• Energy Research

1 State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Material Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, Luoshi Road 122, Wuhan 430070, China 2Department of Chemistry, Kent State University, Kent, OH 44242, USA 3 State Key Laboratory for Oxo Synthesis and Selective Oxidation, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China 4 Institute of Materials Science, National Centre for Scientific Research “Demokritos,” Agia Paraskevi, Attikis, Greece 5 National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, 11 Zhongguancun Beiyitiao, Beijing 100190, China

Solar-to-chemical energy conversion via heterogeneous photocatalysis is one of the sustainable approaches to tackle the growing environmental and energy challenges. Among various promising photocatalytic materials, plasmonic-driven photocatalysts feature prominent solar-driven surface plasmon resonance (SPR). Non-noble plasmonic metals (NNPMs)-based photocatalysts have been identified as a unique alternative to noble metal-based ones due to their advantages like earth-abundance, cost-effectiveness, and large-scale application capability. This review comprehensively summarizes the most recent advances in the synthesis, characterization, and properties of NNPMs-based photocatalysts. After introducing the fundamental principles of SPR, the attributes and functionalities of NNPMs in governing surface/interfacial photocatalytic processes are presented. Next, the utilization of NNPMs-based photocatalytic materials for the removal of pollutants, water splitting, CO2 reduction, and organic transformations is discussed. The review concludes with current challenges and perspectives in advancing the NNPMs-based photocatalysts, which are timely and important to plasmon-based photocatalysis, a truly interdisciplinary field across materials science, chemistry, and physics.

This review examines the latest research on the design and engineering of nanoreactors for application in metal–chalcogen batteries.

Mietek Jaroniec reflects on how silicon, whether bonded with other elements in a variety of materials, in high purity for electronic devices, or in its newer 'black silicon' form, continues to be invaluable in many aspects of our lives.

This review provides enriched information for understanding the charge storage mechanisms of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), as well as the importance of intrinsic structure engineering for enhancing the performance of TMDs in energy storage.

The use of vast amounts of high-purity water for hydrogen production may aggravate the shortage of freshwater resources. Seawater is abundant but must be desalinated before use in typical proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysers. Here we report direct electrolysis of real seawater that has not been alkalised nor acidified, achieving long-term stability exceeding 100 h at 500 mA cm‾² and similar performance to a typical PEM electrolyser operating in high-purity water. This is achieved by introducing a Lewis acid layer (for example, Cr₂O₃) on transition metal oxide catalysts to dynamically split water molecules and capture hydroxyl anions. Such in situ generated local alkalinity facilitates the kinetics of both electrode reactions and avoids chloride attack and precipitate formation on the electrodes. A flow-type natural seawater electrolyser with Lewis acid-modified electrodes (Cr₂O₃–CoO₊) exhibits the industrially required current density of 1.0 A cm‾² at 1.87 V and 60 °C. ; Jiaxin Guo, Yao Zheng, Zhenpeng Hu, Caiyan Zheng, Jing Mao, Kun Du, Mietek Jaroniec, Shi-Zhang Qiao, Tao Ling

A three-dimensional (3D) catalyst was fabricated by using N-doped graphene films as scaffolds and nickel nanoparticles as building blocks via a heterogeneous reaction process. This unique structure enables high catalyst loadings and optimal electrode contact, leading to a surprisingly high catalytic activity towards OER, which almost approaches that of the state-of-the-art precious OER electrocatalysts (IrO2). Moreover, the catalytic process features favourable electrode kinetics and strong durability during long-term cycling. The dual-active-site mechanism was proposed for this 3D catalyst, i.e., Ni/NiOOH and Ni–N(O)–C are both active sites. The enhanced performance is attributed to synergistic effects of N-doped graphene and Ni, which enhance the activities of both components for OER.

Abstract We herein report the synthesis of heteroatoms doped, high surface area microporous activated carbons (AC) by utilisation of Coca Cola® as a potential source of waste biomass, for applications as CO2 adsorbent and electrodes of supercapacitors. N, S dual doped carbon spheres are firstly obtained by hydrothermal treatment of Coca Cola® and then thermally activated by either KOH or ZnCl2. The resulting KOH activated carbon material (CMC-3) exhibits extremely high adsorption capability for CO2 with 5.22 mmol g−1 at 25 °C and 1 atm, one of the highest values ever recorded for a carbonaceous material. On the other hand, ZnCl2 activated carbon material (CMC-2) performs excellently as an electrode for supercapacitor, exhibiting very high specific capacitance of 352.7 F g−1 at a current density of 1 A g−1 in 6 M KOH electrolyte, which again is one of the highest values recorded for a biomass derived AC. Coca Cola® has high content in carbon as sugars, provides in-situ doping of O, N and S and has constant composition, as opposed to other conventional biomass materials, making it an attractive and cheap alternative for synthesis of high performance AC for environmental and energy storage purposes.