Lewis Acid Driving Asymmetric Interfacial Electron Distribution to Stabilize Active Species for Efficient Neutral Water Oxidation

Ultrasound-activated sonothermal-catalytic synergistic therapy via asymmetric electron distribution for bacterial wound infections

Antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections present a growing global health challenge, requiring innovative therapeutic solutions to overcome current limitations. We introduce boron-integrated bismuth oxide (B-BiO2) nanosheets with an asymmetrically distributed electronic structure for ultrasound-activated synergistic sonothermal and catalytic therapy. Boron incorporation enhances local electron density distribution, optimizing charge separation and significantly improving sonothermal and catalytic efficiency, as validated by density functional theory calculations. These nanosheets exhibit dual functionality, effectively generating localized heat and reactive oxygen species (ROS) under ultrasound, leading to 99.999 % antibacterial efficacy against multidrug-resistant pathogens by disrupting bacterial membranes, as demonstrated through all-atom simulations and in vitro experiments. The simulations further reveal that sonothermal conversion effects enhance bacterial membrane fluidity and induce structural defects, amplifying ROS-induced oxidative damage and membrane destabilization. In vivo, B-BiO2 nanosheets accelerate wound healing in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)-infected murine models, achieving 99.8 % closure by day 14 by reducing inflammation and promoting angiogenesis and tissue regeneration. Transcriptomic analysis highlights the activation of extracellular matrix remodeling, angiogenesis, and autophagy pathways, underscoring the nanosheets' therapeutic potential. This study establishes ultrasound-activated B-BiO2 nanosheets as a novel nanotherapeutic platform, leveraging asymmetric electron distribution to synergistically combat drug-resistant infections and promote effective wound healing.

Preventing Underwater Bioadhesion by Biomimetic High-entropy Metal Oxides

Exploiting adamant and biocide-free surfaces for combating the ubiquitous and obstinate bioadhesion is urgently required for underwater facilities, but substantial challenges remain due to the diversity of adhesive organisms and the complexity of their bioadhesion mechanisms. Herein, a biomimetic high entropy metal oxide Ce0.5Zr0.2Nb0.15Ta0.1Hf0.05Ox is developed for combating underwater bioadhesion. Specifically, the high-entropy oxide exhibits superior lactonase and protease-like activities in actuating the hydrolysis of (phosphorylated) proteins and quorum-sensing lactone signal molecules, and the intrinsic haloperoxidase-mimicking behavior can strengthen the hydrolysis activity. Density functional theory calculations demonstrate that the remarkable interfacial chemical effect is attributed to the proximity Ce d band center and Fermi level. When evaluated in both the laboratory setting and marine field testing, the underwater solid surfaces achieve remarkable nonfouling ability. These findings highlight the great potential of biomimetic high-entropy materials for realizing green and comprehensive underwater bioadhesion prevention.

Ionic Liquid MPII3 Elevates Electrochromic Battery Capacity to Practical Applications

Electrochromic batteries are multifunctional devices that integrate optical modulation with energy storage capabilities through electrochemical reactions. Traditional electrochromic batteries rely on solid-state thin films, but their limited material loading constrains capacity to ≈100-300 mAh m-2, failing to meet practical demands. Herein, an electrochromic battery based on ionic liquid 1-methyl-3-propylimidazolium triiodide (MPII3) is proposed, where the color-changing mechanism is based on the reversible redox reaction of I-/I3 - in solution, with 1-methyl-3-propylimidazolium cation (MPI+) forming a complex with I3 - to suppress its shuttle effect. More importantly, the resulting ionic liquid MPII3 demonstrates exceptional reaction kinetics, enabling rapid and extensive charge transfer, thereby significantly enhancing the energy storage potential of electrochromic batteries. The fabricated devices achieve a high capacity of 56396 mAh m-2 at a current density of 0.5 mA cm-2. Additionally, these MPII3 electrochromic batteries exhibit an optical modulation as high as 68.1% and excellent cycling stability, with 92.3% capacity retention after 20 000 cycles. These findings represent a significant advancement and are expected to promote the practical application of electrochromic batteries in smart windows, energy-efficient buildings, and other fields.

Proton Exchange Membrane Water Splitting: Advances in Electrode Structure and Mass-Charge Transport Optimization

Proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE) represents a promising technology for renewable hydrogen production. However, the large-scale commercialization of PEMWE faces challenges due to the need for acid oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts with long-term stability and corrosion-resistant membrane electrode assemblies (MEA). This review thoroughly examines the deactivation mechanisms of acidic OER and crucial factors affecting assembly instability in complex reaction environments, including catalyst degradation, dynamic behavior at the MEA triple-phase boundary, and equipment failures. Targeted solutions are proposed, including catalyst improvements, optimized MEA designs, and operational strategies. Finally, the review highlights perspectives on strict activity/stability evaluation standards, in situ/operando characteristics, and practical electrolyzer optimization. These insights emphasize the interrelationship between catalysts, MEAs, activity, and stability, offering new guidance for accelerating the commercialization of PEMWE catalysts and systems.

Lewis Acid Sites in Hollow Cobalt Phytate Micropolyhedra Promote the Electrocatalytic Water Oxidation

The acid-base microenvironment of the metal center is crucial for constructing advanced oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysts. However, the correlation between acidic site and OER performance remains unclear for cobalt-based catalysts. Herein, Lewis acid sites in hollow cobalt phytate micropolyhedra (M-CoPA, M = Cu, Sr) were synthesized by a cation-exchange strategy, and their OER performances were studied systematically. Experimentally, Lewis acid Cu2+ sites with stronger Lewis acidity exhibited superior intrinsic activity and long-term stability in alkaline electrolytes. The spectroscopic and electrochemical studies show Lewis acid sites in hollow cobalt phytate micropolyhedra can modulate the electronic distribution of the adjacent cobalt center and further optimize the adsorption strength of oxygenated species. This study figures out the effect of Lewis acid sites on the OER kinetics and provides an effective way to develop high-efficiency electrocatalysts for energy conversion systems.

Blocking Effect Retards Electron Release from Asymmetric Active Units for Selective Seawater Oxidation

During seawater electrolysis, chloride ion (Cl-) adsorption at the anode leads to an inevitable competitive chloride oxidation reaction (ClOR) with the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), compromising the long-term stability of the electrolysis process. Furthermore, Ni-based OER electrocatalysts are challenged by activity degradation due to the overoxidation of Ni3+. In response, we present a design of oxygen-vacancy-regulated asymmetric Nb-O-Ni bonds aimed at selective seawater oxidation. The experimental and in situ characterization results indicate that the blocking effect of oxygen vacancies effectively alleviates the electron release of Ni3+ and the electron enrichment of Nb5+ on asymmetric Nb-O-Ni bonds, achieving a stable and selective OER in alkaline seawater. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that oxygen vacancies in Nb-O-Ni bonds optimize the adsorption strength of reaction intermediates and break up the scaling relationship between *OH and *OOH intermediates. The constructed anion exchange membrane electrolysis cell achieves a cost efficiency of $1.07 per GGE (gasoline gallon equivalent) for H2 production at a current density of 1000 mA cm-2, maintaining operational stability for 100 h at 500 mA cm-2.

Coupling Built-in Electric Field and Lewis Acid Triggers the Lattice Oxygen-Mediated Mechanism for Efficient Water Oxidation

The oxygen evolution reaction catalyst triggering lattice oxygen-mediated mechanism (LOM) can break the activity limitation imposed by the adsorbate evolution mechanism scaling relationship. However, triggering LOM is challenging due to the thermodynamic disadvantages associated with lattice oxygen redox reactions. Here, a Lewis acid-modified layered double hydroxides (LDH) heterojunction catalyst (LDH/Cr2O3) is designed. The asymmetric charge distribution at the heterojunction interface, induced by the built-in electric field, shifts the electron transfer center from the lower Hubbard band to non-bonding oxygen, thereby activating LOM. The enrichment of OH- and the enhanced covalency of the metal-oxygen bond by Lewis acid optimize the pH-dependent and high-energy consumption during the hydroxyl (OH*) deprotonation process of LOM. Furthermore, the activation of lattice oxygen and accelerated OH* deprotonation facilitate the surface reconstruction of LDH. Consequently, the LDH/Cr2O3 exhibits excellent catalytic activity, with an overpotential of only 237 mV (at 10 mA cm-2) in 1.0 m KOH electrolyte. The catalyst maintains excellent activity in simulated seawater and 0.1 m KOH electrolyte. Furthermore, it demonstrates outstanding practical functionality, as the assembled commercial-scale alkaline electrolyzer operates stably for 50 h. This work may provide new approaches and theoretical insights for triggering and optimizing LOM.

Loading Pt Nanoparticles on Ultrathin Amorphous Nanobelts for Enhanced Hydrogen Production

Due to unique metal-support interactions, loaded structures have been widely used in the structural design of hydrogen-extraction reaction (HER) electrocatalysts. However, the development of catalysts that are both active and stable remains a great challenge. Herein, we successfully anchored Pt nanoparticles on ultrathin nanobelts to construct a crystalline/amorphous Pt NPs/CNWOx NBs heterostructure, which possesses the dual advantages of fast electron transfer in crystalline materials and effective exposure of active sites in amorphous materials. The obtained catalyst exhibits great HER catalytic performance in both 0.5 M H2SO4 and 1 M KOH. Compared with CNWOx nanobelts, Pt-loaded Pt NPs/CNWOx NBs exhibits lower overpotentials and faster HER kinetics. For acidic and alkaline HER, the catalyst required only low overpotentials of 35 mV and 60 mV to achieve a current density of 10 mA cm-2, respectively, which is even better than that of commercial Pt/C. And Pt NPs/CNWOx NBs shows almost no degradation after long time stability tests. It is found that the composite structure of crystalline/amorphous, the heterogeneous interface and the introduction of Pt synergize with each other to achieve increased number of active sites and enhanced intrinsic activity, resulting in excellent electrocatalytic HER activity and stability.

Transforming Adsorbate Surface Dynamics in Aqueous Electrocatalysis: Pathways to Unconstrained Performance

Developing highly efficient catalysts to accelerate sluggish electrode reactions is critical for the deployment of sustainable aqueous electrochemical technologies, yet remains a great challenge. Rationally integrating functional components to tailor surface adsorption behaviors and adsorbate dynamics would divert reaction pathways and alleviate energy barriers, eliminating conventional thermodynamic constraints and ultimately optimizing energy flow within electrochemical systems. This approach has, therefore, garnered significant interest, presenting substantial potential for developing highly efficient catalysts that simultaneously enhance activity, selectivity, and stability. The immense promise and rapid evolution of this design strategy, however, do not overshadow the substantial challenges and ambiguities that persist, impeding the realization of significant breakthroughs in electrocatalyst development. This review explores the latest insights into the principles guiding the design of catalytic surfaces that enable favorable adsorbate dynamics within the contexts of hydrogen and oxygen electrochemistry. Innovative approaches for tailoring adsorbate-surface interactions are discussed, delving into underlying principles that govern these dynamics. Additionally, perspectives on the prevailing challenges are presented and future research directions are proposed. By evaluating the core principles and identifying critical research gaps, this review seeks to inspire rational electrocatalyst design, the discovery of novel reaction mechanisms and concepts, and ultimately, advance the large-scale implementation of electroconversion technologies.

FeNi-LDH Coated With Orange-Peel Carbon Aerogel for Oxygen Evolution Reaction

In this work, the waste orange-peel was used as carbon source, and the orange-peel derived carbon material can be obtained through simple pyrolysis. Then, we designed the structure of orange-peel carbon aerogel grown on iron-nickel layered double hydroxides in situ to achieve the effect of carbon coating (FeNi-LDH/CA). The oxygen evolution reaction catalytic performance of FeNi-LDH/CA is excellent, far exceeding that of commercial RuO2. In 1 M KOH, the overpotential of FeNi-LDH/CA is only 250 mV (10 mA cm-2), obviously better than that of commercial RuO2 (295 mV). FeNi-LDH/CA shows good cycling stability, and after long-term i-t testing, the performance only decays by 3 % after running at 100 mA cm-2 for 100 h. When used as an anode, the voltage of water-splitting is only 1.48 V at 10 mA cm-2. The rechargeable liquid zinc-air battery based on Pt/C-FeNi-LDH/CA catalyst has higher open-circuit voltage (1.543 V) and galvanostatic discharge capacity at 1.23 V (830 min, 10 mA cm-2). Moreover, the zinc-air battery based on Pt/C-FeNi-LDH/CA has a small charge-discharge voltage gap (0.65 V) at 10 mA cm-2, after 200 consecutive cycles (66 h), the charge-discharge voltage gap only increased by about 30 mV, indicating good cycling stability.

Constructing Ru-Co2P Lewis Acid-Base Pairs to Prompt Hydrogen Evolution Reaction in Alkaline Seawater Electrolyte

Seawater electrolysis is an ideal approach to generating green hydrogen. Nevertheless, the sluggish kinetics of water dissociation and the detrimental chlorine chemistry environment are serious obstructions for industrial applications. Herein, constructing unique (Co) Lewis acid and (Ru-P) base pair sites in Ru-Co2P decorated on nitrogen and phosphorus co-doped carbon (Ru-Co2P/NPC) significantly optimizes the energy barrier of water dissociation and enhances the anti-corrosive ability for alkaline seawater splitting. As expected, the optimal Ru-Co2P/NPC-2 exhibits exceptional hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performances with overpotentials as low as 22.0 and 26.0 mV to derive 10 mA cm-2 and operate steadily (@ 50 mA cm-2) over 30 h in alkaline and alkaline seawater electrolytes. The experimental and theoretical results elucidate that Co acting as Lewis acid sites prompts the water adsorption and breakage of the H─O bond, whereas Ru-P as Lewis base sites facilitates the hydrogen desorption in alkaline media. Furthermore, modulated chemical microenvironments can be beneficial to hinder chloride corrosion on the active sites of catalysts. This work sheds light on the rational construction of a highly efficient electrocatalyst for alkaline HER in seawater.

Electric Field-Induced Synergetic Enhancement of Local Hydroxyl Concentration and Photogenerated Carrier Density for Removal of COads in Electrocatalytic Formic Acid Oxidation

Direct formic acid fuel cell (DFAFC) is an efficient power generation device, due to its high energy density, low fuel crossover and low emission. However, the anodic reaction of DFAFC, formic acid oxidation (FAOR), inevitably proceeds through an indirect pathway, adsorbing carbon monoxide intermediate (COads), resulting in a rapid decline of activity for FAOR. Therefore, effectively removing COads is the key to the development of DFAFC. In this work, Pd/CeO2 catalyst is synthesized by in situ growth of Pd nanoparticles on the hollow CeO2. Due to the difference of work function between Pd and CeO2, a built-in electric field from Pd side to CeO2 side is formed, which induces a synergistic enhancement of the photogenerated carrier density and the local high hydroxyl concentration at the Pd/CeO2 interface, thus promoting the oxidative removal of COads and significantly improving the stability of FAOR. Therefore, in photo-assisted electrocatalytic FAOR, Pd/CeO2 not only possessed high mass activity (4161.72 mA mg-1 Pd), and its mass activity decreases by only 20.1% after 40000 s chronoamperometry test, which is superior to most Pd-based catalysts. This work provides a new strategy for efficient removal of COads in FAOR through constructing built-in electric fields, which promotes the DFAFC application.

Modulating built-in electric field via Br induced partial phase transition for robust alkaline freshwater and seawater electrolysis

Repulsing Cl- to reduce its negative effects during seawater electrolysis is a promising strategy to guard against the corrosion of high-valence metal sites. Herein, we synthesized Fe2P/Ni2P by a facile Br-induced partial in situ phase transition strategy. This Fe2P/Ni2P possessed intensified built-in electric field (BEF) due to large work function difference (ΔΦ), demonstrating outstanding OER and HER activity in alkaline freshwater/seawater solution and exhibiting a low cell voltage for an anion exchange membrane water electrolyzer (AEMWE) system. Both experiments and theoretical results verify that the interfacial charge redistribution induced by the enhanced BEF optimizes the adsorption strength for the intermediates. Moreover, the appropriate phosphorus-oxygen anion self-transformation can protect the NiOOH active species from corrosion by repulsing Cl- in alkaline seawater. This work not only proposes a fresh perception of the water/seawater splitting mechanism but also provides new design principles to defend active sites in seawater-to-H2 conversion systems.

Upgrading of nitrate to hydrazine through cascading electrocatalytic ammonia production with controllable N-N coupling

Nitrogen oxides (NOx) play important roles in the nitrogen cycle system and serve as renewable nitrogen sources for the synthesis of value-added chemicals driven by clean electricity. However, it is challenging to achieve selective conversion of NOx to multi-nitrogen products (e.g., N2H4) via precise construction of a single N-N bond. Herein, we propose a strategy for NOx-to-N2H4 under ambient conditions, involving electrochemical NOx upgrading to NH3, followed by ketone-mediated NH3 to N2H4. It can achieve an impressive overall NOx-to-N2H4 selectivity of 88.7%. We elucidate mechanistic insights into the ketone-mediated N-N coupling process. Diphenyl ketone (DPK) emerges as an optimal mediator, facilitating controlled N-N coupling, owing to its steric and conjugation effects. The acetonitrile solvent stabilizes and activates key imine intermediates through hydrogen bonding. Experimental results reveal that Ph2CN* intermediates formed on WO3 catalysts acted as pivotal monomers to drive controlled N-N coupling with high selectivity, facilitated by lattice-oxygen-mediated dehydrogenation. Additionally, both WO3 catalysts and DPK mediators exhibit favorable reusability, offering promise for green N2H4 synthesis.

Progress in Anode Stability Improvement for Seawater Electrolysis to Produce Hydrogen

Seawater electrolysis for hydrogen production is a sustainable and economical approach that can mitigate the energy crisis and global warming issues. Although various catalysts/electrodes with excellent activities have been developed for high-efficiency seawater electrolysis, their unsatisfactory durability, especially for anodes, severely impedes their industrial applications. In this review, attention is paid to the factors that affect the stability of anodes and the corresponding strategies for designing catalytic materials to prolong the anode's lifetime. In addition, two important aspects-electrolyte optimization and electrolyzer design-with respect to anode stability improvement are summarized. Furthermore, several methods for rapid stability assessment are proposed for the fast screening of both highly active and stable catalysts/electrodes. Finally, perspectives on future investigations aimed at improving the stability of seawater electrolysis systems are outlined.

Coupling Nano and Atomic Electric Field Confinement for Robust Alkaline Oxygen Evolution

The alkaline oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is a promising avenue for producing clean fuels and storing intermittent energy. However, challenges such as excessive OH- consumption and strong adsorption of oxygen-containing intermediates hinder the development of alkaline OER. In this study, we propose a cooperative strategy by leveraging both nano-scale and atomically local electric fields for alkaline OER, demonstrated through the synthesis of Mn single atom doped CoP nanoneedles (Mn SA-CoP NNs). Finite element method simulations and density functional theory calculations predict that the nano-scale local electric field enriches OH- around the catalyst surface, while the atomically local electric field improves *O desorption. Experimental validation using in situ attenuated total reflection infrared and Raman spectroscopy confirms the effectiveness of the nano-scale and atomically electric fields. Mn SA-CoP NNs exhibit an ultra-low overpotential of 189 mV at 10 mA cm-2 and stable operation over 100 hours at ~100 mA cm-2 during alkaline OER. This innovative strategy provides new insights for enhancing catalyst performance in energy conversion reactions.

Electrocatalytic Oxidation of Benzaldehyde on Gold Nanoparticles Supported on Titanium Dioxide

The electrooxidation of organic compounds offers a promising strategy for producing value-added chemicals through environmentally sustainable processes. A key challenge in this field is the development of electrocatalysts that are both effective and durable. In this study, we grow gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) on the surface of various phases of titanium dioxide (TiO2) as highly effective electrooxidation catalysts. Subsequently, the samples are tested for the oxidation of benzaldehyde (BZH) to benzoic acid (BZA) coupled with a hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). We observe the support containing a combination of rutile and anatase phases to provide the highest activity. The excellent electrooxidation performance of this Au-TiO2 sample is correlated with its mixed-phase composition, large surface area, high oxygen vacancy content, and the presence of Lewis acid active sites on its surface. This catalyst demonstrates an overpotential of 0.467 V at 10 mA cm-2 in a 1 M KOH solution containing 20 mM BZH, and 0.387 V in 100 mM BZH, well below the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) overpotential. The electrooxidation of BZH not only serves as OER alternative in applications such as electrochemical hydrogen evolution, enhancing energy efficiency, but simultaneously allows for the generation of high-value byproducts such as BZA.

Designing Different Heterometallic Organic Frameworks by Heteroatom and Second Metal Doping Strategies for the Electrocatalytic Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are considered one of the most significant electrocatalysts for the sluggish oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Hence, a series of novel N,S-codoped Ni-based heterometallic organic framework (HMOF) (NiM-bptz-HMOF, M = Co, Zn, and Mn; bptz = 2,5-bis((3-pyridyl)methylthio)thiadiazole) precatalysts are constructed by the heteroatom and second metal doping strategies. The effective combination of the two strategies promotes electronic conductivity and optimizes the electronic structure of the metal. By regulation of the type and proportion of metal ions, the electrochemical performance of the OER can be improved. Among them, the optimized Ni6Zn1-bptz-HMOF precatalyst exhibits the best performance with an overpotential of 268 mV at 10 mA cm-2 and a small Tafel slope of 72.5 mV dec-1. This work presents a novel strategy for the design of modest heteroatom-doped OER catalysts.