Aldehyde replacement advances efficient hydrogen production in electrolyser

The high energy consumption and production of undesired oxygen greatly restrict the wide adoption of water electrolysis for hydrogen production.In a paper recently published in Nature Catalysis,Wang and coworkers rationally introduce aldehydes for oxidation at anode to replace oxygen evolution reaction,which can produce hydrogen and value-added products at low potential,realizing efficient bipolar hydrogen production with highpurity.Moreover,these aldehydes are biomass-derived and contribute to sustainable hydrogen production.

Band structure regulation for Ni anti-electrooxidation

Under the global consensus on the urgent demands to impulse the consumption of low-emission hydrogen energy,fuel cell devices,especially anion exchange membrane full cells(AEMFCs)with promising economic advantages,have gathered extensive attention.^(1)Entitled with the intrinsic ability to catalyze anodic hydrogen oxidation reaction(HOR)as well as ample resources on the earth,nickel(Ni)has become admirable in recent research because it exhibits HOR activity as compared to platinum(Pt)by the virtue of various elaborated material designs(phase/ligand/defect engineering,etc.).

Intimately coupled WS_(2) nanosheets in hierarchical hollow carbon nanospheres as the high-performance anode material for lithium-ion storage

Lithium-ion hybrid capacitors(LIHCs)have drawn extensive attention in fleld of energy storage.However,the absence of appropriate electrode materials with rapid kinetics restricted the overall performance of the capacitors.Herein,hierarchical N,P-codoped hollow car-bon nanospheres coupling with WS_(2) nanosheets(N,P-codoped HCNS/WS_(2)NSs)were fabricated for boosting lithium storage materials.Specially,the WS_(2) nanosheets with several layers embedded in the N,P-codoped hollow carbon nanospheres could not only enhance the conduc-tivity of composites,but also provide abundant channels for the rapid transfer of ions.As a result,as-prepared N,P-codoped HCNS/WS_(2) NSs demonstrated superior rate performance and long-term cycling stability.The reversible discharge capacity of 725.2 mAh·g^(-1) could be preserved after 1000 cycles at a current density of 1.0 A·g^(-1).Fur-thermore,LIHCs devices were assembled by using N,P-codoped HCNS/WS_(2) NSs and activated carbon(AC)as the cathode and anode,which exhibited high energy density of 166.7 Wh·kg^(-1) and power density of 5312.4 W·kg^(-1).Last but not least,the capacity almost had no obvious deterioration after 6000 cycles at a high current density of 10.0 A·g^(-1).

Highly electronegative PtAu alloy for simultaneous hydrogen generation and ethanol upgrading

Simultaneous electrochemical synthesis of high-valueadded chemicals and hydrogen is a promising technology for efficient carbon utilization and renewable energy storage. However, the lack of rational guidance for designing efficient catalysts for electrosynthesis significantly hinders its development.

Editorial for special issue on metal-based materials for energy catalysis

We are so honored to present a special issue on the topic of"metal-based materials for energy catalysis"as Guest Editors of the journal Rare Metals.It showcases most recent research advances on metal-based energy catalysis and provides review and outlook for this area.The exhaustion of fossil energy drives the ongoing development of renewable energy conversion and storage.