Energy & Environmental Materials最新文献

Electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO₂RR), powered by advanced technologies such as solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOEC), is a promising method to convert CO₂ into valuable carbon-based products using renewable electricity. The high chemical stability of CO₂ requires catalysts to exhibit both high activity and stable electrocatalytic performance. However, catalysts that deliver high performance in CO₂RR are rare and still require further improvement. Here, we report a strategy that can efficiently enhance catalyst activity through Zn doping, which introduces active frustrated Lewis pairs (FLP) to improve the catalyst's ability to activate small molecules. A high current density of −1.85 A cm⁻² at 800 °C under a bias voltage of 1.5 V was achieved using the Sr₂Fe_0.8Zn_0.2MoO_6-δ (SFZn_0.2M) cathode with pure CO₂ feeding gas, surpassing previously reported results for perovskite oxide cathodes. This SOEC device also demonstrates excellent stability, with negligible degradation over tests lasting up to 110 h.

Mixed halide perovskites exhibit great potential as materials for the future generation of photovoltaic devices. Yet, their reaction to moisture remains uncertain, necessitating further exploration. While prolonged exposure to moisture can lead to degradation, it can also passivate traps at an optimal moisture level. Here, we use scanning probe microscopy to perform nanoscale moisture-dependent photovoltaic characterizations of open and compressed grain boundary (GB) structures of wide bandgap (FAPbI₃)_0.3(FAPbBr₃)_0.7 perovskites. The investigation reveals a decrease in the potential barrier at compact GBs with increasing moisture levels, contrasting with the behavior observed in open GBs. Moreover, the photocurrent distribution over both samples proportionally increases when relative humidity (RH) is raised from 10% to 60%. Notably, following a 24-h exposure at RH 60%, the compact-GB sample demonstrates: i) a reduction in the density of charged trap states at GBs, ii) higher photocurrent, accompanied by a noticeable decrease in current hysteresis compared to the open GB sample, and iii) further enhancement in device efficiency and crystallinity compared to devices with open GBs. These findings suggest that optimizing humidity conditions in engineering the GB chemistry can enhance the optoelectrical properties of GBs, ultimately leading to improved device performance.

The promising prospects for all-day building thermal management are driving widespread research into spectrally selective manipulation materials. This article first summarizes the evolution path of metal reversible deposition technology, noting its advantages of cost-effectiveness and scientific rigor. It then highlights the groundbreaking work by Wang et al. (published in ACS Energy Letters, 2025, 10, 3231) on coupling metastructured photothermal conversion electrodes and reversible Cu deposition for all-day energy management. Finally, the commercial viability of Wang et al.'s approach for building energy saving and its potential applicability to other scenarios are elaborated.

Micro-sized silicon (mSi) anodes offer high capacity for next-generation lithium-ion batteries but suffer from severe volume changes, causing unstable interphases and poor cycling. Traditional electrolytes derive unstable electrolyte/electrolyte interphases, and flammable solvents pose safety risks. Here, we introduce a non-flammable molten salt electrolyte, which consists of lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide, potassium bis(fluorosulfonyl)amide, and cesium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide in a mole ratio of 0.3:0.35:0.35 (noted as Li_0.3K_0.35Cs_0.35FSA), that forms an inorganic interphase on mSi, stabilizing the electrode/electrolyte interface. Computational and experimental insights elucidate the FSA⁻ anion decomposition-derived SEI predominantly of LiF, Li₃N, Li₂O, and Li₂S, which exhibits mechanical resilience and low interfacial resistance, effectively accommodating the significant volume expansion of silicon during lithiation/delithiation. As a result, the Li||mSi half-cell achieves 60.7% capacity retention after 100 cycles with 99.5% average Coulombic efficiency. Overall, the Li_0.3K_0.35Cs_0.35FSA electrolyte eliminates flammability concerns while enabling robust cycling performance. This work demonstrates a safe, high-energy battery system by coupling mSi anodes with stable molten salt electrolytes, addressing both interfacial instability and safety challenges in mSi-based lithium-ion batteries.

All-optically controlled artificial synapses for neuromorphic vision offer unique advantages in simplifying circuit design and minimizing power consumption, meeting the application demands of the current artificial intelligence era. However, developing all-optically controlled devices that combine high performance and high reproducibility remains a significant challenge. In this work, we demonstrate an all-optically controlled artificial synapse based on ZnO and Cs₂CoCl₄ single crystal connected structure, which integrates light information sensing and processing capabilities. Relying on the simple series-connected structure, as well as the positive photoconductance of ZnO and the negative photoconductance of Cs₂CoCl₄, the optically controlled bidirectional synaptic plasticity is realized under ultraviolet and visible light stimulation without additional voltage modulation in the all-optically controlled synapse. In addition, leveraging its ultraviolet-enhanced feature extraction and visible-suppression capabilities, the all-optically controlled synapse can act as denoising units in bioinformation preprocessing and weight-updating units in feature recognition. The proposed all-optically controlled synapses exhibit excellent information perception, low-level noise reduction, and high-level cognition functions for bioinformation recognition under complex light conditions. We believe that this work can provide structural-level insights and inspirations in the design and fabrication of all-optically controlled synapses to promote the application for efficient neuromorphic vision in the future.

Anode-free sodium metal batteries hold significant promise for high-energy-density storage but face critical challenges related to sodium deposition dynamics and interfacial instability. Traditional approaches, such as alloy-based current collectors or fluorinated interfaces, often suffer from irreversible volume expansion or corrosive fabrication processes. This study introduces a solvent co-intercalation-mediated in situ sodiophilic interface engineering strategy to overcome these limitations. A graphitized carbon-modified aluminum current collector dynamically regulates interfacial evolution through solvated sodium-ion co-intercalation during initial cycling, prompting the formation of a C-NaF interface with ultralow Na⁺ adsorption energy. This sodiophilic interface not only facilitates uniform sodium nucleation by providing abundant sodium-philic sites but also encourages the preferential decomposition of anions in the electrolyte, leading to the creation of a robust and NaF-rich solid electrolyte interphase. Consequently, the asymmetric half-cell delivers an ultralow nucleation overpotential (9.7 mV at 0.5 mA cm⁻²) and maintains an average coulombic efficiency of 99.8% over 400 cycles at 1 mA cm⁻². When combined with a Na₃V₂(PO₄)₂O₂F (NVPOF) cathode, the full cell achieves an energy density of 363 Wh kg⁻¹ with 80% capacity retention after 250 cycles at 0.5 C. This work integrates molecular-level dynamic interfacial engineering with macroscopic electrochemical stability, providing a scalable industrial solution for next-generation battery systems.

Conductive cotton fabrics have emerged as promising platforms for advanced wearable applications, including strain sensing, electrical heating, and photothermal conversion. However, their widespread adoption is hindered by several critical limitations: dependence on petroleum-based materials, inherent hydrophilicity, and insufficient durability in practical environments. To overcome these challenges, an eco-friendly, mussel-inspired conductive coating system comprising tannic acid, cellulose nanofibers, and carbon nanotubes is developed. Through a facile dip-coating approach followed by in situ tannic acid polymerization-induced surface roughening and octadecylamine modification, a superhydrophobic conductive cotton fabric combining exceptional flexibility, breathability, and environmental stability is fabricated. The resulting superhydrophobic conductive cotton fabric demonstrates outstanding strain-sensing performance, featuring a rapid response time (127 ms) and reliable signal output over 4000 stretching cycles, capable of precisely detecting various human motions even underwater. Furthermore, the superhydrophobic conductive cotton fabric achieves impressive electrothermal (103.9 °C at 15 V) and photothermal (104.2 °C at 350 mW cm⁻²) conversion efficiencies with excellent temperature controllability. This multifunctional fabric presents a sustainable solution for next-generation wearable electronics and intelligent thermal management systems, addressing both environmental concerns and performance requirements for real-world applications.

Metal–organic framework (MOF)-derived porous carbon has attracted particular attention in the electrochemical energy storage field, of which the key is the design and preparation of electrode materials with adjustable porosity and defects for supercapacitors. Here, a novel strategy of coating ZIF-8 with coal tar pitch (CTP) is presented to tailor the porosity and defects of derived porous carbon, by which the inward contraction of ZIF-8 is prevented to enlarge the ultra-micropores, and the defects of ZIF-8-derived carbon are repaired to form a continuous conjugated network. The tradeoff between porosity and electrical conductivity endows this novel hard/soft carbon electrode with fast ion/electron diffusion, achieving high yet balanced capacitance and rate performance of a top-level specific area-normalized capacitance (40 μF cm⁻²) and a capacitance retention of 52.1% at a 1000-fold increased current density. Meanwhile, the novel electrode realizes a high capacitance of 704 F g⁻¹ at 1 A g⁻¹ and capacitance retention of 91.9% after 50 000 cycles in KOH + PPD electrolyte. This study provides an effective approach to designing novel hard/soft carbon with tuned porosity and carbon defects from MOFs and CTP for supercapacitors and other metal-ion batteries.

Capacitor-related energy storage devices with high power density, excellent cycle stability, wide operating temperature range, and environmental friendliness have enjoyed great popularity. However, the relatively poor energy density hinders their practical large-scale application. Electrospun carbon-based materials are ideal candidates owing to their large specific surface area (SSA), affluent porosity, high conductivity, good flexibility, and stable chemical properties. Therefore, this review provides the research progress of electrospun carbon-based materials for conventional and hybrid supercapacitors in recent years. First, the electrospinning technology is briefly introduced, and then the research progress of various electrospun carbon-based materials for conventional and hybrid supercapacitors is reviewed. Finally, the problems faced by electrospinning technology and developing electrospun carbon-based materials for conventional and hybrid supercapacitors are summarized and prospected. It is expected to provide some ideas for developing new high-performance electrospun carbon-based materials for conventional and hybrid supercapacitors.

The irreversible interfacial side reactions of lithium-rich layered oxides at high voltage lead to deterioration of cycling performance. Herein, we construct a Ce³⁺-rich surface layer on the lithium-rich layered oxides surface. Owing to the strong chemical affinity between rare-earth elements and oxygen, the Ce-rich spinel surface layer is completely encapsulated around the lithium-rich layered oxides particles. Also, an excess of Ce³⁺ leads to the formation of Li_xCeO_2−y nanoparticles, which are adorned on the surface layer. This surface modification lowers the work function, promoting the formation of a thin, inorganic-rich, and uniform cathode–electrolyte interphase. Consequently, this layer mitigates the dissolution of transition metals and enhances the stability of the surface lattice oxygen. Consequently, the LLO@Ce cathode demonstrates a high-capacity retention of 93.12% at 1 C after 500 cycles. This work presents a promising path for stabilizing the surface of lithium-rich layered oxides, thereby enhancing its cycling performance for high-energy-density lithium-ion batteries.