Photo-/electro-catalysis has the characteristics of low cost, high performance, and zero pollution, which meet the policies on environment and energy. Covalent organic frameworks (COFs), a type of crystalline organic skeleton polymers, have been widely applied and investigated in the area of photo-/electro-catalysis owing to their advantages of large specific surface area, regular pore size, excellent stability, flexible structural design, and massive active sites. This article reviews the structural characteristics of COFs and the strategies for strengthening the photo-/electro-catalytic activity of COF materials. Subsequently, deep insights were put into the photo-/electro-catalysis application of COF materials. In the end, the development prospects and challenges faced by COF materials in photo-/electro-catalysis are discussed.
Ammonia is a crucial raw ingredient used in the manufacturing of fertilizers and pharmaceuticals, which are major sectors of the national economy in the chemical and agricultural industries. The conventional Haber–Bosch method is still in use in the industry today to manufacture NH3, and the production process emits a significant quantity of CO2, which does not match the current standards for the achievement of carbon neutrality. The nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) technology has garnered a lot of attention lately because of its benefits, which include being environmentally friendly, sustainable, and able to function in mild environments. However, NRR is still in its early stages of development and confronts numerous difficult issues, including slow reaction kinetics, low ammonia yield rates and Faradaic efficiency (FE), and a dearth of effective research on nitrogen fixation as a whole. This paper aims to promote the industrialization of NRR, summarizing the progress of ironbased catalysts, including single atomic catalysts, organic frameworks, metal oxides the, and alloys. Eventually, this paper discusses the strategies for improving NH3 yield rates and FE, improving reaction kinetics, and building a sustainable overall nitrogen fixation system. The development of iron-based catalysts in other fields has also been prospected.
Conventional approaches for developing new materials may no longer be adequate to meet the urgent needs of humanity’s energy transition. The emergence of machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) has led materials scientists to recognize the potential of using AI/ML to accelerate the creation of new battery materials. Although fixed material properties have been extensively studied as descriptors to establish the link between AI and materials chemistry, they often lack versatility and accuracy due to a lack of understanding of the underlying mechanisms of AI/ML. Therefore, materials scientists need to have a comprehensive understanding of the operational mechanisms and learning logic of AI/ ML to design more accurate descriptors. This paper provides a review of previous research studies conducted on AI, ML, and descriptors, which have been used to address challenges at various levels, ranging from materials development to battery performance prediction. Additionally, it introduces the basics of AI and ML to assist materials and battery developers in comprehending their operational mechanisms. The paper demonstrates the significance of precise and suitable ML descriptors in the creation of new battery materials. It does so by providing examples, summarizing current descriptors and ML algorithms, and examining the potential implications of future AI advancements for the sustainable energy industry.
With the miniaturization and integration of electronic devices, developing advanced multifunctional phase change materials (PCMs) integrating thermal storage, thermal conduction, and microwave absorption to address electromagnetic interference, thermal dissipation, and instantaneous thermal shock is imperative. Herein, we proposed an extensible strategy to synthesize MOF-derived Co/C-anchored MoS2- based PCMs using high-temperature carbonation of flower-like MoS2 grown in situ by ZIF67 and vacuum impregnation of paraffin. The resulting MoS2@Co/C-paraffin composite PCMs exhibited good thermal storage density, thermal cycling stability, and long-term durability. The thermal conductivity of composite PCMs was 44% higher than that of pristine paraffin due to the construction of low interfacial thermal resistance. More attractively, our designed composite PCMs also possessed -57.15 dB minimum reflection loss at 9.2 GHz with a thickness of 3.0 mm, corresponding to an effective absorption bandwidth of 3.86 GHz. The excellent microwave absorption was attributed to the multicomponent synergy of magnetic loss from Co nanoparticles and conductive loss from MOF-derived carbon layers, and multiple reflection of MoS2 nanowrinkle, along with good impedance matching. This study provided a meaningful reference for the widespread application of composite PCMs combining thermal storage, thermal conduction, and microwave absorption in high-power miniaturized electronic devices.
Oxygen evolution reactions (OER) are critical to electrochemical synthesis reactions, including hydrogen production and organic hydrogenation. However, the high cost of existing OER catalysts (primarily Ir/Ru and its derived oxides) limits their practical application for electrochemical synthesis. To develop a low-cost, high-efficiency alternative, we need a deeper understanding of both the mechanisms that drive OER and the relationship between the catalyst's electronic structure and active sites. Here, we summarized recent developments of catalysts, especially focusing on the electronic structure modulation strategies and their subsequent activity enhancement. Most importantly, we pointed out the study directions for further work.
Diamond is an ultimate semiconductor with exceptional physical and chemical properties, such as an ultra-wide bandgap, excellent carrier mobility, extreme thermal conductivity, and stability, making it highly desirable for various applications including power electronics, sensors, and optoelectronic devices. However, the challenge lies in growing the large-size and high-quality single-crystal diamond films, which are crucial for realizing the full potential of this wonder material. Heteroepitaxial growth has emerged as a promising approach to achieve single-crystal diamond wafers with large sizes of up to 3 inches and controlled electrical properties. This review provides an overview of the advancements in diamond heteroepitaxy using microwave plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition, including the mechanism of heteroepitaxial growth, selection of substrates, film optimization, chemistry of defects, and doping. Moreover, recent progress on the device applications and perspectives is also discussed.
The large-scale industrialization of lithium metal (Li), as a potential anode for a high energy density energy storage system, has been hindered by dendrite growth. The construction of an artificial solid electrolyte interphase layer featuring high ionic and low electronic conductivity has been verified to be a high-performance strategy to confine the dendrite growth and promote the Li anode stability. Therefore, a functional organic protective layer is homogeneously deposited on the Li anode surface via an in situ chemical reaction between tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ) and Li. The as-synthesized Lin-TCNQ organic film could efficiently trap non-uniform Li deposition and restrain dendrite propagation. Particularly, an asymmetric M-TCNQ-Li|Cu cell with the Lin-TCNQ layer breezed through a high Coulombic efficiency of 91.15% after 100 cycles at 1.0 mA cm−2. The M-TCNQ-Li|NCM622 cell delivered a high capacity of 143.40 mAh g−1 at 0.2 C and maintained a good cyclic stability of 110.44 mAh g−1 after 160 cycles. The analysis results of spectroscopic tests further demonstrate that the Lin-TCNQ with the enhanced absorption energy is conducive to lithiophilicity and decreases the overpotential of Li deposition.
Weak response in long-wavelength infrared (LWIR) detection has long been a perennial concern, significantly limiting the reliability of applications. Avalanche photodetectors (APDs) offer excellent responsivity but are plagued by high dark current during the multiplication process. Here, we propose a high-performance type-II superlattices (T2SLs) LWIR APD to address these issues. The low Auger recombination rate of the InAs/ InAsSb T2SLs absorption layer is exploited to reduce the dark current initially. AlAsSb with a low k value is employed as the multiplication layer to suppress device noise while maintaining sufficient gain. To facilitate carrier transport, the conduction band discontinuity is optimized by inserting an InAs/AlSb T2SLs stepped grading layer between the absorption and multiplication layers. As a result, the device exhibits excellent photoresponse at 8.4 µm at 100 K and maintains a low dark current density of 5.48 × 10−2 A/cm2. Specifically, it achieves a maximum gain of 366, a responsivity of 650 A/W, and a quantum efficiency of 26.28% under breakdown voltage. This design offers a promising solution for the advancement of LWIR detection.