There is a great challenge to employ an electrocatalyst that has high efficiency, is earth-abundant, and is a non-noble metal for oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Herein, we reported a low-cost and highly efficient OER catalyst, Fe-doped NiCoP nanosheet arrays in situ grown on nickel foam (NiCoFeP/NF), which was synthesized via a simple and mild hydrothermal and phosphorization method. In 1 M KOH solution, the as-prepared NiCoFeP/NF produces a larger current density of 200 mA·cm–2 at a low overpotential of 271 mV and exhibits a low Tafel slope of 45 mV·dec–1, which is superior to commercial RuO2. The outstanding OER performance of the as-prepared NiCoFeP/NF can be attributed to the synergetic effects among Fe, Ni, and Co elements, unique nanosheet arrays structure, and the great intrinsic electrocatalytic activity. On the basis of the above factors, the as-prepared NiCoFeP/NF may work as a promising OER electrocatalyst.

Fundamentals and future perspectives on artificial N2 fixation over bismuth-based photocatalysts have been discussed.

MoS2 with a similar layered structure to graphene has been widely applied in various areas including lithium ion batteries. However, low conductivity, capacity fading and poor rate performance are still the main challenges for MoS2 anode materials. In this work, for the first time, we prepared nitrogen-doped MoS2 (N-MoS2) nanosheets through a simple two-step method involving the preparation of MoS2 with defects by the hydrothermal method, followed by sintering in a NH3 atmosphere. Our electrochemical characterizations and density functional theory calculations demonstrated that nitrogen doping could enhance the electron conductivity and showed higher specific capacity than pristine MoS2 as anode materials of lithium ion batteries, which can be attributed to the faster transportation of electrons and ions because of nitrogen doping. This work helps us understand the origin of the enhanced performance of N-doped MoS2 in lithium ion batteries.

Solar‐powered N2 reduction in aqueous solution is becoming a research hotspot for ammonia production. Schottky junctions at the metal/semiconductor interface have been effective to build up a one‐way channel for the delivery of photogenerated electrons toward photoredox reactions. However, their applications for enhancing the aqueous phase reduction of N2 to ammonia have been bottlenecked by the difficulty of N2 activation and the competing H2 evolution reaction (HER) at the metal surface. Herein, the application of Bi with low HER activity as a robust cocatalyst for constructing Schottky‐junction photocatalysts toward N2 reduction to ammonia is reported. The introduction of Bi not only boosts the interfacial electron transfer from excited photocatalysts due to the built‐in Schottky‐junction effect at the Bi/semiconductor interface but also synchronously facilitates the on‐site N2 adsorption and activation toward solar ammonia production. The unidirectional charge transfer to the active site of Bi significantly promotes the photocatalytic N2‐to‐ammonia conversion efficiency by 65 times for BiOBr. In addition, utilizing Bi to enhance the photocatalytic ammonia production can be extended to other semiconductor systems. This work is expected to unlock the promise of engineering Schottky junctions toward high‐efficiency solar N2‐to‐ammonia conversion in aqueous phase.

MXenes, as an emerging family of two-dimensional (2D) materials, possess excellent conductivity, abundant hydrophilic surface groups, and high proportional redox-active transition metals, which have been a focused research hotspot recently....

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O2 plasma treatment could generate electronegative oxygen functional groups such as –COOH and –OH on the separator to restrain the shuttle effect of polysulfide intermediates in Li–S battery.

2D titanium carbide (Ti 3 C 2 T x ) MXene films, with their well-defined microstructures and chemical functionality, provide a macroscale use of nano-sized Ti 3 C 2 T x flakes. Ti 3 C 2 T x films have attractive physicochemical properties favorable for device design, such as high electrical conductivity (up to 20 000 S cm -1 ), impressive volumetric capacitance (1500 F cm -3 ), strong in-plane mechanical strength (up to 570 MPa), and a high degree of flexibility. Here, the appealing features of Ti 3 C 2 T x -based films enabled by the layer-to-layer arrangement of nanosheets are reviewed. We devote attention to the key strategies for actualizing desirable characteristics in Ti 3 C 2 T x -based functional films, such as high and tunable electrical conductivity, outstanding mechanical properties, enhanced oxidation-resistance and shelf life, hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity, adjustable porosity, and convenient processability. This review further discusses fundamental aspects and advances in the applications of Ti 3 C 2 T x -based films with a focus on illuminating the relationship between the structural features and the resulting performances for target applications. Finally, the challenges and opportunities in terms of future research, development, and applications of Ti 3 C 2 T x -based films are suggested. A comprehensive understanding of these competitive features and challenges shall provide guidelines and inspiration for the further development of Ti 3 C 2 T x -based functional films, and contribute to the advances in MXene technology.