Supercapacitors (also known as ultracapacitors) are considered to be the most promising approach to meet the pressing requirements of energy storage. Supercapacitive electrode materials, which are closely related to the high-efficiency storage of energy, have provoked more interest. Herein, we present a high-capacity supercapacitor material based on the nitrogen-doped porous carbon nanofibers synthesized by carbonization of macroscopic-scale carbonaceous nanofibers (CNFs) coated with polypyrrole (CNFs@polypyrrole) at an appropriate temperature. The composite nanofibers exhibit a reversible specific capacitance of 202.0 F g(-1) at the current density of 1.0 A g(-1) in 6.0 mol L(-1) aqueous KOH electrolyte, meanwhile maintaining a high-class capacitance retention capability and a maximum power density of 89.57 kW kg(-1). This kind of nitrogen-doped carbon nanofiber represents an alternative promising candidate for an efficient electrode material for supercapacitors.

A fractured microstructure design: A new type of piezoresistive sensor with ultra-high-pressure sensitivity (0.26 kPa(-1) ) in low pressure range (<2 kPa) and minimum detectable pressure of 9 Pa has been fabricated using a fractured microstructure design in a graphene-nanosheet-wrapped polyurethane (PU) sponge. This low-cost and easily scalable graphene-wrapped PU sponge pressure sensor has potential application in high-spatial-resolution, artificial skin without complex nanostructure design.

Advanced energy conversion and storage (ECS) devices (including fuel cells, photoelectrochemical water splitting cells, solar cells, Li-ion batteries and supercapacitors) are expected to play a major role in the development of sustainable technologies that alleviate the energy and environmental challenges we are currently facing. The successful utilization of ECS devices depends critically on synthesizing new nanomaterials with merits of low cost, high efficiency, and outstanding properties. Recent progress has demonstrated that nanostructured metal chalcogenides (MCs) are very promising candidates for efficient ECS systems based on their unique physical and chemical properties, such as conductivity, mechanical and thermal stability and cyclability. In this review, we aim to provide a summary on the liquid-phase synthesis, modifications, and energy-related applications of nanostructured metal chalcogenide (MC) materials. The liquid-phase syntheses of various MC nanomaterials are primarily categorized with the preparation method (mainly 15 kinds of methods). To obtain optimized, enhanced or even new properties, the nanostructured MC materials can be modified by other functional nanomaterials such as carbon-based materials, noble metals, metal oxides, or MCs themselves. Thus, this review will then be focused on the recent strategies used to realize the modifications of MC nanomaterials. After that, the ECS applications of the MC/modified-MC nanomaterials have been systematically summarized based on a great number of successful cases. Moreover, remarks on the challenges and perspectives for future MC research are proposed (403 references).

We report a one-step fabrication of macroscopic multifunctional graphene-based hydrogels with robust interconnected networks under the synergistic effects of the reduction of graphene oxide sheets by ferrous ions and in situ simultaneous deposition of nanoparticles on graphene sheets. The functional components, such as α-FeOOH nanorods and magnetic Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles, can be easily incorporated with graphene sheets to assemble macroscopic graphene monoliths just by control of pH value under mild conditions. Such functional graphene-based hydrogels exhibit excellent capability for removal of pollutants and, thus, could be used as promising adsorbents for water purification. The method presented here is proved to be versatile to induce macroscopic assembly of reduced graphene sheets with other functional metal oxides and thus to access a variety of graphene-based multifunctional nanocomposites in the form of macroscopic hydrogels or aerogels.

The electroreduction of water for sustainable hydrogen production is a critical component of several developing clean-energy technologies, such as water splitting and fuel cells. However, finding a cheap and efficient alternative catalyst to replace currently used platinum-based catalysts is still a prerequisite for the commercialization of these technologies. Here we report a robust and highly active catalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction that is constructed by in situ growth of molybdenum disulfide on the surface of cobalt diselenide. In acidic media, the molybdenum disulfide/cobalt diselenide catalyst exhibits fast hydrogen evolution kinetics with onset potential of −11 mV and Tafel slope of 36 mV per decade, which is the best among the non-noble metal hydrogen evolution catalysts and even approaches to the commercial platinum/carbon catalyst. The high hydrogen evolution activity of molybdenum disulfide/cobalt diselenide hybrid is likely due to the electrocatalytic synergistic effects between hydrogen evolution-active molybdenum disulfide and cobalt diselenide materials and the much increased catalytic sites.

Bimetallic metal-organic frameworks are rationally synthesized as templates and employed for porous carbons with retained morphology, high graphitization degree, hierarchical porosity, high surface area, CoNx moiety and uniform N/Co dopant by pyrolysis. The optimized carbon with additional phosphorus dopant exhibits excellent electrocatalytic performance for the oxygen reduction reaction, which is much better than the benchmark Pt/C in alkaline media.

It is highly desirable to convert CO2 to valuable fuels or chemicals by means of solar energy, which requires CO2 enrichment around photocatalysts from the atmosphere. Here we demonstrate that a porphyrin-involved metal-organic framework (MOF), PCN-222, can selectively capture and further photoreduce CO2 with high efficiency under visible-light irradiation. Mechanistic information gleaned from ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy (combined with time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy) has elucidated the relationship between the photocatalytic activity and the electron-hole separation efficiency. The presence of a deep electron trap state in PCN-222 effectively inhibits the detrimental, radiative electron-hole recombination. As a direct result, PCN-222 significantly enhances photocatalytic conversion of CO2 into formate anion compared to the corresponding porphyrin ligand itself. This work provides important insights into the design of MOF-based materials for CO2 capture and photoreduction.

Carbon-based aerogels, composed of interconnected threedimensional (3D) networks, have attracted intensive attention because of their unique physical properties, such as low density, high electrical conductivity, porosity, and specific surface area. [1][2][3] As a result, carbon-based aerogels are promising materials used as catalyst supports, [4] artificial muscles, [5] electrodes for supercapacitors, [6] absorbents, [7] and gas sensors. [8] Especially, ultralight or flexible carbon-based aerogels have many potential applications. For example, ultralight nitrogen-doped graphene framework, used as an absorbent for organic liquids or the active electrode material, exhibits a high absorption capacity and specific capacitance; [9] stretchable conductors, fabricated by infiltrating flexible graphene foam with elastic polymers, show high stability of electronic conductivity even under high stretching and bending strain. [10] Traditionally, to fabricate carbon aerogels, resorcinolformaldehyde organic aerogels were pyrolyzed in an inert atmosphere to form a highly cross-linked carbon structure. [11,12] The carbon aerogels always have a high density (100-800 mg cm À3 ) [11,13] and tend to break under compression. Carbon nanotube (CNT) sponges, [7] graphene foam, [10] and CNT forests [14] have been prepared through chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Meanwhile, CNTs and graphene can be employed as building blocks and assembled into macroscopic 3D architectures. [15][16][17][18] However, the harmful and expensive precursors or complex equipments involved in these syntheses dramatically hamper the large-scale production of these carbon-based aerogels for industry application. Recently, we have developed a template-directed hydrothermal carbonization process for synthesis of carbonaceous nanofiber hydrogels/aerogels on macroscopic scale by using glucose as precursors. [19] However, the use of expensive nanowire templates in this synthesis pushes us to explore a facile, economic, and environmentally friendly method to produce carbon-based nanostructured aerogels.Nowadays, there is a trend to produce carbon-based materials from biomass materials, as they are very cheap, easy to obtain, and nontoxic to humans, etc. [20] Bacterial cellulose (BC), a typical biomass material, is composed of interconnected networks of cellulose nanofibers, [21,22] and can be produced in large amounts in a microbial fermentation process. [22] Recently, we reported a highly conductive and stretchable conductor, fabricated from BC, shows great electromechanical stability under stretching and bending strain. [23] Herein, we report a facile route to produce ultralight, flexible, and fire-resistant carbon nanofiber (CNF) aerogels in large scale from BC pellicles. When used as absorbents, the CNF aerogels can absorb a wide range of organic solvents and oils with excellent recyclability and selectivity. The absorption capacity can reach up to 310 times the weight of the pristine CNF aerogels. Besides, the electrical conductivity of the CNF aerogel is highly s...