Photoreduction of CO into reusable carbon forms is considered as a promising approach to address the crisis of energy from fossil fuels and reduce excessive CO emission. Recently, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have attracted much attention as CO photoreduction-related catalysts, owing to their unique electronic band structures, excellent CO adsorption capacities, and tailorable light-absorption abilities. Recent advances on the design, synthesis, and CO reduction applications of MOF-based photocatalysts are discussed here, beginning with the introduction of the characteristics of high-efficiency photocatalysts and structural advantages of MOFs. The roles of MOFs in CO photoreduction systems as photocatalysts, photocatalytic hosts, and cocatalysts are analyzed. Detailed discussions focus on two constituents of pure MOFs (metal clusters such as Ti-O, Zr-O, and Fe-O clusters and functional organic linkers such as amino-modified, photosensitizer-functionalized, and electron-rich conjugated linkers) and three types of MOF-based composites (metal-MOF, semiconductor-MOF, and photosensitizer-MOF composites). The constituents, CO adsorption capacities, absorption edges, and photocatalytic activities of these photocatalysts are highlighted to provide fundamental guidance to rational design of efficient MOF-based photocatalyst materials for CO reduction. A perspective of future research directions, critical challenges to be met, and potential solutions in this research field concludes the discussion.

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Due to the widespread deployment of distributed energy resources (DERs) and the liberalization of electricity market, traditional distribution networks are undergoing a transition to active distribution systems (ADSs), and the traditional deterministic planning methods have become unsuitable under the high penetration of DERs. Aiming to develop appropriate models and methodologies for the planning of ADSs, the key features of ADS planning problem are analyzed from the different perspectives, such as the allocation of DGs and ESS, coupling of operation and planning, and high-level uncertainties. Based on these analyses, this comprehensive literature review summarizes the latest research and development associated with ADS planning. The planning models and methods proposed in these research works are analyzed and categorized from different perspectives including objectives, decision variables, constraint conditions, and solving algorithms. The key theoretical issues and challenges of ADS planning are extracted and discussed. Meanwhile, emphasis is also given to the suitable suggestions to deal with these abovementioned issues based on the available literature and comparisons between them. Finally, several important research prospects are recommended for further research in ADS planning field, such as planning with multiple micro-grids (MGs), collaborative planning between ADSs and information communication system (ICS), and planning from different perspectives of multi-stakeholders.

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The Ni0.4Mn0.6Ti10 catalyst exhibits excellent SO2 resistance, high NO conversion and N2 selectivity in the range of 190–360 °C even in the presence of 100 ppm SO2 and 15% H2O under a GHSV of 40 000 h−1 due to the interaction among Mn, Ni and Ti oxides.

To industrialize printed full-color displays based on quantum-dot light-emitting diodes, one must explore the degradation mechanism and improve the operational stability of blue electroluminescence. Here, we report that although state-of-the-art blue quantum dots, with monotonically-graded core/shell/shell structures, feature near-unity photoluminescence quantum efficiency and efficient charge injection, the significant surface-bulk coupling at the quantum-dot level, revealed by the abnormal dipolar excited state, magnifies the impact of surface localized charges and limits operational lifetimes. Inspired by this, we propose blue quantum dots with a large core and an intermediate shell featuring nonmonotonically-graded energy levels. This strategy significantly reduces surface-bulk coupling and tunes emission wavelength without compromising charge injection. Using these quantum dots, we fabricate bottom-emitting devices with emission colors varying from near-Rec.2020-standard blue to sky blue. At an initial luminance of 1000 cd m−2, these devices exhibit T95 operational lifetimes ranging from 75 to 227 h, significantly surpassing the existing records.

Biomimetic chemistry offers new approaches to supramolecular materials synthesis and assembly. We have demonstrated that an assembled viral protein cage, comprising an organic core-shell structure, can be used as a template for the size constrained synthesis of Fe(2)O(3). Particle nucleation is directed by the inner scaffold protein layer, while the size constraints are determined by the outer capsid layer.

Large-scale Sn and/or S doped Cu 3 Sb 12x Sn x Se 42y S y (x = 0.02, 0.04, 0.06 and 0.10; y = 0, 0.5) nanoparticles were first prepared through a low-temperature co-precipitation route. The effects of Sn doping on the thermoelectric properties of the Cu 3 SbSe 4 -based materials were explored. Due to the improved power factor from optimizing the carrier concentration and the reduced lattice thermal conductivity from enhanced phonon scattering at the grain interfaces, the maximum thermoelectric figure of merit, ZT max , obtained here reached 1.1 for the co-doped Cu 3 Sb 0.94 Sn 0.06 Se 3.5 S 0.5 material, which is the largest value reported for Cu 3 SbSe 4 -based materials.