Sangmin Kim

Plant-derived molecules offer tunable coordination and surface chemistry for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. A Scopus survey retrieved 45 documents linking both topics in 2005–2025, equivalent to 0.34% of the PEC literature. A supplementary search added 15 records, and screening retained 26 research articles. The review organizes molecular functions into light harvesting, charge-transfer mediation, coordination of catalytic overlayers, and passivation. A molecular readiness scale and a validation protocol connect molecular identity to verified device performance. Hybrid layers combining plant ligands with Co, Ni, or Fe raised BiVO₄ photocurrents to approximately 3–6 mA cm⁻² at 1.23 V vs. the reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE). Comparable inorganic overlayers preclude a general claim of superior activity. Ambient solution processing and control of interfacial coordination provide the principal design opportunities. Two-electron phenol/quinone potentials do not establish the feasibility of one-electron hole relay, which requires independent kinetic and redox evidence. At a coverage of 0.1 nmol cm⁻², a chlorophyll layer has a calculated photocurrent upper bound of approximately 0.05 mA cm⁻² within 640–680 nm alone. Broadband enhancement requires wavelength-resolved attribution. Operation for 1000 h at 1 mA cm⁻² and a loading of 1 nmol cm⁻² corresponds to approximately 3.7 × 10⁷ electrons per initially loaded molecule. The proposed framework links molecular structure, interfacial function, and product verification to guide durable molecular photoelectrodes.

Conventional approaches to perovskite superlattice (SL) synthesis typically involve multi‐step processing with post‐synthetic treatments, which often suffer from limited control, poor reproducibility, and scalability issues. Herein, we report a one‐step solution‐phase protocol for the synthesis of structurally stable, 3D CsPbBr ₃ nanocrystal SLs using an amphiphilic double‐tailed ligand (cesium bis(2‐ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate, Cs‐AOT) in combination with conventional ligands, and precisely controlled amounts of water. This approach enables rapid, spontaneous, and highly uniform SL assembly directly in solution within seconds, without any additional post‐processing. Systematic investigations reveal that isotropic nanocrystal growth and ordered SL formation critically depend on the interplay between ligand–ligand interactions, nanoconfined water, and reverse micelle formation. Molecular dynamics simulations and structural analyses further show that water migration enhances ligand mobility through polarity compensation, thereby strengthening interparticle entanglement and stabilizing the SLs in solution. The as‐synthesized CsPbBr ₃ SLs demonstrate exceptional structural stability and enhanced emission properties, thereby enabling practical applications such as high‐performance anti‐counterfeiting optical quick response codes. This work provides fundamental insights into ligand–water interactions governing perovskite SL assembly and offers a scalable synthetic pathway for advanced functional SL materials.

In this study, we investigate the strategic spatial integration of a conducting polymer into lithium electrodes for energy storage applications. Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) was incorporated into 2D graphene-molybdenum disulfide (GM) heterolayers to enhance their electrochemical performance in lithium-ion hybrid capacitors (LHCs). Two design strategies were explored: (i) N-PGM with an intra-embedded 3D PEDOT network via vapor-phase polymerization (VDP), and (ii) L-PGM with an outer 2D PEDOT layer deposited in the final fabrication step. N-PGM exhibited improved rate capability over GM, while L-PGM achieved the highest specific capacity and excellent cycling stability, retaining over 95.3% of its capacity after 2000 cycles. PEDOT introduced an additional surface-driven charge storage mechanism, complementing the diffusion-limited redox behavior of MoS₂. Molecular dynamics simulations further revealed that PEDOT weakened direct Li⁺ binding but improved electrolyte compatibility and ion mobility. Notably, the spatial configuration of PEDOT critically influenced these effects: surface-localized PEDOT in L-PGM reduced Li⁺ adsorption energy and promoted faster ion diffusion, whereas embedded PEDOT in N-PGM maintained a balance between ion transport and retention. These findings highlight that spatially controlled polymer incorporation offers a promising route to optimizing ionic accessibility and charge transport in nanostructured electrodes.

Lithium-ion hybrid capacitors (LHCs) are increasingly recognized as promising energy storage devices due to their ability to achieve high energy density while delivering rapid power delivery. In this study, a novel class of multifunctional electrodes for nonaqueous LHCs was developed by conjugating graphene (G), tungsten diselenide (W), and polypyrrole (PPy) into a heterolayered ternary nanohybrid (HTNH) structure. The integration of gas-phase processing techniques, including air-jet milling and vapor-phase polymerization, enabled the efficient, gram-scale production of HTNHs without the need for additional purification steps. Spectroscopic analyses confirmed the formation of HTNHs, highlighting significant interlayer interactions that synergistically enhance the properties of the individual components through their conjugation within the HTNH structure. The integration of PPy with GW to form graphene–WSe₂–PPy (GWP) nanohybrids resulted in a significant improvement in specific capacities, accompanied by a high working voltage of 4.5 V. In the half-cell configuration, the reversible specific capacities of GWPs were found to depend on the PPy content deposited. The optimized GWP sample exhibited the highest capacity of 182.9 mA h g⁻¹ (@0.1 A g⁻¹) and demonstrated exceptional cycling stability, retaining 91% of its capacity after 1000 cycles. These findings emphasize the importance of optimizing PPy incorporation to balance electrochemically active site availability and charge transport efficiency, thereby facilitating the rational design of advanced hybrid energy storage systems. In the full-cell configuration, the GWP HTNH demonstrated well-balanced performance, delivering a high energy density of 256 W h kg⁻¹ and a power density of 24 461 W kg⁻¹, surpassing previously reported materials with similar compositions.