Ti3C2Tx composite, which showcased admirable outcomes for electrocarboxylation as well as the OER.

The surface modification of zinc anodes and the development of effective cathode dual‐functional oxygen electrocatalysts remain of paramount interest for enhancing the cycle life of rechargeable zinc‐air batteries. The present work provides a sustainable synthesis of CoNi‐based composites that can be used as cathode and anode side catalysts in Zn‐air batteries. CoNi‐metals with hybrid‐metal organic frameworks (Hybrid‐MOFs) and MOF‐derived composites from curcumin‐melamine (C‐M) and benzene‐1,3,5‐tricarboxylic acid (BTC) were created for cathode and anode composites using reflux and hydrothermal techniques. In this instance, the cathode composite can be referred to as CoNi‐N‐C after annealing, whereas the anode composite can be referred to as CoNi‐BTC without annealing. Thereafter, the formation of CoNi‐N‐C and CoNi‐BTC composites was confirmed by microscopic, X‐ray photoelectron, and X‐ray diffraction techniques. As a result, structurally tailored CoNi‐N‐C and CoNi‐BTC composites perform efficiently in electrochemical processes such as oxygen evolution/reduction reactions (OER/ORR) and energy conversion devices (Zn‐air battery). Primarily, the CoNi‐N‐C catalyst exhibits the lowest overpotential (E _i = 10 = 1.48 V) and better half‐wave potential (E _1/2 = 0.781 V) in OER/ORR reactions; secondary CoNi‐BTC composites coated on the Zn anode have the highest specific capacity (756.3 mA h g _zn ⁻¹ ) and 1000‐cycle charge–discharge stability in Zn‐air batteries.

The electrochemical CO ₂ reduction reaction (CO ₂ RR) represents a promising approach that uses renewable energy to transform greenhouse gases into value-added fuels and chemicals.

The detection of stress marker epinephrine (EP) has garnered significant attention due to its critical role in mental health disorders, immune dysfunction, nicotine dependence and cardiovascular diseases. Herein, we report an electrochemical sensor based on copper metal–organic frameworks (Cu-MOFs) for the sensitive detection of EP. The annealed Cu-MOF's increased crystallinity, low band gap, and improved surface properties synergistically enhance its electrocatalytic activity. The sensor exhibits a linear response in the 1–10 µM range with a sensitivity of 0.76 ± 0.02 µA cm⁻² µM⁻¹ and a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.15 ± 0.03 µM (n = 5) towards epinephrine detection. Furthermore, it showed a remarkable reproducibility, selectivity against common interferents, and stability during repeated analysis. Real-sample analysis in both serum and urine exhibited recovery rates up to 96% (serum) and 88.3% (urine), respectively. Our findings suggest that the annealed Cu-MOF is a cost-effective and excellent electrode material with significant potential for applications in next-generation sensors for clinical diagnostics.