A new class of Co9 S8 @MoS2 core-shell structures formed on carbon nanofibers composed of cubic Co9 S8 as cores and layered MoS2 as shells is described. The core-shell design of these nanostructures allows the advantages of MoS2 and Co9 S8 to be combined, serving as a bifunctional electrocatalyst for H2 and O2 evolution.

The design of catalysts with high activity and robust stability for alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) remains a great challenge. Here, we report an efficient catalyst of two-dimensional bimetallene hydrides, in which H atoms stabilize the rhodium palladium bimetallene. The system exists because of the introduction of H that is in situ chemically released from the formaldehyde solution during the synthesis. This provides a highly stable catalyst based on an unstable combination of metal elements. Density functional theory calculations show the H is confined by electronic interactions and the Miedema rule of reverse stability of the RhPd alloy. The obtained catalyst exhibits outstanding alkaline HER catalytic performance with a low overpotential of 40 mV at 10 mA cm −2 and remarkable stability for over 10 h at 100 mA cm −2 . The experimental results show that the confined H improve the activity, while the ultrathin sheet-like morphology yields stability. Our work provides guidance for synthesizing high-activity catalysts by confining heteroatoms into the crystal lattice of bimetallene and also a very novel mechanism for the growth of bimetallene made of highly immiscible components.

Tuning surface strain is a new strategy for boosting catalytic activity to achieve sustainable energy supplies; however, correlating the surface strain with catalytic performance is scarce because such mechanistic studies strongly require the capability of tailoring surface strain on catalysts as precisely as possible. Herein, a conceptual strategy of precisely tuning tensile surface strain on Co S /MoS core/shell nanocrystals for boosting the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity by controlling the MoS shell numbers is demonstrated. It is found that the tensile surface strain of Co S /MoS core/shell nanocrystals can be precisely tuned from 3.5% to 0% by changing the MoS shell layer from 5L to 1L, in which the strained Co S /1L MoS (3.5%) exhibits the best HER performance with an overpotential of only 97 mV (10 mA cm ) and a Tafel slope of 71 mV dec . The density functional theory calculation reveals that the Co S /1L MoS core/shell nanostructure yields the lowest hydrogen adsorption energy (∆E ) of -1.03 eV and transition state energy barrier (∆E ) of 0.29 eV (MoS , ∆E = -0.86 eV and ∆E = 0.49 eV), which are the key in boosting HER activity by stabilizing the HER intermediate, seizing H ions, and releasing H gas.

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Herein, we report on a two-dimensional amino-functionalized Ti3C2-MXene (N–Ti3C2-MXene)-based surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensor for detecting carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) utilizing a sandwich format signal amplification strategy. Our biosensor employs an N-Ti3C2-MXene nanosheet-modified sensing platform and a signal enhancer comprising N-Ti3C2-MXene-hollow gold nanoparticles (HGNPs)-staphylococcal protein A (SPA) complexes. Ultrathin Ti3C2-MXene nanosheets were synthesized and functionalized with aminosilane to provide a hydrophilic-biocompatible nanoplatform for covalent immobilization of the monoclonal anti-CEA capture antibody (Ab1). The N-Ti3C2-MXene/HGNPs nanohybrids were synthesized and further decorated with SPA to immobilize the polyclonal anti-CEA detection antibody (Ab2) and serve as signal enhancers. The capture of CEA followed by the formation of the Ab2-conjugated SPA/HGNPs/N-Ti3C2-MXene sandwiched nanocomplex on the SPR chip results in the generation of a response signal. The fabricated N-Ti3C2-MXene-based SPR biosensor exhibited a linear detection range of 0.001–1000 PM with a detection limit of 0.15 fM. The proposed biosensor showed high sensitivity and specificity for CEA in serum samples, which gives it application potential in the early diagnosis and monitoring of cancer. We believe that this work also opens new avenues for development of MXene-based highly sensitive biosensors for determining various biomolecules.

2D electrode materials with layered structures have shown huge potential in the fields of lithium- and sodium-ion batteries. However, their poor conductivity limits the rate performance and cycle stability of batteries. Herein a new colloid chemistry strategy is reported for making 2D ultrathin layered SnSe nanoplates (SnSe NPs) for achieving more efficient alkali-ion batteries. Due to the effect of weak Van der Waals forces, each semiconductive SnSe nanoplate stacks on top of each other, which can facilitate the ion transfer and accommodate volume expansion during the charge and discharge process. This unique structure as well as the narrow-bandgap semiconductor property of SnSe simultaneously meets the requirements of achieving fast ionic and electronic conductivities for alkali-ion batteries. They exhibit high capacity of 463.6 mAh g at 0.05 A g for Na-ion batteries and 787.9 mAh g at 0.2 A g for Li-ion batteries over 300 cycles, and also high stability for alkali-ion batteries.

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Accelerating slow water dissociation kinetics is key to boosting the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in alkaline media. We report the synthesis of atomically dispersed MoO x species anchored on Rh metallene using a one-pot solvothermal method. The resulting structures expose the oxide-metal interfaces to the maximum extent. This leads to a MoO x -Rh catalyst with ultrahigh alkaline HER activity. We obtained a mass activity of 2.32 A mg Rh À 1 at an overpotential of 50 mV, which is 11.8 times higher than that of commercial Pt/C and surpasses the previously reported Rh-based electrocatalysts. First-principles calculations demonstrate that the interface between MoO x and Rh is the active center for alkaline HER. The MoO x sites preferentially adsorb and dissociate water molecules, and adjacent Rh sites adsorb the generated atomic hydrogen for efficient H 2 evolution. Our findings illustrate the potential of atomic interface engineering strategies in electrocatalysis.