The pursuit of efficient solar-to-hydrogen conversion is often hindered by sluggish charge carrier dynamics in semiconductor photocatalysts. Although S-scheme heterojunctions offer an appealing electronic structure for charge separation, their performance in organic systems is typically limited by weak interfacial contacts. Herein, we report a molecularly precise solution: a covalently bonded all-organic S-scheme heterojunction (B-CNx@Py-CN) constructed via a scalable one-pot Suzuki–Miyaura coupling strategy. This architecture integrates donor and acceptor (D–A) polymers into a continuous π-conjugated framework, creating a powerful built-in electric field and enhanced dipole moment that synergistically drive the directional separation of photogenerated electron–hole pairs. The optimal catalyst, B-CN2@Py-CN, achieves a remarkable hydrogen evolution rate of 27.90 mmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹ under visible light and an apparent quantum yield of 14.90% at 420 nm without any co-catalyst, outperforming its pristine components and physical mixture by factors of up to 1395, 73, and 26, respectively. A combination of spectroscopic analyses and theoretical calculations elucidates that the covalent interfacial bonds serve as atomic-level charge transport channels, enabling efficient S-scheme charge transfer. This work establishes covalent interfacial engineering as a powerful strategy for designing high-performance polymer photocatalysts, providing a new paradigm for sustainable hydrogen production.

Glycerol, a major byproduct of biodiesel production, is generated in significant excess, leading to a sharp decrease in its market value and underscoring the urgent need for efficient valorization strategies. The glycerol electrooxidation reaction (GEOR) has emerged as a promising electrocatalytic pathway for converting low-cost glycerol into high-value chemicals, offering a sustainable route for biomass upgrading while advancing energy-efficient electrochemical conversion and green synthesis. This review provides a comprehensive summary of recent advances in GEOR research, focusing on the rational design of high-performance electrocatalysts, optimization of electrolytic environments, and mechanistic elucidation of reaction pathways. These insights collectively aim to inform the development of GEOR systems with high current density, selectivity, Faradaic efficiency, and operational stability. The synergistic integration of GEOR with complementary reactions—including hydrogen evolution, CO₂ reduction, and nitrate reduction is also examined. Furthermore, the potential of flow electrolyzers to mitigate mass-transport limitations and enhance overall reaction efficiency is highlighted. A techno-economic analysis is presented to assess the industrial feasibility and economic competitiveness of emerging GEOR technologies. Finally, this review identifies key challenges and outlines future research directions intended to accelerate the transition of GEOR from fundamental studies to practical, scalable applications.

Stabilizing palladium in its oxidized state under reducing reaction atmospheres remains a significant challenge. To address this, we developed a tailored-defect strategy using sequential high-temperature calcination and acetylacetone treatment. This approach introduces framework defects into the NaY zeolite while simultaneously suppressing the formation of strong acid sites, thereby avoiding the associated decrease in product selectivity. The modified Pd/NaY catalyst featuring an optimal defect density exhibits significantly improved stability compared to a reference Pd/NaY, maintaining 97.3% ± 0.9% CO conversion and 76% ± 3.4% selectivity for over 150 h in the indirect oxidative carbonylation of methanol to dimethyl carbonate. This stable catalyst, characterized by a turnover frequency (TOF) of 0.11 s⁻¹ and an average Pd cluster size of 1.6 nm, derives its durability from the framework defects. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and in situ infrared (IR) spectroscopy reveal that defects, manifesting as Si–OH and Al–OH groups, act as effective anchoring sites that inhibit Pd sintering. Furthermore, X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) demonstrate that these sites facilitate electron transfer from Pd to the zeolite framework, generating electron-deficient Pd species. It is these defect-stabilized Pd²⁺ active sites that are ultimately responsible for the exceptionally enhanced catalytic stability observed for dimethyl carbonate synthesis.

Flexible pressure sensors hold broad application prospects in electronic skin, human–machine interaction, and health monitoring. However, most existing pressure sensors exhibit limited sensitivity and ranges, which cannot meet the diverse requirements for pressure measurement accuracy and ranges in various application scenarios. To address this issue, we have designed and fabricated a novel rechargeable quasi-solid-state zinc-ion battery-based flexible pressure sensor (QZIB-FPS). This sensor incorporates a flexible zinc-ion hydrogel as the sensing layer, with the zinc-ion battery itself functioning as a pressure sensor. An interlayer is introduced into the quasi-solid-state battery to enable the conversion of mechanical pressure signals into electrical signals. By modifying the isolation layer, the pressure response range and sensitivity of the sensor can be tuned, achieving a maximum sensitivity of 402.9 mV kPa⁻¹. Among the tested configurations, the sensor using mesoporous acrylonitrile as the interlayer exhibits a short response and recovery time, as well as excellent stability. Moreover, the integrated design of this sensor also demonstrates superior charging and discharging performance, highlighting its potential for high integration and miniaturization. This study provides a novel strategy for the development of high-performance sensors in future self-powered smart wearable electronics.

Moisture electricity generators (MEGs) offer a promising route for harvesting energy from ambient humidity, yet their long-term operation is fundamentally limited by ion-concentration-gradient saturation, which induces reverse potential formation and performance decay. Recently, a photon-assisted moisture electricity generator that overcomes this bottleneck through a light–moisture coupling strategy is reported. By integrating a photosensitive layer with a proton-transport hydrogel and a moisture-adsorbing layer, photogenerated carriers continuously consume accumulated protons under illumination, dynamically reconstructing the ion concentration gradient during operation. This mechanism enables a transition from transient output to long-term steady-state power generation, achieving more than a threefold increase in power density. Beyond improving device performance, this work establishes a general framework for actively regulating ion gradients in hydrovoltaic systems and points toward sustainable, nonsacrificial strategies for next-generation MEGs.

Mn-based catalysts are the most promising catalysts for low-temperature NH₃-SCR, but improving N₂ selectivity still faces great challenges. Herein, the tubular structure TiO₂–SO₄²⁻/MnSm assembled from nanosheets was developed, which exhibited superior NO removal efficiency and outstanding N₂ selectivity over a wide operation temperature window in NH₃-SCR. It was experimentally proven that sulfation treatment disturbs the lattice of TiO₂ to effectively promote the generation of oxygen vacancies and raise the proportion of weak acid sites. In addition, Sm modification greatly improved the dispersion of active species and enhanced the metal–support interaction, which promoted the interfacial electron transfer to modulate the activation capacity of NH₃ to reduce the generation of N₂O. Importantly, DFT calculations and in situ DRIFTS revealed that the generation of N₂O originated from the over-oxidation of NH₃ and non-selective catalytic reduction via E–R or L–H mechanism, which required higher Gibbs free energy on catalyst TiO₂–SO₄²⁻/MnSm. This work highlights a new insight into improving the N₂ selectivity of Mn-based catalysts in NH₃-SCR.

Photocatalysis offers a promising solution to environmental and renewable energy issues. However, the efficiency of photocatalysis depends critically on the efficient bulk and surface separation of photoexcited charge carriers, which largely hinders its development for practical applications. Developing effective photocatalysts in photocatalytic systems is pivotal to achieving high efficiency. In recent years, many methods have emerged to improve the separation and transmission efficiency of photogenerated carriers on the surface, in the bulk, and at the interface of photocatalysts, which remain to be fully examined and are the focus of this article. Following this introduction, section 2 concisely introduces the kinetics and mechanisms of charge carrier separation and transport. Then, the characterization methods of carrier separation and transport are reviewed. The following section describes in detail the strategies to enhance bulk carrier separation and transport, including spontaneous polarization, the application of external driving force, and the introduction of internal driving forces. Furthermore, strategies to accelerate the separation and transport of photogenerated charge carriers on surfaces and interfaces are systematically outlined in the following sections. The last section summarizes the main challenges and some exciting prospects for future research on the separation and transport of photogenerated charge carriers in photocatalysts, which are considered to play a pivotal role in promoting the development of this important research field.

Urea synthesis by the electrochemical coupling of carbon-containing species (such as CO₂, CO, and HCOOH) with nitrogenous species (such as N₂, NO, NO₂⁻, and NO₃⁻) under ambient conditions has attracted increasing attention very currently, owing to its potential to advance carbon/nitrogen neutrality and mitigate environmental pollution. However, sluggish reactant adsorption, complex reaction pathways, and multiple competing side reactions severely limit the Faradaic efficiency and production rate toward urea electrosynthesis. Extensive efforts should be devoted to providing reasonable guidance for the development of highly active and selective electrocatalysts. To this end, the in-depth mechanisms of urea electrosynthesis are firstly reviewed in this review, including the C–N coupling and the hydrogenation pathways involved. Given the importance of in situ techniques in mimicking the realistic operating conditions for elucidating reaction mechanisms, we also summarize the principles and applications of commonly used advanced characterizations. Finally, the challenges and future perspectives for the electrochemical urea production via C–N coupling are further discussed.

Metal–sulfur batteries (M–S) are recognized as promising candidates for next-generation energy storage owing to their high theoretical specific energy, potential cost effectiveness, and environmental friendliness of earth-abundant sulfur. Nevertheless, they still face significant challenges, including the sluggish sulfur conversion dynamics, polysulfide shuttling, and metal dendrite growth. Recent findings reveal that electron spin control overcomes these obstacles via optimizing the efficiency of electrocatalytic M–S chemistry reactions. Therefore, understanding the electron spin's role and regulating it in electrocatalysts is important for enhanced M–S battery performance. In this review, we first discuss the fundamental principles of spin-driven sulfur conversion and metal deposition. Subsequently, we emphasize advanced strategies for regulating electron spin, involving defect manipulation, heterostructure modulation, single-atom engineering, and magnetic field regulation. We also summarize the relevant characterization techniques for identifying spin configuration changes. In addition, we review electron spin manipulation optimized M–S batteries, including lithium–sulfur (Li–S), room-temperature (RT) sodium–sulfur (Na–S), aluminum–sulfur (Al–S), and zinc–sulfur (Zn–S) batteries, offering specific examples and detailed discussion for improving battery application. Finally, this article offers insights into potential research directions in this emerging field, aiming to reveal underlying mechanisms of spin-state regulation in optimizing catalytic M–S chemistry and stimulate further investigations in spin-driven high-energy-density M–S battery applications.

Conventional industrial urea synthesis requires processes that operate under high-temperature and high-pressure conditions, which are energy-intensive and result in substantial environmental pollution. In contrast, photocatalytic C–N coupling has emerged as a promising green and sustainable alternative, enabling urea production from various carbon and nitrogen sources through co-reduction under ambient conditions. When powered by renewable energy, this approach holds significant potential to advance sustainable development and has consequently attracted increasing research interest in recent years. This review systematically summarizes recent advances in photocatalytic urea synthesis using diverse carbon sources (CO₂, CO, CH₃OH) and nitrogen sources (N₂, NH₃, NO₃⁻). Mechanistic insights into the C–N coupling pathways involved in these processes are discussed in this review, with the aim of guiding future research toward improving urea yield. Furthermore, the key challenges in photocatalytic urea synthesis are critically examined, along with potential strategies to address these limitations. Overall, this review aims to provide strategic guidance for the rational design of efficient photocatalysts and the development of advanced approaches to enhance the performance of photocatalytic urea production.