Yudong Li

Biomass-based hard carbon anodes are attractive for constructing low-cost sodium-ion batteries, although their practical application remains constrained by poor rate performance and limited cycle life at low temperatures. To address these challenges, we employed NbC nanoparticles to regulate the surface electric field of hard carbon anodes. This approach modulates the surface electric field for homogeneous morphology and robust composition of the SEI interphase, ultimately achieving higher rate performance and long-term capacity retention even at temperatures as low as −30 °C. At low temperature, NbC exhibits cycling stability with 99.8% capacity retention after 120 cycles at 0.05 A g⁻¹. In situ characterization and density functional theory calculations reveal that the enhanced electrochemical performance stems from NbC nanoparticles creating regions of locally enhanced electric field strength. This study highlights the importance of surface electric field regulation strategies in developing advanced hard carbon anode materials with improved low-temperature tolerance and cycling stability.

Electrochemical nitrate reduction reaction (NO₃RR) proceeds via a well-defined tandem cascade, in which nitrate to nitrite (NO₃^- to NO₂^-) conversion is universally identified as the kinetically rate-determining step (RDS). Copper (Cu) is widely recognized as the active site for this critical RDS, yet systematic investigations into the intrinsic NO₃^- activation activity of metals adjacent to Cu and its diagonal elements in the periodic table remain largely unexplored. Herein, we systematically screen a series of metals (Cu, Ni, Sn, Cd) as dopants in Fe₃O₄, and demonstrate that trace Cd-doped Fe₃O₄ (Cd-Fe₃O₄) delivers superior NO₃RR performance over other catalysts. Systematic mechanistic investigations reveal a tandem pathway: Cd sites preferentially catalyze the NO₃^- to NO₂^- conversion, while adjacent Fe sites facilitate water dissociation to supply active hydrogen (*H) for subsequent NO₂^- hydrogenation to NH₃. When integrated into a flow cell, Cd-Fe₃O₄ delivers a high NH₃ production rate of 1610 mmol h^-1 g^-1 cat while maintaining superior Faradaic efficiency. Furthermore, the produced NH₃ is successfully recovered as high-purity struvite, demonstrating its potential in practical applications and nitrate value-added processes.

Low charge-separation efficiency is a major factor limiting the photoelectric conversion performance of TiO₂. In this work, oxygen-vacancy-rich porous TiO₂ gel photocatalyst was successfully fabricated. The as-prepared material exhibits a three-dimensional interconnected hierarchical porous architecture with a specific surface area of 62.9 m² g⁻¹. EPR and XPS analyses confirmed the presence of Ti³⁺ defects and oxygen vacancies, which effectively increase the electron density and facilitate the separation and migration of photogenerated charge carriers. The results demonstrated excellent photocatalytic activity, with over 85% of RhB degraded within 50 min under light irradiation. In addition, its photocatalytic performance was further investigated by photocatalytic hydrogen evolution, and the hydrogen production rate reached 850.6 μmol·g⁻¹ h⁻¹. The enhanced photocatalytic performance can be mainly attributed to the synergistic effect of the hierarchical porous structure and oxygen vacancies. Specifically, the hierarchical porous structure improves mass transfer and provides abundant active sites, while oxygen vacancies modulate the electronic structure and promote charge separation, thereby significantly enhancing the catalytic activity. This work provides an effective strategy for improving the photoelectric conversion performance of TiO₂ and offers theoretical guidance as well as experimental support for the defect engineering and structural design of TiO₂-based photocatalytic materials.

Sulfur-regulated phase evolution enables the generation of an asymmetric cascaded built-in electric field in a ternary Co ₉ S ₈ /CNO/NiS heterostructure, facilitating interfacial charge transfer for enhanced energy storage.

Advancing green catalysis hinges on boosting the catalytic efficiency while reducing the cost and complexity. Conventional molecular sieves, despite large surface areas and uniform pores, often exhibit low pore utilization, restricted accessibility for bulky substrates, lengthy functionalization, and high expenses. Here, we report a wood-based catalyst that addresses these limitations by leveraging the intrinsic, multiscale porosity and abundant interfacial functionalities of natural wood. Delignification yields lignin-free wood enriched in active groups and hierarchical pores; subsequent grafting of l-proline produces a molecular sieve-like wood with well-defined chiral catalytic sites and efficient mass transfer. Under identical reaction conditions, the catalyst exhibits a catalytic efficiency comparable to that of conventional molecular sieves, while the enantiomeric excess reaches 50% and remains stable thereafter. The material also shows notable persistence: after several catalytic cycles, its initial catalytic efficiency remains 5-fold higher than that of conventional molecular sieve catalysts, underscoring excellent reusability and recyclability. The straightforward preparation and performance gains highlight molecular sieve-like wood as a sustainable and practical platform for organic chiral catalysis. These life-cycle assessment results indicate that molecular sieve-like wood could serve as a sustainable alternative to conventional molecular sieves for green catalytic applications.

Photocatalytic hydrogen production could sustainably and efficiently convert solar energy. However, a low light utilization ratio limits the wide application. Herein, a Moiré-like structure was constructed in the TiO₂ body to improve the light absorption by multiple reflections and suitable light dispersion and diffraction based on similar wavelength and nick. Furthermore, the Moiré-like structure slightly reduces the band gap and accelerates the separation of the photogenerated electrons and holes, and the mass transfer was enhanced by the regular nano-channels and Bernoulli phenomenon. After calcination at 500 °C (M-T500), compared with pure TiO₂, M-T500 achieved a 20% increase in RhB degradation efficiency and a double increase in hydrogen production rate, thus providing a novel design for catalysts and a high catalytic strategy. Moreover, the nearly 100% recovery rate supported environmental protection and sustainable development.