Min Han

The sluggish kinetics, severe structural degradation, and ambiguous reaction pathways of conversion‐type anodes remain formidable bottlenecks for potassium‐ion batteries. Herein, a neuron‐inspired orbital‐interface engineering strategy is proposed to construct a hierarchical Co‐FeS ₂ /C@C composite via a novel in situ FeS ₂ ‐to‐MOF reconstruction, where porous Co‐FeS ₂ nanoparticles are intertwined with an internal carbon network and encapsulated within a robust carbon shell. Functionally, synergistic orbital (co‐doping) and interface (carbon network) engineering are rationally tailored to boost the intrinsic conductivity and promote ion diffusion of FeS ₂ , while the hierarchical porosity and outer shell buffer volume fluctuations, thereby concurrently enhancing reaction kinetics and structural stability. To validate this, in situ XRD first demonstrates the highly reversible successive conversion mechanism of FeS ₂ . Furthermore, comprehensive experimental and theoretical results verify optimized electronic states, lowered K ⁺ migration barriers, and robust structural integrity. Consequently, the Co‐FeS ₂ /C@C anode delivers an exceptional rate capability (268 mA h g ⁻¹ at 20 A g ⁻¹ ) alongside long‐term cycling durability, outperforming most reported metal sulfide‐based anodes. Moreover, as‐assembled full cells exhibit outstanding battery performance even under severe mechanical deformation, reliably powering diverse high‐demand electronics and wearable sensor systems. Ultimately, this biomimetic paradigm offers a compelling strategy to develop high‐power and durable electrodes for next‐generation energy storage systems.

Exploration of advanced electrode materials with synergistic integration of customized compositional regulation and hierarchical nano-architecture is imperative for boosting the charge storage performance. The rational construction of MOF-on-MOF-derived sulfides capable of concurrently delivering good structural stability and high capacity remains inherently challenging, being largely hampered by pronounced mesoscale aggregation and a shortage of exposed electroactive sites. Herein, multi-electroactive highly porous MOF-on-MOF@NiCo-S composite with core-satellite nanoarchitecture was constructed via partial sulfurization from sophisticated hierarchical nanosheet precursor of MOF-on-MOF (Co-DPTTZ-BDC on Ni-NDC-BDC). In this composite, small Ni3S4/CoNi2S4 sulfide satellites well-dispersed and exposed on the MOF-on-MOF matrix. In parallel, the porous hierarchical nanosheet architecture provides abundant surface area and alleviates volume change of Ni3S4/CoNi2S4 during charge-discharge. Remarkably, MOF-on-MOF@NiCo-S achieves a high-level capacitance of 1937.3 F g-1 at 1.5 A g-1 with good cycling stability, which remarkably surpasses its MOF-on-MOF (1016.7 F g-1) and Ni3S4@CoNi2S4 (1398.4 F g-1) sulfide counterpart. The hybrid supercapacitor based on MOF-on-MOF@NiCo-S//AC delivers an energy density of 67.8 Wh kg-1 at a power density of 750 W kg-1. This work would stimulate studies on future exquisite design of high-performance nanocomposite electrode materials via MOF-on-MOF modulation strategy for energy storage and electronic applications.

This study reveals that a CuO catalyst with a balanced (111) to (11−1) facet ratio boosts C ₂₊ product selectivity during CO ₂ electroreduction.

Transition metal phosphides (TMPs) and phosphates (TM‐Pis) nanostructures are promising functional materials for energy storage and conversion. Nonetheless, controllable synthesis of crystalline/amorphous heterogeneous TMPs/TM‐Pis nanohybrids or related nanoarchitectures remains challenging, and their electrocatalytic applications toward overall water splitting (OWS) are not fully explored. Herein, the Ni₂P nanocrystals anchored on amorphous V‐Pi nanosheet based porous flower‐like nanohybrid architectures that are self‐supported on carbon cloth (CC) substrate (Ni₂P/V‐Pi/CC) are fabricated by conformal oxidation and phosphorization of pre‐synthesized NiV‐LDH/CC. Due to the unique microstructures and strong synergistic effects of crystalline Ni₂P and amorphous V‐Pi components, the obtained Ni₂P/V‐Pi/CC owns abundant active sites, suitable surface/interface electronic structure and optimized adsorption‐desorption of reaction intermediates, resulting in outstanding electrocatalytic performances toward hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions in alkaline media. Correspondingly, the assembled Ni₂P/V‐Pi/CC||Ni₂P/V‐Pi/CC electrolyzer only needs an ultralow cell voltage (1.44 V) to deliver 10 mA cm⁻² water‐splitting currents, exceeding its counterparts, recently reported bifunctional catalysts‐based devices, and Pt/C/CC||IrO₂/CC pairs. Moreover, the Ni₂P/V‐Pi/CC||Ni₂P/V‐Pi/CC manifests remarkable stability. Also, such device shows a certain prospect for OWS in acidic media. This work may spur the development of TMPs/TMPis‐based nanohybrid architectures by combining structure and phase engineering, and push their applications in OWS or other clean energy options.

A series of Pd _x Sn _y nanocrystals loaded on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) nanohybrids have been synthesized. Due to the proper alloy constituent and the strong interplay between the two components, the resultant Pd ₃ Sn/CNTs exhibit excellent ORR activity.

The development of cathode materials with high specific capacity is the key to obtaining high-performance lithium-ion batteries, which are crucial for the efficient utilization of clean energy and the realization of carbon neutralization goals. Li-rich Mn-based cathode materials (LRM) exhibit high specific capacity because of both cationic and anionic redox activity and are expected to be developed and applied as cathode materials for a new generation of high-energy density lithium-ion batteries. Nevertheless, the difficulty of regulating anionic redox reactions poses significant challenges to LRM, such as low initial Coulombic efficiency, poor rate capability, and fast cycling capacity and voltage decay. To address the existing challenges of LRM, this review introduces their basic physicochemical characteristics in detail, analyzes the original causes of these challenges, focuses on the recent progress of the modification strategies, and then especially discusses the development prospects of LRM from different aspects.

Pd-based metallic nanosheets with advanced physicochemical properties have been widely prepared and employed in various electrocatalytic reactions. However, few concerns were focused on their multiple performances in different electrocatalysis. Here, highly curved and ultrathin PdNiRu nanosheets (NSs) are developed by facile wet-chemistry strategy and exhibit excellent electrocatalytic performance toward both oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and ethylene glycol oxidation reaction (EGOR). Owing to the synergistically structural (e.g., ultrathin, curved, defects/steps-rich) and compositional (ternary alloy) advantages, PdNiRu NSs exhibited enhanced ORR and EGOR specific/mass activities and better stability/durability than control electrocatalysts. The specific activity (5.52 mA·cm⁻²) and mass activity (1.13 A·mg_Pd⁻¹) of the PdNiRu NSs in ORR are 4.8 and 3.4 times as the ones of commercial Pt/C, respectively. The mass activity of PdNiRu NSs (3.86 A·mg_Pd⁻¹) in EGOR is 2.6 times as commercial Pd/C (1.51 A·mg_Pd⁻¹). This study is helpful for the development of desired electrocatalysts with multi-functional application in practical fuel cells.

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) with hierarchical porous structures have been attracting intense interest currently due to their promising applications in catalysis, energy storage, drug delivery, and photocatalysis. Current fabrication methods usually employ template-assisted synthesis or thermal annealing at high temperatures. However, large-scale production of hierarchical porous metal–organic framework (MOF) particles with a simple procedure and mild condition is still a challenge, which hampers their application. To address this issue, we proposed a gelation-based production method and achieved hierarchical porous zeolitic imidazolate framework-67 (called HP-ZIF67-G thereafter) particles conveniently. This method is based on a metal–organic gelation process through a mechanically stimulated wet chemical reaction of metal ions and ligands. The interior of the gel system is composed of small nano and submicron ZIF-67 particles as well as the employed solvent. The relatively large pore size of the graded pore channels spontaneously formed during the growth process is conducive to the increased transfer rate of substances within the particles. It is proposed that the Brownian motion amplitude of the solute is greatly reduced in the gel state, which leads to porous defects inside the nanoparticles. Furthermore, HP-ZIF67-G nanoparticles interwoven with polyaniline (PANI) exhibited an exceptional electrochemical charge storage performance with an areal capacitance of 2500 mF cm⁻², surpassing those of many MOF materials. This stimulates new studies on MOF-based gel systems to obtain hierarchical porous metal–organic frameworks which should benefit further applications in a wide spectrum of fields ranging from fundamental research to industrial applications.