Regulation of Relay Catalytic Mechanism for Efficient Methanol Oxidation Reaction.

The methanol oxidation reaction serves as a representative model for multistep catalytic processes involving diverse intermediates. Catalyst design strategies that spatially arrange discrete active sites, analogous to relay runners, facilitate the sequential activation of reaction steps, thereby enhancing overall catalytic efficiency compared to single-site catalysts. This approach effectively decouples complex reaction networks into a sequence of coordinated elementary steps, thereby enhancing the production efficiency of the target products.

Electrolyte Engineering for Rejuvenating Inactive Lithium and Constructing High-Performance Lithium Metal Batteries.

Lithium metal batteries with gel polymer electrolytes have garnered significant interest due to their high energy-density and enhanced safety. However, the persistent challenges of inactive lithium accumulation and the unstable solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) remain significant obstacles to their practical application. To mitigate these issues, a tiny amount of iodobenzene is employed as a source of triiodine/iodine ion (I /I) redox couple, exhibiting dual functionality in rejuvenating inactive lithium and simultaneously optimizing the SEI composition.

Tailoring dual-hydrophobic microenvironment for tandem CO/CO feedstock to enhance CO electroreduction on Cu-based catalysts.

Achieving high selectivity for value-added products in the electrochemical reduction of CO remains challenging due to severe hydrogen evolution, sluggish CO mass transport and low *CO coverage. Herein, we integrate aerophilic SiO and polymer-functionalized copper nanoparticles (Cu-poly) to construct a hierarchical-hydrophobic Cu-poly/SiO composite, which limits the accessibility of HO, improves the local concentration of CO and enhances the dimerization of *CO-*CO. Comprehensive investigation using X-ray absorption spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulations indicates that the polymer and SiO elevate the oxidation state of Cu species, enhance the CO diffusion coefficients (from 5.

Anchoring Nickel and Stabilizing Oxygen in Coherent LiNiO@LiFePO Composite Cathode Materials for Rechargeable Lithium-Ion Batteries.

LiNiO is an appealing cathode material for Li-ion batteries because of high energy density and low cost but suffers from irreversible phase transition and surface instability. Herein, a ball-milled LiNiO@LiFePO composite with oriented coherent combination is reported with enhanced structural stability and Li diffusion. The coherent oriented channels are demonstrated to favor the reversible and rapid Li intercalation during the H2-H3 phase transition, which significantly alleviates structural strain accumulation.

Tuning Surface Coordination Environment of NiN by Fluorine Modification for Efficient Methanol Electrooxidation Assisted Hydrogen Evolution.

Replacing the kinetically sluggish oxygen evolution reaction with the thermodynamically favorable methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) represents a promising strategy for energy-efficient hydrogen production. However, optimizing electrocatalytic performance in the coupled hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and MOR requires precise regulation of the electrochemical coordination environment and a fundamental understanding of activity origins, posing a significant challenge. Here, a scalable strategy is developed that harnesses the high electronegativity of fluorine (F) to tailor the coordination environment of NiN, enhancing HER kinetics.

Enabling High Reversibility of Both Cationic and Anionic Redox in Layered Oxide Cathodes via NiMn Superlattice Topology for Sodium-Ion Batteries.

High-voltage oxygen anionic redox provides a transformative opportunity to achieve high energy density of batteries. However, it is challenging to guarantee the reversibility of both cationic and anionic redox for layered transition metal (TM) oxide cathode materials due to the high oxygen-redox reactivity and the complex structural rearrangements. Herein, a honeycomb-layered NaNiLiMnO (NNLMO) cathode material with the NiMn and LiMn dual-topology superlattice is proposed for sodium-ion batteries.

Strong Dipole Inner Salt Molecule as Interface Ion Bridge for Rechargeable Aqueous Zn-Anode Batteries.

Aqueous electrolyte additives are effective to improve the Zn anode performance, but their structural effect on electric double layer and Zn plating remains elusive. By comparing several additives with varied compositions and polarities, we reveal that the dipole moment plays an important role in modulating the electrode interface, while zincophilic functional groups are crucial to Zn stripping/plating kinetics. A strongly dipolar inner salt, L-α-glycerylphosphorylcholine, is screened as a favorable additive to stabilize the hydrophobic surface of the Zn anode and act as a Zn-migration bridge for fast desolvation.

Bioengineering tools for next-generation neural organoids.

Human stem cell-derived neural organoids were recently introduced as powerful in vitro 3D experimental model systems that innately undergo critical steps of organogenesis in culture and exhibit molecular, cellular, and structural features similar to the fetal human nervous system. These organoids have yielded new insights into human neurodevelopment and associated disorders. However, neural organoids have some crucial limitations that arise from the loosely controlled conditions for their development, an inability to maintain their spatial orientation in culture and a lack of technologies for taking long-term measurements on their morphology and electrical activity.

Building electrode/electrolyte interphases in aqueous zinc batteries via self-polymerization of electrolyte additives.

Aqueous zinc batteries offer promising prospects for large-scale energy storage, yet their application is limited by undesired side reactions at the electrode/electrolyte interface. Here, we report a universal approach for the building of an electrode/electrolyte interphase (EEI) layer on both the cathode and the anode through the self-polymerization of electrolyte additives. In an exemplified Zn||VO·nHO cell, we reveal that the glutamate additive undergoes radical-initiated electro-polymerization on the cathode and polycondensation on the anode, yielding polyglutamic acid-dominated EEI layers on both electrodes.

Dissolution, solvation and diffusion in low-temperature zinc electrolyte design.

Aqueous zinc-based batteries have garnered the attention of the electrochemical energy storage community, but they suffer from electrolytes freezing and sluggish kinetics in cold environments. In this Review, we discuss the key parameters necessary for designing anti-freezing aqueous zinc electrolytes. We start with the fundamentals related to different zinc salts and their dissolution and solvation behaviours, by highlighting the effects of anions and additives on salt solubility, ion diffusion and freezing points.

Modulating Interfacial Solvation via Ion Dipole Interactions for Low-Temperature and High-Voltage Lithium Batteries.

Extending the stability of ether solvents is pivotal for developing low-temperature and high-voltage lithium batteries. Herein, we elucidate the oxidation behavior of tetrahydrofuran with ternary BF , PF and difluoro (oxalato) borate anions and the evolution of interfacial solvation environment. Combined in situ analyses and computations illustrate that the ion dipole interactions and the subsequent formation of ether-Li-anion complexes in electrolyte rearrange the oxidation order of solvated species, which enhances the electrochemical stability of ether solvent.

Eliminating Charge Transfer at Cathode-Electrolyte Interface for Ultrafast Kinetics in Na-Ion Batteries.

Sodium-ion batteries suffer from kinetic problems stemming from sluggish ion transport across the electrode-electrolyte interface, causing rapid energy decay during fast-charging or low-temperature operation. One exciting prospect to enhance kinetics is constructing neuron-like electrodes that emulate fast signal transmission in a nervous system. It has been considered that these bioinspired designs enhance electron/ion transport of the electrodes through carbon networks.

Rational Design of Diatomic Active Sites for Elucidating Oxygen Evolution Reaction Performance Trends.

Diatomic catalysts, especially those with heteronuclear active sites, have recently attracted significant attention for their advantages over single-atom catalysts in reactions with relatively high energy barrier, e.g. oxygen evolution reaction.

Advances in Noble Metal Electrocatalysts for Acidic Oxygen Evolution Reaction: Construction of Under-Coordinated Active Sites.

Renewable energy-driven proton exchange membrane water electrolyzer (PEMWE) attracts widespread attention as a zero-emission and sustainable technology. Oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts with sluggish OER kinetics and rapid deactivation are major obstacles to the widespread commercialization of PEMWE. To date, although various advanced electrocatalysts have been reported to enhance acidic OER performance, Ru/Ir-based nanomaterials remain the most promising catalysts for PEMWE applications.

Electrosynthesis of Transition Metal Coordinated Polymers for Active and Stable Oxygen Evolution.

Transition metal coordination polymers (TM-CP) are promising inexpensive and flexible electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction in water electrolysis, while their facile synthesis and controllable regulation remain challenging. Here we report an anodic oxidation-electrodeposition strategy for the growth of TM-CP (TM=Fe, Co, Ni, Cr, Mn; CP=polyaniline, polypyrrole) films on a variety of metal substrates that act as both catalyst supports and metal ion sources. An exemplified bimetallic NiFe-polypyrrole (NiFe-PPy) features superior mechanical stability in friction and exhibits high activity with long-term durability in alkaline seawater (over 2000 h) and anion exchange membrane electrolyzer devices at current density of 500 mA cm.

Sequentially Regulating Potential-Determining Step for Lowering CO Electroreduction Overpotential over Te-Doped Bi Nanotips.

Electrocatalytic conversion of CO into formate is recognized an economically-viable route to upgrade CO, but requires high overpotential to realize the high selectivity owing to high energy barrier for driving the involved proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) processes and serious ignorance of the second PCET. Herein, we surmount the challenge through sequential regulation of the potential-determining step (PDS) over Te-doped Bi (TeBi) nanotips. Computational studies unravel the incorporation of Te heteroatoms alters the PDS from the first PCET to the second one by substantially lowering the formation barrier for *OCHO intermediate, and the high-curvature nanotips induce enhanced electric field that can steer the formation of asymmetric *HCOOH.

Surface reconstruction of pyrite-type transition metal sulfides during oxygen evolution reaction.

Reconstruction universally occurs over non-layered transition metal sulfides (TMSs) during oxygen evolution reaction (OER), leading to the formation of active species metal (oxy)hydroxide and thus significantly influences the OER performance. However, the reconstruction process and underlying mechanism quantitatively remain largely unexplored. Herein, we proposed an electrochemical reaction mechanism, namely sulfide oxidation reaction (SOR), to elucidate the reconstruction process of pyrite-type TMSs.

Favoring CO Intermediate Stabilization and Protonation by Crown Ether for CO Electromethanation in Acidic Media.

The large-scale deployment of CO electroreduction is hampered by deficient carbon utilization in neutral and alkaline electrolytes due to CO loss into (bi)carbonates. Switching to acidic media mitigates carbonation, but suffers from low product selectivity because of hydrogen evolution. Here we report a crown ether decoration strategy on a Cu catalyst to enhance carbon utilization and selectivity of CO methanation under acidic conditions.

Directional electronic tuning of Ni nanoparticles by interfacial oxygen bridging of support for catalyzing alkaline hydrogen oxidation.

Metallic nickel (Ni) is a promising candidate to substitute Pt-based catalysts for hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR), but huge challenges still exist in precise modulation of the electronic structure to boost the electrocatalytic performances. Herein, we present the use of single-layer TiCT MXene to deliberately tailor the electronic structure of Ni nanoparticles via interfacial oxygen bridges, which affords Ni/TiCT electrocatalyst with exceptional performances for HOR in an alkaline medium. Remarkably, it shows a high kinetic current of 16.

Ozone containment through selective mitigation measures on precursors of volatile organic compounds.

Abatement of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) ozone reduction is usually carried out by reducing the total amount of VOCs without considering reactivity between different species. This study incorporates the concept of maximum incremental reactivity (MIR) and speciation profiles into the industrial emission inventory of Taiwan to target organic species from industrial sources with the greatest ozone formation potentials (OFPs). These high OFP sources/species are then mitigated to assess the O reduction amount (ΔO) with Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) modeling under VOC-limited conditions.

The influence of COVID-19 pandemic on PM air quality in Northern Taiwan from Q1 2020 to Q2 2021.

The study aimed to investigate the PM variations in different periods of COVID-19 control measures in Northern Taiwan from Quarter 1 (Q1) 2020 to Quarter 2 (Q2) 2021. PM sources were classified based on long-range transport (LRT) or local pollution (LP) in three study periods: one China lockdown (P1), and two restrictions in Taiwan (P2 and P3). During P1 the average PM concentrations from LRT (LRT-PM) were higher at Fuguei background station by 27.

Hollow Hierarchical Cu O-Derived Electrocatalysts Steering CO Reduction to Multi-Carbon Chemicals at Low Overpotentials.

The electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide into multi-carbon products (C ) using renewably generated electricity provides a promising pathway for energy and environmental sustainability. Various oxide-derived copper (OD-Cu) catalysts have been showcased, but still require high overpotential to drive C production owing to sluggish carbon-carbon bond formation and low CO intermediate (*CO) coverage. Here, the dilemma is circumvented by elaborately devising the OD-Cu morphology.

Realizing High Capacity and Zero Strain in Layered Oxide Cathodes via Lithium Dual-Site Substitution for Sodium-Ion Batteries.

Sodium-ion batteries have garnered unprecedented attention as an electrochemical energy storage technology, but it remains challenging to design high-energy-density cathode materials with low structural strain during the dynamic (de)sodiation processes. Herein, we report a P2-layered lithium dual-site-substituted NaLi[MgLiMn]O (NMLMO) cathode material, in which Li ions occupy both transition-metal (TM) and alkali-metal (AM) sites. The combination of theoretical calculations and experimental characterizations reveals that Li creates Na-O-Li electronic configurations to boost the capacity derived from the oxygen anionic redox, while Li serves as LiO prismatic pillars to stabilize the layered structure through suppressing the detrimental phase transitions.

Dual-Function Presodiation with Sodium Diphenyl Ketone towards Ultra-stable Hard Carbon Anodes for Sodium-Ion Batteries.

Hard carbon (HC) is a promising anode material for sodium-ion batteries, yet still suffers from low initial Coulombic efficiency (ICE) and unstable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI). Herein, sodium diphenyl ketone (Na-DK) is applied to realize dual-function presodiation for HC anodes. It compensates the irreversible Na uptake at the oxygen-containing functional groups and reacts with carbon defects of five/seven-membered rings for quasi-metallic sodium in HC.