Carbon Neutralization最新文献

The global pursuit of sustainable energy solutions has intensified research into efficient hydrogen production, with ammonia (NH₃) decomposition emerging as a promising method due to its high hydrogen content. Catalyst design is critical to this process, in which carbon-based supports play a key role in enhancing performance. This review explores the use of various carbon-based supports, such as activated carbon, carbon nanotubes, Sibunit, mesoporous carbon, graphene, and xerogels, as carriers for metal catalysts in NH₃ decomposition. These supports offer thermal stability, high surface area, and favorable electronic properties, promoting better dispersion of active metal sites. This review critically examines both noble and non-noble metal catalysts and discusses how the carbon support structure and modifications influence performance. Mechanistic insights into NH₃ decomposition, key elementary steps, and catalyst behavior are detailed. Challenges and future directions in carbon-supported catalyst development are highlighted to guide advancements in hydrogen production and sustainable energy systems.

Aqueous batteries represent a significant research area due to their low cost and high safety advantages. However, aqueous electrolytes suffer from high side-reaction activity, narrow electrochemical windows, and insufficient interface stability and are frozen at low temperatures, thus hampering practical applications. This review focuses on high-concentration brine-based aqueous electrolyte optimization strategies to address the above problems. The solvation structure, hydrogen-bond network, and interfacial components are the key factors that are altered by the appropriate salts, solvent selection, and electrode interaction. A high concentration of brine decreases the free water content, inhibits the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER), and widens the electrochemical window. Additional salts and solvents in the electrolyte can further promote the formation of the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) and the cathode electrolyte interphase (CEI) to reduce deleterious interfacial side reactions. At the same time, the synergistic effects between the cathodes/anodes and the electrolyte expand the electrochemical window, improve the interface stability, and enhance the electrochemical properties of aqueous batteries. In this review, we describe the optimization strategies and mechanisms to provide guidance to future research on high-concentration electrolytes (HCE) and the challenge of high-energy and wide-temperature-range applications.

Exploring new POPs disposal strategies and synthesizing carbonous energy storage materials are two important and urgent issues in environmental and energy fields, which may be realized simultaneously through an efficient one-pot process that applies the carbon skeleton structure of POPs in the synthesis of advanced functional carbon materials. Herein, a solvent-free mechanochemical strategy is proposed to convert hazardous dechlorane plus (DP) into alkynyl carbon material (ACM) with a unique structure and high electrochemical performance. In this process, DP is efficiently degraded into ACM and harmless CaCl₂ with CaC₂ as co-milling reagent, the strategy shows green and feasible manner, and main influence factors show reciprocal compensatory effect. The resultant ACM possesses unique composition and structure with alkynyl-linked DP carbon skeleton and well ordered internal structure. Besides, the ACM electrode exhibits good electrochemical performance with high specific capacitance (222.6 F cm^–3), good electrical conductivity and outstanding cycling stability. This study realizes the integrated combination of efficient degradation of hazardous DP and green synthesis of functional ACMs, further provides an innovative perspective for the current problems in the field of environment, energy, and materials.

Carbon aerogel supported phase change materials (PCMs) can confer multifunctional properties to ordinary PCMs and meet specific requirements in extreme environments. In this study, composite phase change materials (CPCMs) with integrated insulation and thermal conductivity functions were successfully developed through the physical integration of a thermal insulation layer and a thermal conductivity layer. The structurally stable carbonized polyimide (C-PI)/carbon nanotubes (CNTs) aerogel acts as the thermal conductivity layer substrate. The aerogel obtained from a polyamic acid salt (PAS) composite with carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) was used for the thermal insulation layer. Then, polyethylene glycol was vacuum-impregnated into the integrated aerogel to prepare CPCMs with integrated insulation, thermal conductivity, and thermal energy storage functions. When the mass ratio of CNTs to PAS was 2, the enthalpy reaches 160.3 J/g and the PEG loading reaches 95.56%. Moreover, the presence of CNTs increased the thermal conductivity of the thermal conductive layer to 0.433 W/m K. In addition, the bilayer CPCMs can conduct heat quickly and also have a good thermal insulation effect. The all-in-one material achieves a perfect combination of dual functions and provides a new solution for thermal management of power devices. Furthermore, the bilayer CPCMs also have great application potential in the field of infrared stealth.

Planar silicon/perovskite tandem solar cells exhibit significant advantages over textured architectures, including simplified fabrication, reduced cost, and scalability for industrial production. However, their planar configuration inherently leads to substantial optical losses. Here, we systematically analyze optical loss mechanisms in planar silicon/perovskite tandem devices and develop an optical simulation framework to address current-matching challenges between sub-cells. Through precise manipulation of hole transport layer thickness, we demonstrate synergistic optimization of parasitic absorption and reflection in the top cell. This approach yields a semi-transparent device with a short-circuit current density of 19.48 mA/cm² and a power conversion efficiency of 20.37%. An optical coupling model is established to determine optimal layer thicknesses under current-matched conditions for a tandem device. For bifacial configurations, active layer thickness and bandgap are co-optimized. Simulation results reveal that a 1.56 eV bandgap perovskite layer (800 nm) achieves 35.40% efficiency at 0.3 albedo. Cost analysis shows bifacial devices reduce the levelized cost of energy to $0.258/W at 0.3 albedo, representing a 12.8% reduction compared to single-sided Ag-coated counterparts. This study provides a comprehensive optical design strategy and cost-performance evaluation, offering critical insights for developing next-generation low-cost, high-efficiency tandem photovoltaic architectures.

The growing demand for clean and sustainable energy sources, triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have emerged as an efficient solution for harvesting electrical energy from biomechanical motion. In this study, we report the fabrication of TENG using sonochemically prepared graphene/polydimethylsiloxane (SGP) nanocomposite films as an active tribo-negative layer and polyethylene oxide (PEO) as a tribo-positive layer. The nanocomposite film with 0.75 wt% graphene exhibited superior triboelectric performance, achieving a high output voltage of 415 V and a current of 5.06 µA, respectively. The surface potential characteristics and charge transfer behaviour were systematically studied using Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) and density functional theory (DFT) simulations, suggesting enhanced charge-trapping capability in the nanocomposite film is due to the presence of graphene in the polymer matrix. The fabricated SGP-TENG was successfully integrated into practical applicability such as human motion monitoring, gaming interfaces, and power-point control confirming its potential in futuristic self-powered systems.

Front cover image: The use of covalent organic frameworks (COFs) to construct solid-state electrolytes is highly significant for improving the performance of lithium metal batteries. In article number CNL270028, the cover image vividly depicts the decomposition of lithium salt within the electrolyte: anions (gold) are adsorbed by the COF framework, while lithium ions (silver) migrate rapidly through the COF channels, thus enabling highly efficient single-ion conduction and leading to notable improvement in overall battery performance.

In n–i–p perovskite solar cells (PSCs), the buried interface of the perovskite layer is crucial for boosting both performance and stability. Here, multifunctional small molecule potassium trifluoromethanesulfonate (TFSK) is employed as an interlayer to efficiently bridge SnO₂ and the buried perovskite film, simultaneously regulating interfacial energetics and morphology. This strategy provides several advantages: (1) TFSK passivates oxygen vacancy defects and surface hydroxyl groups on SnO₂, while also improving energy level alignment; (2) TFSK modification induces a loose and porous morphology in PbI₂, facilitating the diffusion of ammonium salts and promoting sufficient ionic reactions to high-quality FAPbI₃ films; (3) TFSK interacts strongly with perovskite through Lewis acid–base interaction (between S=O groups and uncoordinated Pb²⁺) and hydrogen bonding (between F⁻ and formamidinium cations), significantly suppressing non-radiative recombination. Consequently, the quality of both SnO₂ and perovskite films is significantly improved, which greatly boosts the power conversion efficiency of small-size PSCs to 25.82%, with a high open-circuit voltage of 1.19 V, a minimal voltage loss of 0.341 V, and negligible hysteresis. Moreover, the optimized SnO₂/TFSK-based PSCs demonstrate improved storage, humidity, and thermal stability.

Engineering vacancy defects is a critical approach to modulating the properties of catalytic materials. However, the development of highly efficient vacancy defect catalysts and the investigation of their roles and effects remain challenging. In this study, nitrogen-doped carbon-coated Co₃O₄ porous nanomaterials were synthesized using ZIF-67 as a sacrificial template. Subsequently, through vacuum heat treatment, nitrogen-doped carbon-coated Co₃O₄ porous nanomaterials with an appropriate amount of oxygen vacancies were finally obtained. This material exhibits excellent oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalytic activity. At a current density of 10 mA cm⁻², the overpotential is only 293 mV, and it has good cyclic stability. The existence of oxygen vacancies has been confirmed by various characterization methods. Moreover, density functional theory (DFT) calculations show that oxygen vacancies can enhance the electrical conductivity of the material, optimize the binding energy of the intermediates in the OER, and significantly improve the catalytic activity. In this study, a method of designing high-performance OER electrocatalytic materials by regulating the oxygen vacancies in the nitrogen-doped carbon-coated Co₃O₄ system is proposed, which opens up a new way for the development of efficient transition-metal-based electrocatalysts for water splitting.

Lithium-ion batteries have gained widespread application due to their high energy density, stable discharge platforms, and broad operating temperature ranges. However, both liquid and solid-state battery systems face challenges in lithium metal battery development, primarily caused by uneven lithium deposition that induces dendrite growth, leading to SEI layer damage and eventual short-circuit failure. Covalent organic frameworks (COFs), crystalline porous materials constructed from organic building units through covalent bonds, have emerged as promising candidates for ion conduction systems owing to their high surface area, tunable pore structures, and diverse functional groups. This review examines the application of COF materials in various components of lithium metal batteries, including separators, SEI layers, and solid-state electrolytes. It systematically analyzes the performance requirements and research progress of COF-based solid-state electrolytes in different cathode systems, while providing perspectives on their future development in battery technologies.