A novel solar ultraviolet sensitive composite film, which can be coloured and bleached by photoreduction and air oxidation processes, has been readily prepared using fluorescent polyoxometalate and viologen.

The pursuit of cost-effective and efficient solid-state electrolytes is a persistent objective for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Herein, we present the experimental design of iodide/triiodide (I À /I 3 À )-incorporated poly(ethylene oxide)/polyaniline (PEO/PANi) solid-state electrolytes, aiming at expanding the catalytic event of I 3 À reduction from the electrolyte/counter electrode interface to both the interface and electrolyte system and shortening the charge diffusion path length. Except for I À species, the conjugated PANi is also responsible for dye regeneration and hole transfer to the counter electrode. A DSSC with (I À /I 3 À )-incorporated PEO/1.0 wt% PANi electrolyte yields a maximum efficiency of 6.1% in comparison with 0.8% obtained from a PANi-free electrolyte-based solar cell and 0.1% for a PANi-based solar cell.View Article Online À )-incorporated PEO/1.0 wt% PANi solid electrolyte. The schematic sketch illustrates the electron migration routes along PANi chains from the Pt electrode and TiO 2 anode in a real solid-state DSSC. J. Mater. Chem. AThis journal is

The design, catalytic process, and property study of nanozymes are of importance for both fundamental research and application demand. Here, the peroxidase‐mimicking properties of a series of carbon dots (C‐dots) was systematically investigated and they were found to be probably closer to their natural counterparts, as compared to the known corresponding nanozymes. Firstly, four kinds of metal‐free and surface‐modulated C‐dots were bottom‐up fabricated using glucose, α‐cyclodextrin (CD), β‐CD, and γ‐CD as precursors, respectively, and their formation processes, structures, as well as surface chemistry were investigated. Secondly, in the peroxidase‐mimicking catalytic system, no hydroxyl radicals were produced, which indicates a different and special catalytic mode. By employing a joint experimental–theoretical study, a probable catalytic mechanism is proposed. Thirdly, the present C‐dots maintained well their catalytic activity even in complicated serum matrices because their catalytic performances are completely irrelevant of any cation‐related binding sites. Finally, the catalytic performances of the as‐prepared C‐dots were modulated by either pre‐engineering NP surface structures or subsequently introducing photo‐regulated host–guest reactions.

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