Lithium metal is a promising anode material for high-energy-density batteries; however, its practical applications are significantly hindered by unstable lithium deposition and dendrite growth at the solid electrolyte interface. Functional protective coatings on lithium metal surfaces offer a viable solution to these challenges. Herein, an innovative adaptive protective layer for lithium metal anodes based on a thiourea H-bonded supramolecular polymer is developed for the first time. With dense thiourea H-bonding, the lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI) incorporated poly(ether-thiourea) protective layer shows strong adhesion to the lithium metal surface and good adaptive properties. The unique viscoelastic and flow characteristics of the poly(ether-thiourea) coating facilitate uniform Li⁺ flux, effectively suppressing dendrite formation at the solid electrolyte interface. Furthermore, this innovative polymer integrates in situ generated compounds, such as Li₃N and Li₂O, significantly enhancing interfacial stability. A comprehensive analysis involving X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray tomography, and COMSOL simulations elucidates the beneficial effects of the adaptive coating. Enhanced performances in Li||Cu, Li ||Li, Li||LiFePO₄, and Li||S cells demonstrate the effectiveness of the poly(ether-thiourea) coating and its undeniable capability to improve lithium deposition and cycling stability. This study highlights a promising new candidate for developing supramolecular materials capable of stabilizing lithium metal anodes.

As an earth-abundant and natural biopolymer, cellulose has received significant attention in aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) due to its inherent sustainability and non-toxicity, aligning perfectly with the core advantages of AZIBs. Nevertheless, the practical implementation of cellulose-based materials is limited by their intrinsically low ionic conductivity. Herein, we introduce a novel zincophilic artificial protective layer by strategically hybridizing hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) with zinc trifluoromethanesulfonate on a zinc metal anode (HZ@Zn). Characterization and calculations demonstrate that the multi-hydroxyl architecture of HPC constructs hydrogen bond networks, whereas the Zn²⁺-coordinated HPC domains function as preferential nucleation sites for zinc deposition. These interactions collectively enhance ion transport and accelerate desolvation kinetics. Additionally, the hybrid layer's mechanical flexibility and interfacial adhesion ensure the integrity of the artificial protective layer during long cycling. Thanks to this synergistic effect, HZ@Zn shows exceptional electrochemical performance, including a low desolvation activation energy of 14.38 kJ mol⁻¹ and ultra-long cycling stability. Symmetric cells demonstrate exceptional longevity, exceeding 9,500 h at 0.5 mA cm⁻²/0.25 mAh cm⁻², whereas HZ@Zn‖PANI full cells maintain 89.8% capacity retention after 4000 cycles at 5 A g⁻¹. This study establishes biopolymers as versatile platforms for effectively stabilizing the zinc metal anode.

Rational design of non-noble electrocatalysts with high performance for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) still remains a challenge. In this study, a ZIF-derived electrocatalyst (Co@Fe-P) with a core-shell structure is designed by using Co-compounds as the core and {\text{PO}}_4^{3-} decorated Fe-compounds as the shell. The inner Co-core and outer Fe-shell are connected through Co─O─Fe and Fe─O─P linkage. The Co@Fe-P electrocatalyst exhibits an enhanced performance for OER with a low overpotential (280 mV), low Tafel slope (41.9 mV dec⁻¹) at 10 mA cm⁻², and a 60-h durability. The electron transfer from the CoOOH-core to the FeOOH-shell is greatly facilitated, which improves the OER activity of Co@Fe-P kinetically. Theoretical calculations indicate that the interaction of Co─O─Fe and Fe─O─P in Co@Fe-P reduces the overlap between the O 2p and Fe 3d orbitals, which greatly facilitates the transformation from *OH to *O during the OER process via the adsorbate evolution mechanism (AEM) pathway. This finding provides insight for the design of efficient electrocatalysts for OER.

As a type of emerging electro-mechanical conversion technology, triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) were widely applied in high-entropy energy harvesting, Internet of Things sensing, and biomedical fields due to the characteristics of lightweight, cheap, and high voltage. Among them, the rotating TENG has been extensively researched for its advantages, such as high-precision electrical signals, high electro-mechanical conversion efficiency, and effective output power. In this paper, the working mechanisms of four different rotating TENG modes were introduced in detail. Subsequently, a large amount of research works on the strengthening performance of rotating TENGs were comprehensively introduced and summarized by three gradient classifications. In addition, in view of the many applications of rotating TENGs, they were also systematically divided and generalized into three dimensions. Finally, the problems as well as challenges faced by the current rotating TENG research in the above 16 specific research directions were deeply analyzed, and the possible development directions and the solutions to the above problems were reasonably prospected in the next years. This review hopes to effectively promote the progress of rotating TENG on the road to commercialization.

The demand for high-temperature electromagnetic wave absorption (EWA) materials has significantly increased alongside advancements in aerospace and communication technologies. Although traditional magnetic absorbers, such as ferrites and metal powders, show excellent magnetic loss performance at room temperature, they have significant limitations in harsh environments due to their high density, low Curie temperature, and susceptibility to oxidation. In contrast, carbon-containing materials have emerged as promising candidates for high-temperature EWA applications, owing to their high melting point, low density, tunable dielectric loss mechanisms, and superior thermal stability. Unlike magnetic materials, carbon-based systems primarily dissipate electromagnetic energy through conductance loss, dipole polarization, and interfacial polarization, thereby avoiding performance degradation at elevated temperatures. However, several critical challenges remain, including insufficient oxidation resistance, mechanical reliability issues, and the need for stable impedance matching. To address these limitations, recent strategies such as defect engineering, heterointerface construction, and metamaterial design have been proposed to enhance thermal stability and functional performance. This review provides a systematic summary of recent advances in carbon-containing absorbers, with a focus on dielectric loss mechanisms, optimization strategies, and multiscale structural design principles. By elucidating the structure–property relationships of carbon materials, carbide ceramics, and novel carbon hybrids, this study aims to offer theoretical and technical guidance for the development of advanced high-temperature electromagnetic wave absorbers, thereby promoting their practical applications in aerospace and telecommunications.

Hard carbon (HC) is a promising anode candidate for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs), yet its application is plagued by unstable interfaces and poor long-term cyclability. Herein, we develop a facile solvent evaporation strategy to synthesize ultrathin Al₂O₃-coated biomass-derived HC (GSC-Al₂O₃-3%). The conformal Al₂O₃ layer passivates defects and micropores, suppresses side reactions, and promotes the formation of a robust organic–inorganic hybrid solid electrolyte interphase. Comprehensive characterizations, including in situ X-ray diffraction, ex situ Raman spectra, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, time of flight secondary ion mass spectrometry, solid-state ²⁷Al nuclear magnetic resonance, and atomic force microscope modulus mapping, demonstrate that Al₂O₃ actively participates in SEI reconstruction, enhancing the chemical and mechanical stability. Electrochemical tests reveal that the optimized GSC-Al₂O₃-3% anode delivers 91% capacity retention after 1000 cycles at 1.0 A g⁻¹, and possesses excellent wide-temperature tolerance (149.3 mAh g⁻¹ at −30°C and 286.8 mAh g⁻¹ at 60°C). Mechanistic studies confirm a synergistic Na⁺ storage process involving “adsorption–intercalation–pore filling,” while density functional theory calculations and electrostatic potential mapping reveal that Al₂O₃ coating regulates interfacial charge distribution and reduces Na⁺ migration barriers. A full cell paired with a NaNi_0.5Fe_0.5MnO₄ cathode exhibits a high initial capacity of 395.7 mAh g⁻¹ and outstanding cycling stability (200 cycles). This work provides fundamental mechanistic insights into interfacial engineering of HC and establishes a cost-effective, scalable route for the next generation high-performance SIBs.

Sintering and coking are critical barriers to achieving high performance in dry reforming of methane (DRM) catalysts. A finely dispersed and thermostable Ni-based catalyst is the key to address these issues. By leveraging the intrinsic superiorities of high-entropy oxides in high-temperature stability and low atomic diffusivity, in this study, a highly dispersed Ni-based catalyst is synthesized via an entropy-controlled exsolution of active components. By increasing the number of transition-metal elements in spinel oxides, the active metal-support interaction (MSI) can be continuously strengthened, which controls the exsolution and thermal stability of Ni-based active metal in harsh reaction conditions of DRM. An optimized medium-entropy spinel (Mg_0.4Ni_0.2Co_0.2Zn_0.2)Al₂O₄ with the exsolution of finely dispersed Ni–Co nanoparticles displayed superior activity and stability in thermal DRM at 800°C and photothermal DRM. This entropy-controlled MSI and exsolution principle provides a significant strategy for designing robust catalysts resistant to sintering and coking for high-temperature reactions like DRM in thermal and photothermal systems.

Density functional theory (DFT) has helped propel the advance of electrocatalysis in the past two decades. In view of its massive use, it is worth asking how reliable DFT is for the prediction of adsorption energies, which are paramount in computational electrocatalysis models. Here, we provide an experimental-computational approach to break down overall adsorption-energy errors into separate gas-phase and adsorbed-phase contributions. The method is evaluated using experimental data and various exchange-correlation functionals and materials for C- and O-containing species. Our main conclusion is that no functional is simultaneously accurate for adsorbates and molecules, as adsorbed-phase errors are visibly different from gas-phase errors. Importantly, total, gas-phase, and adsorbed-phase errors are correlated, revealing intrinsic DFT limitations and enabling the elaboration of swift correction routines. To illustrate the benefits of our approach, we deconvolute and correct all errors in CO₂ electroreduction to CO and find an agreement with experiments close to chemical accuracy for numerous transition-metal electrodes and all scrutinized functionals.

Conversion-alloy-type anodes have attracted considerable attention in potassium-ion batteries due to their high theoretical capacities, but the inferior stability hinders their potential applications. Generally, the failure mechanism of conversion-alloy anodes is ascribed to volume expansion or the shuttle effect, which, however, fails to adequately explain their characteristic electrochemical behavior: an initial rapid drop and then a gradual decline in capacity. Herein, by combining electrochemical characterizations with multi-scale microscopies, spectroscopy, and theoretical calculations, we systematically analyze the failure mechanism of Bi₂Te₃, a typical conversion-alloy anode. The failure processes and mechanisms are identified into two stages: (1) the rapid capacity fading dominated by the shuttle effect in the first several cycles and (2) the gradual material deactivation and capacity decline due to solid-electrolyte interphase accumulation in the following cycles. Furthermore, in response to these failure mechanisms, an elaborate design of Bi₂Te₃-based electrode featuring ultrafine nanoparticles and carbon encapsulation is presented, which exhibits prominent capability in avoiding the above negative effects and substantially enhancing cycling stability. This study reveals the failure mechanism of conversion-alloy anode throughout its entire life cycle, and the gained insight may lead to targeted optimization strategies for stable high-capacity electrodes.

Regulating the microenvironment of the support enables precise control of electronic metal–support interactions (EMSI), boosting better catalytic activity of the metal species. However, the fundamental relationship between support defect-induced EMSI modulation and the resulting catalytic performance enhancement still needs further elucidation. Herein, a nonequilibrium high-temperature shock (HTS) method, which combines rapid high-temperature heating at 1273 K for 30 s with liquid nitrogen quenching, was adopted to load uniform Pt nanoparticles onto the nitrogen vacancy-rich TiN support (Pt@TiN-V_N). The catalyst demonstrates a high mass activity of 15.99 A mg_Pt⁻¹ at an overpotential of 100 mV for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in acidic solution and exhibits long-term stability for 60 h at 200 mA cm⁻². Detailed spectroscopic characterizations and theoretical calculations reveal that the generated nitrogen vacancies can effectively modulate the charge transfer between Pt nanoparticles and the TiN-V_N support, leading to a downshifted d-band center of metallic Pt and optimized Pt–H bond strength. This nonequilibrium HTS approach offers new and valuable insights into designing advanced electrocatalysts by harnessing substrate defects to modulate the electronic states of loaded noble metals.

Defect engineering serves as a cornerstone in the design of high-efficiency single-atom catalysts (SACs) for advanced electrocatalytic systems. This study demonstrates oxygen vacancy-induced near-zero-valent Pt SACs anchored on TiO₂ for efficient hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Synchrotron spectroscopy and density functional theory calculation reveal that oxygen vacancies create unconventional Pt–Ti coordination while strengthening electronic metal-support interactions. This facilitates substantial electron transfer from TiO₂ to Pt, generating a near-zero-valent Pt state with elevated electron density. The modified electronic structure lowers the Pt d-band center, reducing hydrogen intermediate (*H) adsorption energy and optimizing HER kinetics. Moreover, ab initio molecular dynamics and in situ Raman spectra show that the negative charge accumulated at the Pt site promotes K⁺ enrichment at the interface, which enhances H–OH bond polarization and accelerates water dissociation kinetics. The resulting D-TiO₂/Pt SACs exhibit superior HER activity across acidic, neutral, and alkaline conditions, achieving low overpotentials of 40, 57, and 60 mV at 10 mA cm⁻², respectively. Additionally, its mass activities at the overpotential of 100 mV are 10.3, 33.9, and 20.9 times higher that of Pt/C, respectively. This study shows the key role of defect-mediated electronic engineering in tailoring SACs' valence states and catalytic functions, advancing sustainable hydrogen production through rational catalyst design.

The advancement of effective and stable non-precious metal-based catalysts for oxygen evolution reactions (OER) with a low-cost and simple technique is essential for the practical application of rechargeable zinc–air battery (ZAB). However, facilitating the deep reconstruction of electrocatalysts to form active species remains a significant challenge. Here, a simple two-step method composed of impregnation and carbonization process is proposed to synthesize N, S co-doped microcrystalline cellulose-derived carbon-supported nickel sulfide (Ni₃S₂) nanoparticles. The in situ Raman reveals that Fe substitution promotes the reconstruction of Ni₃S₂, accompanied by the cleavage of the Ni–S bond, leading to the deep reconstruction into (Ni,Fe)OOH (DR-(Ni,Fe)OOH) during the OER. Moreover, density functional theory calculations reveal that Fe substitution induces a downshift in the energy band structure, which lowers the energy barriers and thereby improves the kinetics of the OER. The generated DR-(Ni,Fe)OOH delivers a relatively low overpotential of 260 mV and superior durability for 50 h under OER condition. The ZAB incorporating DR-(Ni,Fe)OOH + Pt/C as the air cathode demonstrates superior efficiency and durability, achieving a peak power density of 188.3 mW cm⁻², a specific capacity of 811.1 mAh g⁻¹, and long-term stability exceeding 200 h.

Clean energy devices have the potential to change the world and avoid future energy crises. The development of new energy-efficient technologies helps reduce our dependence on limited fossil fuel resources. Hydrogen energy is the key to achieving clean energy transition goals. Proton exchange membrane fuel cells play a critical role. Research and development of new high-tech proton exchange membranes (PEMs) provide new horizons for the development of hydrogen energy. The use of carbon nanomaterials to improve PEM efficiency is one of the modern trends. The modification of modern membranes with fullerenes and their derivatives is an innovative strategy for increasing proton conductivity. This paper discusses the key principles of proton transport in PEMs modified with individual fullerenols, sulfofullerenes, carboxylated fullerenes, phosphofullerenes, and cianohydrofullerenes. The introduction of fullerene nanoparticles into polymer PEM induces an improvement in key properties. Summary information covers existing research on the use of fullerenes as nanoscale modifiers of proton-conducting materials. This review will help researchers to surpass the achieved results in the field of modern proton-conducting materials and stimulate the development of hydrogen energy.

Engineering the pore structure of biomass-derived activated carbons is critical for optimizing their performance in adsorption-based applications. This study demonstrates for the first time that washing hydrochars in solvents of different polarity before activation is a simple yet powerful strategy to tailor pore size distribution. Hydrochar is produced from spent coffee grounds via hydrothermal carbonization, followed by washing in various solvents and activation in KOH. This results in carbons with a very large surface area (∼2700 m²/g), and washing is demonstrated to significantly increase product yield. Furthermore, washing in non-polar or mixed-polarity solvents removes long-chain carboxylic acids and esters from the hydrochar, promoting the development of narrow micropores while suppressing mesopore formation. To illustrate the impact of this structural control of porous carbons, post-combustion CO₂ capture is investigated as a case study. Narrower pore size distribution enhances CO₂ uptake, significantly improving capacity from 2.8 mmol/g for unwashed samples to 3.8 mmol/g for acetone-washed samples. Interestingly, moderate pore size (9–12 Å) is shown to be optimal for CO₂:N₂ selectivity, while smaller pores result in lower selectivity due to stronger interactions between N₂ and the pore walls. These findings highlight the potential role of solvent washing in directing pore architecture of hydrochars for adsorption-based carbon capture technologies and beyond.

The development of electrocatalysts that both work effectively at industrial current density and resist chloride ion (Cl⁻) corrosion remains a key challenge for hydrogen production from Cl^--rich alkaline water. Herein, we report a CrO_x-engineered nickel-based oxide catalyst (FeCoCrO_x/NF) that achieves exceptional activity and stability through a dual-functional interfacial mechanism. Combing in situ Raman spectroscopy, ¹⁸O isotopic labeling, and electrochemical analysis, we demonstrate that the oxygen evolution reaction follows a lattice oxygen-mediated mechanism. The CrO_x layer selectively adsorbs hydroxide ions, forming a dynamic interfacial barrier that electrostatically repels Cl⁻ ingress, thereby mitigating Cl^- corrosion. Through enthalpy-based analysis, we demonstrate that electronic redistribution via Cr–O–Fe bonding increases the vacancy formation energy of Fe, thereby suppressing its dissolution. In alkaline electrolyte containing 0.5 M Cl⁻ (1.0 M KOH), the catalyst is operating continuously for 1400 h at an industrial current density of 1000 mA cm⁻². Furthermore, the catalyst retains 99.5% of its initial activity under fluctuating current density (100–1000 mA cm⁻²), demonstrating robustness required for industrial electrolyzers. This study establishes a paradigm for designing corrosion-resistant electrocatalysts through the synergistic modulation of interfacial ion selectivity and bulk lattice oxygen activation, advancing the application of green hydrogen production in Cl⁻-rich alkaline water.

Na₃V₂(PO₄)₃ (NVP) is a promising electrode material that exhibits magnetic anisotropy; however, the potential of this magnetic anisotropy to optimize battery performance has been largely unexplored. This study proposes a cost-effective and efficient method to induce the alignment of NVP along the (113) crystal plane by applying a vertical magnetic field during the slurry coating process, thereby enhancing its battery performance. Comprehensive structural characterizations and theoretical analysis elucidate the structure-activity relationship between the preferred crystal orientation and ion transport kinetics, facilitating the formation of more ordered Na⁺ deintercalation pathways in NVP electrodes. This alignment reduces electrode tortuosity, enhances interfacial compatibility, and substantially improves battery performance, particularly in terms of high-rate cycling capability. As a result, the magnetic-field-modulated NVP (NVP−M⊥) electrode exhibits a high capacity retention of 85.1% after 500 cycles at 5 C, significantly surpassing that of the pristine electrode. The NVP−M⊥ electrode also demonstrates considerable reversible capacity at 40 C and maintains excellent stability under high temperature and prolonged cycling conditions. Furthermore, superior battery performance is observed in the assembled NVP−M⊥||hard−carbon pouch cell and commercial NVP electrode following magnetic-field modulation, thereby validating the efficacy of this method. Consequently, this magnetic-field-induced crystal-orientation optimization strategy provides an innovative approach for low-cost and high-throughput preparation of high-performance sodium-ion batteries.