Carbon Neutralization最新文献

ZnIn₂S₄ (ZIS) has garnered significant interest in photocatalytic energy conversion and environmental remediation due to its tunable band gap, strong visible-light response, and facile synthesis. However, its practical application is severely hindered by inherent limitations, including low charge carrier separation efficiency and sluggish surface reaction kinetics. Constructing heterojunctions has emerged as an effective strategy to enhance ZIS performance by leveraging precise band alignment and interface engineering to optimize charge separation. While excellent reviews on ZIS-based photocatalysis have been published, comprehensive reviews focusing specifically on the design and evaluation of ZIS-based heterojunctions remain scarce. This review systematically summarizes recent advances in ZIS-based heterojunctions, providing a detailed discussion of heterojunction types and key synthesis strategies. Multi-scale modification strategies for synergistically enhancing photocatalytic activity are also examined. Furthermore, the charge separation mechanisms and surface reaction pathways are elucidated through advanced in situ characterization techniques and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. ZIS-based heterojunctions demonstrate great potential across various photocatalytic applications, including H₂ evolution, CO₂ reduction, H₂O₂ production, N₂ fixation, pollutant degradation, and emerging fields such as plastic reforming and tumor therapy. Finally, future research directions are outlined, encompassing crystal phase regulation, adaptive heterojunction design, and AI-driven screening, thereby providing theoretical guidance for the development of highly efficient ZIS-based photocatalysts.

Electrochromic (EC) fabrics exhibiting tunable optical and thermal modulation have attracted extensive attention in both active camouflage and wearable electronic. However, the lack of compatibility among the basic components of an EC device for flexible EC fabrics remains a challenge, hindering its future application. Herein, a highly integrated all-in-one EC fabric (AECF) is developed by assembling all the essential components into a piece of fabric, which is based on the dual-band EC polyaniline (PANI), Au collector, and a gel electrolyte filled into the fabric matrix. Benefiting from such a highly integrated configuration, the AECF possesses an ultrathin thickness of 82.0 μm and high flexibility, which could endow it with good conformity on arbitrarily shaped surfaces, further enhancing the applicability of the intrinsically non-stretchable EC fabrics device. Stemming from the optical modulation of the PANI EC layers, the AECF exhibits a color switch between golden yellow and dark green, with both visible and infrared reflectance modulation. Considering the excellent conformability and active optical-thermal modulation, the AECF is further developed into an environmental adaptive camouflage prototype system by integrating with a model car, which exhibits a fast color blending with dynamic environment background. This study is anticipated to provide new insights into developing high-performance EC fabrics toward the applications in wearable displays and active military camouflage.

The pursuit of highly efficient energy storage technique represents the key drive for the global energy structure transformation towards future renewable society. The state-of-the-art Li/Na-ion secondary battery that relies on the intercalation reaction is now well-established as the primary technology by the virtue of high energy and power density as well as the environmental benign. Despite the advantage, tremendous effects have been made for the improvement of the electrochemical performance of Li/Na-ion battery to mitigate the huddle between existing technology and increasing application demand. One of the major challenges lies in the further improvement of the energy efficiency, which is closely related to the voltage hysteresis behavior. The existence of voltage hysteresis could reduce energy output efficiency and accelerates capacity fading thus hindering the practical applications. Due to the voltage hysteresis between charging and discharging, it may induce the part of the energy lost, which decreases the energy conversion efficiency, increases polarization at high rates, intensifies side reactions at high potentials, and reduces the cycle life. At the same time, it also leads to the dendrite growth, promotes gas generation, and increases the risk of thermal runaway. In this review, we systematical outline the previous research on the topic which would contribute to the fundamental understanding of the origination and mechanism of voltage hysteresis. Critical assessments of battery behavior upon cycling are presented in combination with summaries of multiple modification strategies to mitigate the hysteresis in both Li/Na-ion battery. The remaining problems and future prospectives are also proposed which are expected to facilitate for the rational design of advanced electrode materials. This, in our point of view, could inspire the novel insight into future battery development towards practical application as well.

Aqueous electrolytes, while conferring inherent safety advantages, inevitably induce hydrogen-evolution corrosion, resulting in nonuniform Zn deposition and shortened cycle life. Herein, a novel electrolyte with buffering function is designed to modulate ion behavior and stabilize interface pH. The introduced additive acts as a cushion maskant (CM) that spontaneously adsorbs onto the Zn metal surface, displacing interfacial water molecules and thereby suppressing corrosion. Simultaneously, its coordination with Zn²⁺ homogenizes the Zn²⁺ flux to promote uniform deposition. Moreover, the protonation/deprotonation equilibria of CM within the electrolyte buffer local pH fluctuations, stabilizing the interfacial microenvironment. Consequently, a beneficial solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) is established, which further shields the Zn anode, enhances interfacial stability, and markedly improves cycling durability. Accordingly, Zn//Zn symmetrical cells in CM-containing electrolyte can realize exceptional lifespan for 2800 h at 2 mA cm⁻² and 970 h even at 10 mA cm⁻². In addition, CM demonstrates the superior practical applicability in Zn//I₂ full cells for long-term and rate tests. Zn//I₂ pouch full cell can operate for 150 mAh with CM. This study offers a distinctive and comprehensive strategy for stabilizing the Zn anode.

The practical application of solid polymer electrolytes (SPE) is limited due to notorious high crystallinity and low ionic conductivity. Existing research concentrated on reducing crystallinity and increasing Li salt concentration have made certain process. However, the segmentation and isolation effects of large and numerous grains on amorphous region have always been overlooked and the effect of grain size remains largely unexplored. Herein, take polyethylene oxide (PEO) as an example, “grain size refinement” strategy is adopted to improve the related room-temperature ionic conductivity by simply placing PEO based SPE on Li sheets coated with ester monomers and conducting in-situ polymerization. During these processes, in addition to reducing the interaction force between polymer chains and decreasing the driving force for crystallization, ester monomers are conducive to form interface with polymer clusters, which serves as additional nucleation sites and promotes the formation of refined grains. Then instantaneous high-temperature provided by muffle furnace triggers rapid solidification of monomers, leading to the locking of refined grain structure and the formation of more interconnected amorphous regions. Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry and polarization microscope confirm these processes, while small-angle X-ray scattering results indicate that the grain size reduces to one-third of its original size. Then the room-temperature conductivity increased by at least two orders of magnitude for PEO-based SPE.

Wearable heaters with multifunctional capabilities and high performance are in high demand for future personal thermal management. However, the development of such devices remains challenging due to limitations in flexibility, complex fabrication, inadequate Joule heating efficiency, insufficient electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding, and poor antibacterial performance. Here, Ag@PEDOT heterostructures were decorated on laser-induced graphene (LIG) through a simple spray-coating process followed by a facile chemical synthetic method to deposit silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) onto the PEDOT layers. The resulting composite retains the intrinsic flexibility and comfort of the original graphene matrices, while demonstrating exceptional Joule heating characteristics—achieving a broad temperature range (30°C–100°C) at low operating voltages (0.8–2.6 V) and a rapid photothermal response (reaching 89.6°C within 180 s at 1.5 sun irradiation). Moreover, the material exhibits superior electromagnetic shielding effectiveness (33 dB in the X-band) and outstanding antibacterial activity, with an inhibition rate exceeding 95% against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. This study offers a promising strategy for designing multifunctional wearable heaters suited for personal healthcare and thermal management applications.

Iron-based Prussian blue analogs (PBAs) represent promising, facile-to-prepare, and low-cost positive electrode materials for sodium-ion batteries. However, their practical application is hindered by the markedly irreversible three-phase transitions and severe lattice distortion that occur during sodium ion storage, leading to capacity limitations and diminished cycling stability. Herein, a simple pyrrole-induced phase transition engineering strategy is proposed to successfully transform monoclinic PBAs into cubic polypyrrole-PBAs (PPy-PBAs). In situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) testing and density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the phase transition mechanism transforms from an unfavorable three-phase process to a highly reversible two-phase transition. Compared to complex three-phase transition (PBAs), the efficient two-phase transition (PPy-PBAs) exhibits smaller lattice volume contraction/expansion and less Fe-C/Fe-N bond length stretching/shrinking, demonstrating remarkable structural stability. Moreover, this strategy effectively reduced the energy barrier for sodium-ion (Na⁺) migration, with the density of states crossing the Fermi level, significantly enhancing electronic conductivity, and thereby facilitating redox reactions and Na⁺ transport kinetics within the material. The reversible two-phase transition enables sustainable sodium-ion storage through phase-transition engineering. Compared with PBAs that undergo structural distortion and significant lattice strain, the optimized positive electrode material demonstrates a discharge capacity of 136 mAh/g and an ultralong stable cycling lifespan of 1700 cycles, establishing new possibilities for advanced sodium-ion batteries.

Electrochemical CO₂ reduction (CO₂RR) holds promise for sustainable fuel and chemical production but faces fundamental challenges rooted in limited CO₂ availability and high activation reaction barriers. These issues manifest as slow kinetics, low selectivity, and poor stability under industrial operational conditions. While the catalyst/electrolyte interface engineering plays a decisive role in modulating the local microenvironment, which directly influences the kinetics and thermodynamics of CO₂RR, current understanding remains fragmented due to the complex interplay of interfacial factors. Herein, in this review, we address this gap by moving beyond conventional categorization by materials or products. We present a unified mechanism-oriented framework that directly links interfacial design strategies for tackling the core challenges of CO₂ availability, site accessibility, and reaction affordability. We systematically decouple the interface interactions and survey interfacial engineering strategies for CO₂ reduction, including mass-transport control, electrostatic microenvironment tuning, molecular functionalization, and device–interface engineering. By elucidating the mechanistic principles behind these strategies and their interconnections, this review provides actionable guidelines for engineering robust interfaces that break inherent trade-offs among activity, selectivity, and stability. We aim for this perspective to not only advance understanding of microenvironment modulation but also accelerate the development of scalable, carbon-neutral energy conversion technologies.

This study explored thermal and electrodeposition impacts of distinct chaotic current waveforms to enhance current efficiency and reduce heat loss through the regulation of electrode interfacial reaction dynamics, advancing current efficiency, energy conservation, and carbon neutrality. Two universal control methodology was developed to achieve independent amplitude and offset boosting of arbitrary chaotic signals, implemented through a specially designed chaotic circuit. Three distinct waveforms (w-, F-, and G-signals) were systematically investigated for their thermal and electrochemical effects. Experimental and COMSOL simulation results demonstrated that Joule heating was governed by both fluctuation amplitude and frequency characteristics, following the sequence w < F < G. When the current density was about 1500 A/m², the corresponding optimal voltage fluctuations were identified as 2.8 V (w), 0.51 V (F), and 0.23 V (G), yielding current efficiency improvements of 2.2%, 0.7%, and 5.1%, respectively, based on the electrodeposition experiments. Combining experiments on electrolytes at different temperatures with corresponding SEM characterization revealed that chaotic current suppresses manganese nodules not only through Joule heating-induced temperature rise, but also via effective regulation of the interfacial electrochemical environment, thus allowing effective inhibition even at lower temperatures. These findings provide both theoretical insights and practical methodologies for implementing chaotic currents in industrial electrodeposition processes.

V-based materials, with the high specific capacity and multi-electron redox reactions, are considered as preferred cathodes for low-cost and high-safety aqueous zinc-ion batteries. Nevertheless, poor electronic conductivity, sluggish kinetics, vanadium dissolution, and unstable structure pose severe challenges for the further practical applications. To address these issues, in this study, transition metal ions Mo⁶⁺ and polyaniline were incorporated into V₂O₅ derived from vanadium acetylacetonate via a one-step hydrothermal method (MPVO). The results reveal that MPVO exhibits a unique three-dimensional (3D) sea urchin-like morphology with a satisfactory specific surface area and high concentration of oxygen vacancies. These characteristics offer more reaction sites for Zn²⁺ and adjust the electronic conductivity. Moreover, kinetic analysis and density-functional-theory calculations indicate that MPVO performs metallic behavior, with the lowest Zn²⁺ diffusion barrier and outstanding pseudocapacitive storage capacity. Hence, the MPVO cathode delivers a reversible capacity of approximately 457.5 mAh g⁻¹ at 0.1 A g⁻¹. Moreover, it demonstrates remarkable high-rate capacity and robust long-cycle performance. This study realizes a triple-strategy approach of enlarging the interlayer spacing, evolving from a zero-dimensional (0D) to 3D sea urchin-like morphology, and introducing abundant defects. These synergistic strategies significantly enhance the rapid kinetics and high stability of the MPVO cathode and provide new insights for designing V-based cathodes.