Themed collection Nanomaterials for a sustainable future: From materials to devices and systems

Ionic liquids have further propelled the development of LMBs with their unique properties. In this review, the recent advances by regulating solvation and interfacial chemistry in IL-based electrolytes were systematically discussed.

This review presents recent advancements in direct optical lithography of nanomaterials, covering the technique's evolution, key patterning strategies, applications, and future research directions.

This review provides an in-depth analysis of the key aspects related to in situ grown TMS electrodes, including the selection of TMS active materials, various substrates, and materials engineering.

Bio-implantable triboelectric nanogenerators for future medical applications.

This work introduces the selection and preparation of DACs for the 2 + 1e⁻ ORR EF process and concludes with a discussion on challenges and future directions for the intelligent design of electrodes and reactors in EF purification technologies.

Electrospun carbon nanofibers provide electrode materials with customizable structures for supercapacitors.

This review summarizes recent advances and provides a comprehensive discussion on nanoscale halide perovskites (NHPs) CO₂ photocatalysis, including product selectivity, retrofitting strategies, and charge transport mechanism characterization.

Geometrical frustration results from the packing of constituents in a lattice, where the constituents have conflicting forces.

A system is proposed for inorganic Hg²⁺ sensing, based on modified alamethicin tethered with a thymine-rich peptide nucleic acid moiety, capable of generating ion channel oligomers whose activity is thymine–Hg²⁺–thymine complexation dependent.

Symmetrical solid oxide fuel cells (SSOFCs) represent a promising path towards energy conversion and storage solutions characterized by reduced material costs, simplified manufacturing, and improved operational stability.

A novel Co/Co₂P/VN catalyst with abundant heterointerfaces exhibited excellent HER (111 mV at 10 mA cm⁻²), OER (379 mV at 10 mA cm⁻²), and ORR performance (E_1/2 = 0.865 V) due to the synergistic effect of active components.

Machine learning (ML) approaches have emerged as powerful tools to accelerate materials discovery and optimization, offering a sustainable alternative to traditional trial-and-error methods in exploratory experiments.

A ternary PtNP-ZnO@CQDs nano-catalyst, made via a one-pot process, outdoes commercial catalysts in MOR, OER, and ORR. As a Zn–air battery cathode, it delivers high energy density and durability, showing great promise for future energy applications.

ZnIn₂S₄ and CuWO₄ form an S-scheme heterojunction, effectively separating photo-generated carriers. The photothermal effect further enhances the reaction rate, achieving efficient hydrogen evolution.

Balanced deintercalation and reinsertion of framework atoms was used to stabilize water-sensitive germanosilicate zeolites. They become resistant to structural degradation and thus available for modification and use.

Development of highly functional and green electrocatalyst which mimics the natural enzymes for 100% efficiency, selectivity and low-over potential based facile operation is the ultimate aim for the success of the future electrochemical CO₂ reduction based carbon net-zero technologies.

Bimetallic Co–Ni hydroxide nanosheets for pseudocapacitors and oxygen evolution reaction.

2-D FePS₃ is shown to be a novel biodegradable broad-spectrum antimicrobial reaching 99.9% elimination of various microbial strains.

A c-MOF is grown on MX-CNF, which was prepared via electrospining method. Furthermore, it utilized for flexible supercapcitors with different flexibility angles.

A one-pot strategy was developed for the first time to achieve the precise spatial arrangement of multiple enzymes in MOFs, improving multi-enzyme cascade efficiency.

A Cu-modified SSZ-13 zeolite for enhanced NO₂ adsorption at ambient temperature.

The electrocatalytic conversion of carbon dioxide (CO₂) into valuable fuels offers immense promise in pursuing sustainable energy solutions.

This study develops a state-of-the-art passive radiative cooling emitter with 95.5% reflectance and 97.9% emissivity, achieving an average temperature reduction of 20.1 °C and a cooling power of 121.0 W m⁻² under intense sunlight.

A novel nano-silica functionalized material developed for dual functions of sensing and remediation of specific analytes, offering benefits of sensitive detection, high adsorption capacity with recyclability & biosensing capability.

The intermetallic phases Ni₃Te₂, NiTe, NiTe_2−x & NiTe₂ were synthesized as carbon-black supported nanoparticles using the vapour–solid synthesis approach and were characterized for their performance in electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution.

A novel eco-friendly composite electrode/current collector made from polycaprolactone and graphite filler offers bulk conductivity, is freestanding, cost-effective, and shows supercapacitive energy storage potential with electrodeposited polyaniline.

The electrical properties of V_1−xTi_xSe₂ are highly tunable, suggesting a promising application in future electronic devices. This work reports the weak localization in VSe₂ and TiSe₂ single crystals, which can be modulated by the defect density.

K⁺ and ethylene glycol are co-inserted into the intermediate layer of NH₄V₄O₁₀ to regulate the interplanar spacing, oxygen deficiency, redox activity and micromorphology, boosting the zinc storage activity of the material.

Copper (Cu) was recovered from e-waste using reduced graphene oxide (rGO), and the recovered material was further upcycled into Cu/CuO@C. This upcycled material was then evaluated for its potential as an electrode material in supercapacitors.

Carbon black, a nano-porous material usually derived from the pyrolysis of waste tyres possesses varied particle sizes and morphology making it a viable material for several engineering applications.

A cation exchange method enables the synthesis of highly crystalline 2D Ni_xS nanoplates with fine-tuned morphology. These nanoplates exhibit excellent OER performance, achieving a 329 mV overpotential at 10 mA cm⁻² and a 52 mV dec⁻¹ Tafel slope.

A novel material with a dendritic silica substrate and anthraquinone amide ligand enables simultaneous lithium detection and adsorption in water, offering green-emissive sensing, high adsorption capacity, fast kinetics, and biosensing.

Semiconducting polymer, [(Cu₃I₃L)_n], having a layered structure, shows efficient supercapattery performance with excellent stability. The performance is attributed to the Cu/Cu²⁺ redox couple accompanying dual ion (de)intercalation.

When two or more adjacent droplets coalesce, excess surface energy is generated, which can be converted into the kinetic energy of the merged droplet through a suitable nanostructure and the superhydrophobicity of the surface.

A unique kind of organic small molecules with two zincophilic sites is demonstrated as the bifunctional interface stabilizer (BIS) for promoting uniform Zn deposition and suppressing dendrite formation.

Nanofluidic catalytic membranes composed of two-dimensional graphene oxide nanosheets and ZIF-67 crystals swiftly eliminate organic pollutants from wastewater.

ATEM image of nanoparticles of as-prepared Mg₂Ni for hydrogen storage.

This study introduces an FeSiF₆ additive synthesized via the reaction of HF with Si–Fe alloys. It prevents crystalline Li₁₅Si₄ formation and promotes stable SEI film, significantly enhancing the cycling stability of silicon-based anodes.

This study explores amine-functionalized dendritic fibrous nanosilica (DFNS) as a highly efficient, base-free heterogeneous catalyst for nitro-aldol (Henry) condensation and additive-free CO₂ utilization, outperforming existing catalysts.

We propose α-graphyne, with a low diffusion barrier and excellent thermodynamical stability, as a promising anode host for Na-ion batteries. We developed a new computational scheme to accurately calculate theoretical specific capacity (TSC).

The Y-Ni₃(NO₃)₂(OH)₄ material is used for zinc-based alkaline batteries. The constructed Zn-Ni batteries offer a high energy density (379 Wh kg⁻¹) with a power density of 1749 W kg⁻¹.

TDA-COF, a triazine-based COF with an irreversible thiadiazole linkage, swiftly carries out the blue light-powered selective conversion of thioanisoles with O₂.

A self-assembled CoFe (oxy)hydroxide nanocatalyst exhibits high mass activity and dynamic stability and overcomes the inherent defects of CoFe LDH for OER catalysis.

2D MOF derived ultra-thin carbon nanosheets with high reactivity, super-hydrophilicity and hierarchical porosity are prepared. The corresponding Zn-ion hybrid supercapacitor delivers exceptional energy storage capability with long cycling stability.

Cs-promoted In₂O₃ has demonstrated excellent catalytic activity and selectivity in photo-thermal CO₂ hydrogenation. Mechanistic studies suggest that non-thermal effects prevail, particularly at low reaction temperatures and high light intensities.

This work unveils the mechanism of FeCoNi alloy reversible exsolution from double perovskites via in situ synchrotron-based NAP-XPS and time-resolved XRD.

A nickel doping strategy has been developed to prepare Li₂Ni_xMo_1−xO₄ as an anode for LIBs. The as-prepared Ni-doped Li₂Ni_0.05Mo_0.95O₄ shows a stable lithium storage capacity of 686.6 mA h g⁻¹, much higher than 365 mA h g⁻¹ for a Li₂MoO₄ anode.

Tuning the electrochemical behaviors of Na metal anodes via building Na⁺-conducting channels through a facile rolling and folding method.

Novel SH-COF and exchangeable bonds enabled recyclable IPN membrane for effective molecular sieving and water remediation via pore size reduction and surface charge enhancement.

B/N/P co-doped biomass carbons with optimized pore structure and electrical conductivity exhibited supervisor electrochemical performance in supercapacitors and sodium-ion batteries.

Interactions between solvents with surface Sn atoms are unravelled experimentally and theoretically for impacting the electronic properties of 2D SnO₂ nanosheets.

Flexible and in-plane micro-supercapacitor with high volumetric capacitance based on ultrathin Co(OH)₂ nanosheets.

This study showcases a supercapacitor device with oxygen–nitrogen dual functionalized and sulfurized iron–nickel hydroxysulfide, demonstrating high performance and stability for energy storage.

The schematic of CEI evolution.

By balancing carrier injection and improving charge generation efficiency, the EQE of red tandem QLEDs obtained by all-solution processing exceeds 35%.

Single-atom iron electrocatalysts have emerged as up-and-coming alternatives to platinum-based catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction.

We developed a computational protocol combining DFT, COSMO-RS, and machine learning to investigate the thermodynamic properties of 190 binary solvent mixtures. This approach demonstrates high potential for guiding electrolyte design.

Ru–ZrO₂/C with effective light-to-heat conversion and low-valence Ru achieves 504.1 mmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹ of rate and 98.9% selectivity for photothermal CO₂ methanation.

In situ amino alcohol hybrid ZMO NPs have been developed, which not only reduces exciton quenching at the QDs/ETL interface, but also enhances electron injection. In the end, a peak EQE of 8.6% and an extremely low efficiency roll-off were achieved.

A new passivator, 4-aminophenyl sulfone (APS), containing a Lewis base group (SO), could interact with the uncoordinated Pb²⁺ on perovskite surface, which not only reduces trap state density but also induces a more p-type surface of perovskite film.