As a promising and important carbon source, utilization of carbon dioxide (CO2) can effectively solve the energy crisis caused by fossil resource consumption and the environmental problems arising from the emission of CO2.

The family of transition metal carbides, nitrides, and carbonitrides (collectively called MXenes) has been a thriving field since the first invention of Ti3C2Tx (MXene) in 2011. MXene is a new type of nanometer 2D sheet material, which exhibits great application potentials in various fields due to its multiple advantages such as high specific surface area, good electrical conductivity, and high mechanical strength. Electrocatalysis is regarded as the core of future clean energy conversion technologies, and MXene‐based materials provide inspiration for the design and preparation of electrocatalysts with high activity, high selectivity, and long loading life time. The applications of MXene‐based materials in electrocatalysis, including hydrogen evolution reaction, nitrogen reduction reaction, oxygen evolution reaction, oxygen reduction reaction, carbon dioxide reduction reaction, and methanol oxidation reaction are summarized in this review. As a crucial session regarding experiments, the current safer and more environmentally friendly preparation methods of MXene are also discussed. Focusing on the materials design and enhancement methods, the key challenges and opportunities for MXene‐based materials as a next‐generation platform in both fundamental research and practical electrocatalysis applications are presented. This account serves to promote future efforts toward the development of MXenes and related materials in the electrocatalysis applications.

Excavated polyhedral noble-metal materials that were built by the orderly assembly of ultrathin nanosheets have both large surface areas and well-defined facets, and therefore could be promising candidates for diverse important applications. In this work, excavated cubic Pt-Sn alloy nanocrystals (NCs) with {110} facets were constructed from twelve nanosheets by a simple co-reduction method with the assistance of the surface regulator polyvinylpyrrolidone. The specific surface area of the excavated cubic Pt-Sn NCs is comparable to that of commercial Pt black despite their larger particle size. The excavated cubic Pt-Sn NCs exhibited superior electrocatalytic activity in terms of both the specific area current density and the mass current density towards methanol oxidation.

Compared with the traditional Haber–Bosch process, electrochemical ammonia synthesis has attracted much attention owing to its low energy consumption, low pollution potential, and sustainability.

chnology.S he received her bachelor's degree from Jining university,P .R. China. Her research focuses on the electrocatalytic NH 3 synthesis at ambient conditions. Dr.T ingli Ma received her Ph.D. degree in 1999 from Department of Chemistry,F aculty of Science of Kyushu University,J apan. She then joined the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Te chnology (AIST,J apan) as aP ostdoctoral Researcher from 1999 to 2004. She worked as ap rofessor at the Dalian University of Te chnology from 2007-2018. She is working at the Graduate School of Life Science and Systems Engineering Kyushu Institute of Technology,J apan and China Jiliang University.S he leads research teams studying inorganic and organic solar cells, such as dye-sensitized and perovskite solar cells, and other related projects including development of catalysts, hydrogen production, functional dyes, and nano-sized semiconducting materials. Dr.M ah as published more than 200 papers in peer-reviewed journals. Figure 1. Schemeo fe lectrochemicalcell for NH 3 production by electrocatalytic NRR. [30] Published with permission. CopyrightE lsevier,2 018.

A Co-based MOF supported on Ti3C2 MXene was prepared via in situ growth, which can efficiently reduce nitrogen to ammonia under environmental conditions.

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The emergence of the new coronavirus (nCoV-19) has impacted human health on a global scale, while the interaction between the virus and the host is the foundation of the disease. The viral genome codes a cluster of proteins, each with a unique function in the event of host invasion or viral development. Under the current adverse situation, we employ virtual screening tools in searching for drugs and natural products which have been already deposited in DrugBank in an attempt to accelerate the drug discovery process. This study provides an initial evaluation of current drug candidates from various reports using our systemic in silico drug screening based on structures of viral proteins and human ACE2 receptor. Additionally, we have built an interactive online platform ( ) for browsing these results with the visual display of a small molecule docked on its potential target protein, without installing any specialized structural software. With continuous maintenance and incorporation of data from laboratory work, it may serve not only as the assessment tool for the new drug discovery but also an educational web site for the public.