Xue Xiao

Under extreme pressure (EP), lubricating base oils with low viscosity frequently suffer from film rupture, leading to severe adhesive wear and lubrication failure. Although nano‐additives can reinforce the sliding interface, how their morphology dictates stacking behavior and tribofilm formation remains poorly understood. In this study, we investigate anatase TiO ₂ nanosheets (ANS) and nanoparticles (ANP) to reveal how additive morphology governs tribological performance. We found that ANS reduced the friction coefficient (COF) by 56% and wear by 88% compared to base oil, while boosting EP load capacity by 6.8 times. Under applied normal load, the ANS physically reorient and stack into a dense, continuous tribofilm that effectively shields surface asperities. Conversely, ANP form an island‐like, loosely packed tribofilm with poor load capacity. Beyond physical shielding, ANS exert a mechanical polishing effect that drives iron wear debris to react with oil hydrocarbons. This tribochemical process builds a Fe‐rich reinforced structure, drastically improving the hardness and stability of the tribofilm. Ultimately, this work provides a morphology‐driven engineering pathway for designing robust lubricants operating under extreme conditions.

The selectivity bottleneck of electrochemical nitrate‐to‐N ₂ conversion is kinetic rather than thermodynamic: dimerization of two adsorbed *NO intermediates is spin‐forbidden, imposing a kinetic barrier invisible to conventional thermodynamic analyses. Spin–orbit coupling (SOC) offers the principal channel for the required spin‐state crossing, yet its deliberate use as a design variable in nitrate reduction remains unexplored. Here we show that covalent Pd─B bonding in ultrathin PdCuB alloy nanosheets breaks the local coordination symmetry at Pd sites, partially lifts the crystal‐field quenching of orbital angular momentum, and enhances the effective SOC without toxic heavy‐metal dopants. Electron paramagnetic resonance reveals a two‐stage evolution of the g‐factor with B content, converging at g = 1.910 for the optimal composition. In situ spectroscopy and density functional theory indicate that, although *NO dimerization is thermodynamically favorable, its spin‐forbidden character dominates selectivity, and the B‐induced electronic and SOC‐related perturbation facilitates intersystem crossing, rendering the N ₂ pathway kinetically accessible. The optimized nanosheets deliver 83% N ₂ Faradaic efficiency at +0.11 V versus RHE with over 1100 h stability, establishing light p‐block element incorporation as a heavy‐metal‐free strategy to address spin‐forbidden bond‐forming steps in nitrogen electrocatalysis.

This review summarizes design, synthesis, and interfacial mechanisms of organic interfaces in electrocatalysis, emphasizing their roles in tuning structures, electronics, and environments to improve performance.

As an alternative to the traditional ammonia (NH₃) synthesis method, the electrochemical reduction reaction of nitrate (NO₃⁻RR) for NH₃ production not only mitigates nitrate pollution but also yields economically valuable NH₃.

The CA/Bi–Cu BML biohybrid demonstrates remarkable electrocatalytic performance for the CO₂RR, achieving 100% selectivity towards formic acid production with a FE_HCOOH of 88.57%.

Electrocatalytic water splitting is regarded as the most effective pathway to generate green energy—hydrogen—which is considered as one of the most promising clean energy solutions to the world's energy crisis and climate change mitigation. Although electrocatalytic water splitting has been proposed for decades, large‐scale industrial hydrogen production is hindered by high electricity cost, capital investment, and electrolysis media. Harsh conditions (strong acid/alkaline) are widely used in electrocatalytic mechanism studies, and excellent catalytic activities and efficiencies have been achieved. However, the practical application of electrocatalytic water splitting in harsh conditions encounters several obstacles, such as corrosion issues, catalyst stability, and membrane technical difficulties. Thus, the research on water splitting in mild conditions (neutral/near neutral), even in natural seawater, has aroused increasing attention. However, the mechanism in mild conditions or natural seawater is not clear. Herein, different conditions in electrocatalytic water splitting are reviewed and the effects and proposed mechanisms in the three conditions are summarized. Then, a comparison of the reaction process and the effects of the ions in different electrolytes are presented. Finally, the challenges and opportunities associated with direct electrocatalytic natural seawater splitting and the perspective are presented to promote the progress of hydrogen production by water splitting.

Pt₁Rh₁@BmimBF₄/CNBs reveal significantly enhanced ORR electroactivity and fascinating ORR selectivity in the presence of methanol compared to Pt₁Rh₁/CNBs nanohybrids without BmimBF₄ due to particular metal–organic interface engineering.