Conductive CuCo-Based Bimetal Organic Framework for Efficient Hydrogen Evolution

"Cave Effect" Induces Self-Assembled Bimetallic Hollow Structure for Three-in-One Lateral Flow Immunoassay

Bimetallic hollow structures have attracted much attention due to their unique properties, but they still face the problems of nonuniform alloys and excessive etching leading to structural collapse. Here, uniform bimetallic hollow nanospheres are constructed by pore engineering and then highly loaded with hemin (Hemin@MOF). Interestingly, in the presence of polydopamine (PDA), the competitive coordination between anionic polymer (γ-PGA) and dimethylimidazole does not lead to the collapse of the external framework but self-assembly into a hollow structure. By constructing the Hemin@MOF immune platform and using E. coli O157:H7 as the detection object, we find that the visual detection limits can reach 10, 3, and 3 CFU/mL in colorimetric, photothermal, and catalytic modes, which is 4 orders of magnitude lower than the traditional gold standard. This study provides a new idea for the morphological modification of the metal-organic skeleton and multifunctional immunochromatography detection.

Encapsulate Co3O4 within ultrathin graphene sheets to enhance peroxymonosulfate activation by tuning surface electronic structures

Heterojunctions composed of cobalt-based materials and carbon materials have been recognized as the efficient catalysts for peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation to generate reactive oxygen species for the removal of environmental contaminants. However, the role of carbon materials in promoting the heterojunction systems has not been fully understood. This study synthesized a heterojunction material of graphene sheets encapsulating Co3O4 (GCO-500) through the pyrolysis of cobalt MOF and applied it to activate PMS for the removal of lomefloxacin. The results showed a high removal rate of 93.59 % with a degradation rate of k1 = 0.0156 min-1. Co3O4 clusters was encapsulated within ultrathin graphene sheets (<2 nm). DFT calculations revealed that graphene layers improve the electron transfer ability of Co3O4 and increased the d-band center of Co3O4 (-1.61 eV) that promote the adsorption of PMS on GCO-500 (-1.32 eV). In the meanwhile, organic pollutant was enriched in graphene layers with high adsorption energy (-13.08 eV), which greatly enhanced the degradation efficiency of pharmaceuticals. This study provides an effective catalyst for PMS activation and sheds light on the fundamental electronic-level understanding of cobalt-based and carbon heterojunction catalysts in PMS activation.

MOFs-Based Materials with Confined Space: Opportunities and Challenges for Energy and Catalytic Conversion

Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) are a very promising material in the fields of energy and catalysis due to their rich active sites, tunable pore size, structural adaptability, and high specific surface area. The concepts of "carbon peak" and "carbon neutrality" have opened up huge development opportunities in the fields of energy storage, energy conversion, and catalysis, and have made significant progress and breakthroughs. In recent years, people have shown great interest in the development of MOFs materials and their applications in the above research fields. This review introduces the design strategies and latest progress of MOFs are included based on their structures such as core-shell, yolk-shell, multi-shelled, sandwich structures, unique crystal surface exposures, and MOF-derived nanomaterials in detail. This work comprehensively and systematically reviews the applications of MOF-based materials in energy and catalysis and reviews the research progress of MOF materials for atmospheric water harvesting, seawater uranium extraction, and triboelectric nanogenerators. Finally, this review looks forward to the challenges and opportunities of controlling the synthesis of MOFs through low-cost, improved conductivity, high-temperature heat resistance, and integration with machine learning. This review provides useful references for promoting the application of MOFs-based materials in the aforementioned fields.

Metalation of metal-organic frameworks: fundamentals and applications

Metalation of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) has been developed as a prominent strategy for materials functionalization for pore chemistry modulation and property optimization. By introducing exotic metal ions/complexes/nanoparticles onto/into the parent framework, many metallized MOFs have exhibited significantly improved performance in a wide range of applications. In this review, we focus on the research progress in the metalation of metal-organic frameworks during the last five years, spanning the design principles, synthetic strategies, and potential applications. Based on the crystal engineering principles, a minor change in the MOF composition through metalation would lead to leveraged variation of properties. This review starts from the general strategies established for the incorporation of metal species within MOFs, followed by the design principles to graft the desired functionality while maintaining the porosity of frameworks. Facile metalation has contributed a great number of bespoke materials with excellent performance, and we summarize their applications in gas adsorption and separation, heterogeneous catalysis, detection and sensing, and energy storage and conversion. The underlying mechanisms are also investigated by state-of-the-art techniques and analyzed for gaining insight into the structure-property relationships, which would in turn facilitate the further development of design principles. Finally, the current challenges and opportunities in MOF metalation have been discussed, and the promising future directions for customizing the next-generation advanced materials have been outlined as well.

Regulation of the d-band center of metal-organic frameworks for energy-saving hydrogen generation coupled with selective glycerol oxidation

The hybrid electrolyzer coupled glycerol oxidation (GOR) with hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is fascinating to simultaneously generate H2 and high value-added chemicals with low energy input, yet facing a challenge. Herein, Cu-based metal-organic frameworks (Cu-MOFs) are reported as model catalysts for both HER and GOR through doping of atomically dispersed precious and nonprecious metals. Remarkably, the HER activity of Ru-doped Cu-MOF outperformed a Pt/C catalyst, with its Faradaic efficiency for formate formation at 90% at a low potential of 1.40 V. Furthermore, the hybrid electrolyzer only needed 1.36 V to achieve 10 mA cm-2, 340 mV lower than that for splitting pure water. Theoretical calculations demonstrated that electronic interactions between the host and guest (doped) metals shifted downward the d-band centers (εd) of MOFs. This consequently lowered water adsorption and dissociation energy barriers and optimized hydrogen adsorption energy, leading to significantly enhanced HER activities. Meanwhile, the downshift of εd centers reduced energy barriers for rate-limiting step and the formation energy of OH*, synergistically enhancing the activity of MOFs for GOR. These findings offered an effective means for simultaneous productions of hydrogen fuel and high value-added chemicals using one hybrid electrolyzer with low energy input.

In Situ Engineering Multifunctional Active Sites of Ruthenium-Nickel Alloys for pH-Universal Ampere-Level Current-Density Hydrogen Evolution

Developing robust non-platinum electrocatalysts with multifunctional active sites for pH-universal hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) is crucial for scalable hydrogen production through electrochemical water splitting. Here ultra-small ruthenium-nickel alloy nanoparticles steadily anchored on reduced graphene oxide papers (Ru-Ni/rGOPs) as versatile electrocatalytic materials for acidic and alkaline HER are reported. These Ru-Ni alloy nanoparticles serve as pH self-adaptive electroactive species by making use of in situ surface reconstruction, where surface Ni atoms are hydroxylated to produce bifunctional active sites of Ru-Ni(OH)2 for alkaline HER, and selectively etched to form monometallic Ru active sites for acidic HER, respectively. Owing to the presence of Ru-Ni(OH)2 multi-site surface, which not only accelerates water dissociation to generate reactive hydrogen intermediates but also facilitates their recombination into hydrogen molecules, the self-supported Ru90Ni10/rGOP hybrid electrode only takes overpotential of as low as ≈106 mV to deliver current density of 1000 mA cm-2, and maintains exceptional stability for over 1000 h in 1 m KOH. While in 0.5 m H2SO4, the Ru90Ni10/rGOP hybrid electrode exhibits acidic HER catalytic behavior comparable to commercially available Pt/C catalyst due to the formation of monometallic Ru shell. These electrochemical behaviors outperform some of the best Ru-based catalysts and make it attractive alternative to Pt-based catalysts toward highly efficient HER.

Rational Regulation of the Defect Density in Platinum Nanocrystals for Highly Efficient Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

Constructing structural defects is a promising way to enhance the catalytic activity toward the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). However, the relationship between defect density and HER activity has rarely been discussed. In this study, a series of Pt/WOx nanocrystals are fabricated with controlled morphologies and structural defect densities using a facile one-step wet chemical method. Remarkably, compared with polygonal and star structures, the dendritic Pt/WOx (d-Pt/WOx) exhibited a richer structural defect density, including stepped surfaces and atomic defects. Notably, the d-Pt/WOx catalyst required 4 and 16 mV to reach 10 mA cm-2, and its turnover frequency (TOF) values are 11.6 and 22.8 times higher than that of Pt/C under acidic and alkaline conditions, respectively. In addition, d-Pt/WOx//IrO2 displayed a mass activity of 5158 mA mgPt -1 at 2.0 V in proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers (PEMWEs), which is significantly higher than that of the commercial Pt/C//IrO2 system. Further mechanistic studies suggested that the d-Pt/WOx exhibited reduced number of antibonding bands and the lowest dz2-band center, contributing to hydrogen adsorption and release in acidic solution. The highest dz2-band center of d-Pt/WOx facilitated the adsorption of hydrogen from water molecules and water dissociation in alkaline medium. This work emphasizes the key role of the defect density in improving the HER activity of electrocatalysts.

In situ synthesis of self-supporting conductive CuCo-based bimetal organic framework for sensitive nonenzymatic glucose sensing in serum and beverage

Most MOFs are associated with the inherent defect of low conductivity, limiting their further application in electrochemical sensing. Herein, a self-supporting conductive CuCo-based bimetal organic framework with HHTP as the organic ligand was in situ synthesized on carbon cloth via a one-step hydrothermal method, namely CuCo-MOF/CC. Benefiting from the advantages of electrical conductivity and bimetallic synergies, CuCo-MOF/CC exhibited remarkable electrocatalytic performance toward glucose. Consequently, the prepared sensor demonstrated an outstanding sensitivity of 9317 μA mM-1 cm-2, a wide range of 0.25-2374.5 μM, a low determination limit (0.27 μM), and a rapid response time (1.6 s). The reproducibility, stability, and selectivity were also proved to be satisfactory. Furthermore, the remarkable feasibility of proposed sensor was confirmed in serum and beverages. With the convenience of the one-step hydrothermal method and portability of self-supporting electrode, CuCo-MOF/CC has emerged as a promising candidate for commercial glucose sensors.

Controlled synthesis of 2D-2D conductive metal-organic framework/g-C3N4 heterojunctions for efficient photocatalytic hydrogen evolution

Designing photocatalysts with efficient charge separation and electron transport capabilities to achieve efficient visible-driven hydrogen production remains a challenge. Herein, 2D-2D conductive metal-organic framework/g-C3N4 heterojunctions were successfully prepared by an in situ assembly. Compared to pristine g-C3N4, the ratio-optimized Ni-CAT-1/g-C3N4 exhibits approximately 3.6 times higher visible-light H2 production activity, reaching 14 mmol g-1. Through investigations using time-resolved photoluminescence, surface photovoltage, and wavelength-dependent photocurrent action spectroscopies, it is determined that the improved photocatalytic performance is attributed to enhanced charge transfer and separation, specifically the efficient transfer of excited high-energy-level electrons from g-C3N4 to Ni-CAT in the heterojunctions. Furthermore, the high electrical conductivity of Ni-CAT enables rapid electron transport, contributing to the overall enhanced performance. This work provides a feasible strategy to construct efficient dimension-matched g-C3N4-based heterojunction photocatalysts with high-efficiency charge separation for solar-driven H2 production.

Controlling the electronic structure of Fe-MOF electrocatalyst for enhanced water splitting and urea oxidation: A plasma-assisted approach

The design of high-performance electrocatalysts for water splitting and urea oxidation reactions requires effective regulation of their electronic structure and electrochemical surface area (ECSA). In this study, we developed an in-situ grown Fe-MOF electrocatalyst on Fe foam (FF) by using a combination of easy hydrothermal synthesis and advanced plasma technology (Fe-MOF/FF). By varying the plasma treatment time, we could tailor the surface morphology and electronic structure of the Fe-MOF/FF microrods. Meanwhile, density functional theory (DFT) calculations investigated the catalytic mechanism, revealing that plasma-treated Fe-MOF/FF has a lower energy barrier for water splitting and H* adsorption during the HER process, and higher catalytic activity for UOR. Additionally, the electronic density of optimized Fe-MOF/FF is significantly expanded near the Fermi level. Remarkably, our catalysts achieved exceptional activity in both water splitting and urea electrolysis, requiring only 1.54 V and 1.472 V, respectively, at 10 mA cm-2, with excellent stability. Our findings highlight the potential of plasma technology as a powerful tool for developing multifunctional electrocatalysts for clean energy and industrial wastewater treatment applications.

Recent Advances in Co-Based Electrocatalysts for Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

Water splitting is a promising technique in the sustainable "green hydrogen" generation to meet energy demands of modern society. Its industrial application is heavily dependent on the development of novel catalysts with high performance and low cost for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). As a typical non-precious metal, cobalt-based catalysts have gained tremendous attention in recent years and shown a great prospect of commercialization. However, the complexity of the composition and structure of newly-developed Co-based catalysts make it urgent to comprehensively retrospect and summarize their advance and design strategies. Hence, in this review, the reaction mechanism of HER is first introduced and the possible role of the Co component during electrocatalysis is discussed. Then, various design strategies that could effectively enhance the intrinsic activity are summarized, including surface vacancy engineering, heteroatom doping, phase engineering, facet regulation, heterostructure construction, and the support effect. The recent progress of the advanced Co-based HER electrocatalysts is discussed, emphasizing that the application of the above design strategies can significantly improve performance by regulating the electronic structure and optimizing the binding energy to the crucial intermediates. At last, the prospects and challenges of Co-based catalysts are shown according to the viewpoint from fundamental explorations to industrial applications.

Titania-Supported Cu-Single-Atom Catalyst for Electrochemical Reduction of Acetylene to Ethylene at Low-Concentrations with Suppressed Hydrogen Evolution

Electrochemical acetylene reduction (EAR) is a promising strategy for removing acetylene from ethylene-rich gas streams. However, suppressing the undesirable hydrogen evolution is vital for practical applications in acetylene-insufficient conditions. Herein, Cu single atoms are immobilized on anatase TiO2 nanoplates (Cu-SA/TiO2 ) for electrochemical acetylene reduction, achieving an ethylene selectivity of ≈97% with a 5 vol% acetylene gas feed (Ar balance). At the optimal Cu-single-atom loading, Cu-SA/TiO2 is able to effectively suppress HER and ethylene over-hydrogenation even when using dilute acetylene (0.5 vol%) or ethylene-rich gas feeds, delivering a 99.8% acetylene conversion, providing a turnover frequency of 8.9 × 10-2  s-1 , which is superior to other EAR catalysts reported to date. Theoretical calculations show that the Cu single atoms and the TiO2 support acted cooperatively to promote charge transfer to adsorbed acetylene molecules, whilst also inhibiting hydrogen generation in alkali environments, thus allowing selective ethylene production with negligible hydrogen evolution at low acetylene concentrations.

Thermally Derived Hierarchical Nanoplates for Electromagnetic Protection and Waste Energy Recovery Device

With the advent of intelligent society and the popularity of electronic equipment, the protection and treatment of electromagnetic (EM) radiation have become hot research topics all over the world. Herein, novel 2D carbon-based nanoplates with uniformly embedded Co nanoparticles are prepared, with unique hierarchical structure and integrated magnetic-dielectric components. The obtained hierarchical nanoplates exhibit a wide range of tunable EM properties (ε' for 3.38 to 34.67 and ε″ for 0.13 to 31.45) by manipulating the dispersed states inside wax system, which can achieve an effective switch from microwave absorption to EM interference shielding performance. The optimal reflection loss reaches -55.6 dB, and the shielding efficiency is 93.5%. Meanwhile, the hierarchical nanoplates also exhibit impressive capacitive performance, with a specific capacitance of 1654 F g-1 at 1 A g-1 . Based on this, a creative device is constructed with the nanoplates, which can convert harmful EM radiation to useful electric energy for recycling. This work offers a new idea for the development of EM materials and functional devices, powerfully promoting the advance of energy and environmental fields.

A sensitive enzyme-free electrochemical sensor based on a rod-shaped bimetallic MOF anchored on graphene oxide nanosheets for determination of glucose in huangshui

In this work, we propose a bimetallic Ni-Co based MOF attached to graphene oxide (GO) by a one-step hydrothermal approach which may be employed as an electrochemical enzyme-free glucose sensor. Due to the obvious synergistic catalysis of Ni and Co, as well as the combination of NiCo-MOF and GO, NiCo-MOF/GO not only enhances energy transfer and electrocatalytic performance but also provides a larger surface area and more active sites. Electrochemical studies show that NiCo-MOF/GO exhibits outstanding electrochemical activity, with a sensitivity of 11 177 μA mM^-1 cm^-2 and 4492 μA mM^-1 cm^-2 in the linear ranges of 1-497 μM and 597-3997 μM, a detection limit of 0.23 μM, and a response time of 2 seconds. More importantly, the newly fabricated sensor is successfully applied for glucose determination in huangshui. This method provides a novel strategy for the controlled fermentation process and product quality of Chinese baijiu.

Structure and oxygen vacancy engineered CuCo-layered double oxide nanotube arrays as advanced bifunctional electrocatalysts for overall water splitting

In recent years, as a green renewable energy production technology, electrochemical water splitting has demonstrated high development potential. Many materials have been reported as successful catalysts in the water-splitting field. However, it is still a huge challenge to produce bifunctional electrocatalysts for the efficient and sustainable generation of hydrogen and oxygen simultaneously. Herein, we successfully developed oxygen vacancies abundant CuCo layered double oxide (O_v-CuCo-LDO) hollow nanotube arrays (HNTAs) loaded on nickel foam as advanced electrocatalysts for total water splitting. When the current density was 10 mA cm^-2, the O_v-CuCo-LDO HNTAs exhibited outstanding onset overpotentials of 53.9 and 72.5 mV for the hydrogen evolution and oxygen evolution reactions (HER and OER) in alkaline medium, respectively, because of the bimetallic synergistic effect between the cobalt and copper and the unique hollow porous structure. In addition, an as-assembled O_v-CuCo-LDO||O_v-CuCo-LDO electrolytic cell showed a small potential of 1.55 V to deliver a current density of 10 mA cm^-2. Moreover, it also showed remarkable durability after long-term overall water splitting for more than 20 h. The research results in this paper are of great interest to practical applications of the water decomposition process, providing clear and in-depth insights into preliminary robust and efficient multifunctional electrocatalysts for overall water splitting.

Directional editing of self-supported nanoarray electrode for adaptive paired-electrolysis

Anodic oxidation assisted hydrogen production under mild conditions powered by renewable electricity represents a sustainable approach to energy conversion systems. Here, we fabricated a versatile and universal self-supported nanoarray platform that can be intelligently edited to achieve adaptive electrocatalysis for alcohol oxidation reactions and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The obtained self-supported nanoarray electrocatalysts exhibit excellent catalytic activity due to the integration of multiple merits of rich nanointerface-reconstruction and self-supported hierarchical structures. Particularly, the membrane-free pair-electrolysis system coupling HER and ethylene glycol oxidation reaction (EGOR) required an applied voltage of only 1.25 V to drive the current density of 10 mA cm^-2, which is about 510 mV lower than that of the overall water splitting, showing the capability to simultaneously produce H₂ and formate with high Faradic efficiency and stability. This work demonstrates a catalytic self-supported nanoarray platform for energy-efficient production of high-purity H₂ and value-added chemicals.

A Metal-Organic Frameworks Derived 1T-MoS2 with Expanded Layer Spacing for Enhanced Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution

Metal phase molybdenum disulfide (1T-MoS₂ ) is considered a promising electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) due to its activated basal and superior electrical conductivity. Here, a one-step solvothermal route is developed to prepare 1T-MoS₂ with expanded layer spacing through the derivatization of a Mo-based organic framework (Mo-MOFs). Benefiting from N,N-dimethylformamide oxide as external stress, the interplanar spacing of (002) of the MoS₂ catalyst is extended to 10.87 Å, which represents the largest one for the 1T-MoS₂ catalyst prepared by the bottom-up approach. Theoretical calculations reveal that the expanded crystal planes alter the electronic structure of 1T-MoS₂ , lower the adsorption-desorption potentials of protons, and thus, trigger efficient catalytic activity for HER. The optimal 1T-MoS₂ catalyst exhibits an overpotential of 98 mV at 10 mA cm^-2 for HER, corresponding to a Tafel slope of 52 mV dec^-1 . This Mo-MOFs-derived strategy provides a potential way to design high-performance catalysts by adjusting the layer spacing of 2D materials.

Self-Supporting Metal-Organic Framework-Based Nanoarrays for Electrocatalysis

The replacement of powdery catalysts with self-supporting alternatives for catalyzing various electrochemical reactions is extremely important for the large-scale commercial application of renewable energy storage and conversion technologies. Metal-organic framework (MOF)-based nanoarrays possess tunable compositions, well-defined structure, abundant active sites, effective mass and electron transport, etc., which enable them to exhibit superior electrocatalytic performance in multiple electrochemical reactions. This review presents the latest research progress in developing MOF-based nanoarrays for electrocatalysis. We first highlight the structural features and electrocatalytic advantages of MOF-based nanoarrays, followed by a detailed summary of the design and synthesis strategies of MOF-based nanoarrays, and then describe the recent progress of their application in various electrocatalytic reactions. Finally, the challenges and perspectives are discussed, where further exploration into MOF-based nanoarrays will facilitate the development of electrochemical energy conversion technologies.

Conductive Metal-Organic Frameworks for Supercapacitors

As a class of porous materials with crystal lattices, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), featuring outstanding specific surface area, tunable functionality, and versatile structures, have attracted huge attention in the past two decades. Since the first conductive MOF is successfully synthesized in 2009, considerable progress has been achieved for the development of conductive MOFs, allowing their use in diverse applications for electrochemical energy storage. Among those applications, supercapacitors have received great interest because of their high power density, fast charging ability, and excellent cycling stability. Here, the efforts hitherto devoted to the synthesis and design of conductive MOFs and their auspicious capacitive performance are summarized. Using conductive MOFs as a unique platform medium, the electronic and molecular aspects of the energy storage mechanism in supercapacitors with MOF electrodes are discussed, highlighting the advantages and limitations to inspire new ideas for the development of conductive MOFs for supercapacitors.

Recent Progress of Advanced Conductive Metal-Organic Frameworks: Precise Synthesis, Electrochemical Energy Storage Applications, and Future Challenges

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with diverse composition, tunable structure, and unique physicochemical properties have emerged as promising materials in various fields. The tunable pore structure, abundant active sites, and ultrahigh specific surface area can facilitate mass transport and provide outstanding capacity, making MOFs an ideal active material for electrochemical energy storage and conversion. However, the poor electrical conductivity of pristine MOFs severely limits their applications in electrochemistry. Developing conductive MOFs has proved to be an effective solution to this problem. This review focuses on the design and synthesis of conductive MOF composites with judiciously chosen conducting materials, pristine MOFs, and assembly methods, as well as the preparation of intrinsically conductive MOFs based on building 2D π-conjugated structures, introducing mixed-valence metal ions/redox-active ligands, designing π-π stacked pathways, and constructing infinite metal-sulfur chains (-M-S-)_∞ . Furthermore, recent progress and challenges of conductive MOFs for energy storage and conversion (supercapacitors, Li-ion batteries, Li-S batteries, and electrochemical water splitting) are summarized.

Synthesis of Good Electrical Conductivity of CoCe-BTC/PEDOT for Ultrahigh Selectivity of NO2 Detection

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have broad application prospects in the development of efficient, sensitive and single select gas sensors. However, in order to construct a chemical resistance gas sensor based on MOFs, the problem of poor conductivity of MOFs must be solved. In this work, we synthesized CoCe-BTC, which based on the organic ligands of trimesic acid (H₃BTC) by the water bath method and prepared CoCe-BTC/PEDOT composite film on an interdigital electrode by the spin coating process. Compared with pure MOF material, the conductivity of CoCe-BTC/PEDOT is significantly improved. Under a dry room temperature environment and N₂ as the carrier gas, the response of the sensor to NO₂ is about 1.2 times that of pure PEDOT and has a shorter response time. It has great repeatability and selectivity and shows a dynamic response with the change of NO₂ gas concentration (5-50 ppm).

Strong electronic metal-support interaction between Pt and stainless mesh for enhancing the hydrogen evolution reaction

Strong electronic metal-support interaction (EMSI) can tailor the electronic structure of electrocatalysts. Herein, Pt nanoparticles anchored on stainless mesh (SM) via EMSI engineering are reported, exhibiting excellent hydrogen production activity. Theoretical calculations demonstrate that the superior performance stems from the strong EMSI between Pt atoms and Fe atoms in SM.

Hollow-structured amorphous Cu(OH)x nanowires doped with Ru for wide pH electrocatalytic hydrogen production

Developing efficient and stable catalysts for electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) with low overpotential is the key point to realizing large-scale hydrogen commercialization. Herein, Ru doped amorphous hollow copper hydroxide nanowires on copper foam (Ru-Cu(OH)_x/CF) is prepared by surface chemical oxidization and following solvothermal process. The hollow 3D nanowire structure can provide abundant accessibility active sites, promote electrolyte in filtration and facilitate gas diffusion in the process of the electrochemical reaction. Then, the as-synthesized Ru-Cu(OH)_x/CF electrocatalyst exhibits impressive electrocatalytic performance for HER with 45, 80 and 50 mV to drive 10 mA cm^-2 in 1.0 M KOH, 1.0 M phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) and 0.5 M H₂SO₄, respectively, with remarkable long-term stability. Moreover, sustainable energies can power the two-electrode setup with amounts of hydrogen generation. The strategy may be particularly beneficial to explore simple synthesis and high-performance catalysts for HER.

Morphology Control Strategy of Bimetallic MOF Nanosheets for Upgrading the Sensitivity of Noninvasive Glucose Detection

The precise measurement of glucose level is significant for the health management of the human body. However, the existing sensitive materials and detection methods for glucose are less satisfying for practical applications. Herein, an ultrathin reticular two-dimensional nanosheets array composed of trimesic acid (H₃BTC)-based bimetal metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and carbon cloth (CC), which is constructed through a morphology control strategy, is reported for glucose sensing. Meanwhile, this nonmoving sweat glucose sensor based on a NiCo-BTC/CC electrode has been successfully prepared by a screen printing method. Benefiting from the regular and ultrathin nanosheets array, the NiCo-BTC/CC electrode has an excellent sensitivity of 2701.29 μA mM^-1 cm^-2, which is about 2.4 times that of its unregulated counterpart (1127.85 μA mM^-1 cm^-2) in the linear range 5-205 μM. In addition, an ultralow detection limit (0.09 μM, S/N = 3) and good selectivity of NiCo-BTC/CC were also obtained. The high sensitivity of the glucose sensor based on NiCo-BTC/CC electrode is 0.174 μA μM^-1 (50-1000 μM). Remarkably, the preciously designed sensor is used to detect glucose concentration in sweat with a noninvasive mode, and the results are basically consistent with those of a commercial glucose device with an invasive mode. This research exhibits potential methodology for the morphology design of bimetallic MOFs nanosheets to achieve a high accuracy rate and noninvasive and timeless measurement of a glucose sensor.

Electrocatalysis in Room Temperature Sodium-Sulfur Batteries: Tunable Pathway of Sulfur Speciation

Benefiting from the merits of natural abundance, low cost, and ultrahigh theoretical energy density, the room temperature sodium-sulfur (RT NaS) batteries are regarded as one of the promising candidates for the next-generation scalable energy storage devices. However, the uncontrollable sulfur speciation pathways severely hinder its practical applications. Recently, various strategies have been employed to tune the conversion pathways of sulfur, such as physical confinement, chemical inhibition, and electrocatalysis. Herein, the recent advances in electrocatalytic effects manipulate sulfur speciation pathways in advanced RT NaS electrochemistry are reviewed, including the promotion of the nearly full conversion of long-chain polysulfides, short-chain polysulfides, and small sulfur molecules. The underlying catalytic modulation mechanism that fundamentally tunes the electrochemical pathway of sulfur species is comprehensively summarized along with the design strategies for catalytic active centers. Furthermore, the challenge and potential solutions to realize the quasi-solid conversion of sulfur are proposed to accelerate the real application of RT NaS batteries.

An amorphous ultrathin iridium/carbon catalyst realizing efficient electrochemical hydrogen evolution

An amorphous 1.1 nm Ir/C catalyst exhibits ultralow overpotentials of 10 and 64 mV for the hydrogen evolution reaction at current densities of 10 and 100 mA cm^-2, together with 117 A mg^-1 mass activity and outstanding long-term durability, superior to those of the commercial Pt/C catalyst.

Fe–Ni–Co trimetallic oxide hierarchical nanospheres as high-performance bifunctional electrocatalysts for water electrolysis

Fe–Ni–Co spheres were used as bifunctional catalysts exhibit high total water decomposition activity. Only a cell voltage of 1.61 V was required to attain a current density of 10 mA cm−2.

Recent advances on bimetallic metal-organic frameworks (BMOFs): Syntheses, applications and challenges

Bimetallic metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) possess two different metal ions as nodes in their molecular frameworks. They are prepared by either using one-pot syntheses wherein different metals are mixed with suitable...