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As the quality of fossil fuels declines and environmental contamination worsens, for the next generation of sustainable energy storage technologies, fuel cells have enormous potential. However, the kinetics of the oxygen redox processes at an air cathode are very asymmetric, which leads to low energy efficiency and a short cycle life, particularly under conditions of huge area capacity and current densities. The creation of highly active and stable nonprecious metal catalysts (NPMCs) to replace Pt-based materials remains a significant challenge in comparison to the extensively studied oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalysis under alkaline conditions. Due to their abundant sources, environmental friendliness, and low cost, B, N co-doped carbon-based (BNCs) materials have rapidly emerged as feasible substitute catalysts for the ORR. Here, we introduce a brand-new, carbon-coated FeN0.056, B, N co-doped catalyst that is equally highly active and stable. Notably, the resulting catalyst exhibits surpassingly improved ORR activity and sufficient potential cycling stability under a pH-universal electrolyte environment, which can be applied to Zn–air batteries (ZABs) in alkaline electrolytes, microbial fuel cells (MFCs) in neutral electrolytes and direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) in acidic electrolytes. Combined with earlier observations, the catalyst that we learned would lead to a fresh discussion in the field for comprehending the pH-universal electrolyte environment during ORR electrocatalysis.

The development of rechargeable Na–S batteries is very promising, thanks to their considerably high energy density, abundance of elements, and low costs and yet faces the issues of sluggish redox kinetics of S species and the polysulfide shuttle effect as well as Na dendrite growth. Following the theory-guided prediction, the rare-earth metal yttrium (Y)–N4unit has been screened as a favorable Janus site for the chemical affinity of polysulfides and their electrocatalytic conversion, as well as reversible uniform Na deposition. To this end, we adopt a metal–organic framework (MOF) to prepare a single-atom hybrid with Y single atoms being incorporated into the nitrogen-doped rhombododecahedron carbon host (Y SAs/NC), which features favorable Janus properties of sodiophilicity and sulfiphilicity and thus presents highly desired electrochemical performance when used as a host of the sodium anode and the sulfur cathode of a Na–S full cell. Impressively, the Na–S full cell is capable of delivering a high capacity of 822 mAh g–1and shows superdurable cyclability (97.5% capacity retention over 1000 cycles at a high current density of 5 A g–1). The proof-of-concept three-dimensional (3D) printed batteries and the Na–S pouch cell validate the potential practical applications of such Na–S batteries, shedding light on the development of promising Na–S full cells for future application in energy storage or power batteries.

Electrochemical glycerol oxidation reaction (GOR) is an attractive alternative anodic reaction to oxygen evolution reaction for a variety of electrolytic synthesis, thanks to the possibility of mass production of glycerol from biomass and the relative low thermodynamic potential of GOR. The development of high-activity cheap electrocatalysts toward GOR yet faces a daunting challenge. Herein, we experimentally prepare a new range of high entropy alloy (HEA) self-supported electrodes with uniform HEA nanoparticles grown on carbon cloth. The systematic electrochemical studies verify that the HEA-CoNiCuMnMo electrode exhibits attractive performance for GOR electrocatalysis with low overpotential and high selectivity toward formate products. The surface atomic configurations of HEA-CoNiCuMnMo are studied by a self-developed machine learning-based Monte Carlo simulation, which points out the catalytic active center to be Mo sites coordinated by Mn, Mo, and Ni. We further develop a hybrid alkali/acid flow electrolytic cell by pairing alkaline GOR with acidic hydrogen evolution reaction using the HEA-CoNiCuMnMo and the commercial RhIr/Ti as the anode and the cathode, respectively, which only requires an applied voltage of 0.55 V to reach an electrolytic current density of 10 mA cm–2and maintains long-term electrolysis stability over 12 days continuous running at 50 mA cm–2with Faraday efficiencies of over 99% for H2in the cathode and 92% for formate production in the anode.

Potassium-ion hybrid capacitors (PIHCs) shrewdly integrate the merits of the high energy density of battery-type anode and the high power density of capacitor-type cathode, promising prospects for potential application in a diversity of fields. Here, we report the synthesis of P-doped porous carbon nanosheets (P-PCNs) with favorable features as electrochemical storage materials, including ultrahigh specific surface area and rich activity sites. The P-PCN as Janus electrodes show highly attractive electrochemical properties of high capacity and remarkable stability for fast K+storage and manifest high capacitance for PF6–adsorption. The P-PCNs are applied as both anode and cathode materials to set up dual-carbon PIHCs, which show the capability to deliver a high energy/power density (165.2 Wh kg–1and 5934.4 W kg–1) as well as remarkable long-life capability.

The alkaline-acidic electrolyzer was reported to generate bi-value-added products of H2at cathode and benzoate at anode, respectively, which only demands a pretty low applied voltage of 0.65 V for achieving an electrolysis current density of 10 mA cm-2, thanks to the assistance of electrochemical neutralization energy.

Various strategies have been developed to mitigate the huge volume expansion of a silicon-based anode during the process of (de)lithiation and accelerate the transport rate of the ions/electrons for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Here, we report a one-step synthetic route through a low-temperature eutectic molten salt (LiCl–KCl, 352 °C) to fabricate two-dimensional (2D) silicon–carbon hybrids (Si@SiOx@MpC), in which the silicon nanoparticles (SiNPs) with an ultrathin SiOxlayer are fully encapsulated by graphene-like carbon nanosheets derived from a low-cost mesophase pitch. The combination of an amorphous graphene-like carbon conductive matrix and a SiOxprotective layer strongly promotes the electrical conductivity, structure stability, and reaction kinetics of the SiNPs. Consequently, the optimized Si@SiOx@MpC-2 anode delivers large reversible capacity (1239 mAh g–1at 1.0 A g–1), superior rate performance (762 mAh g–1at 8 A g–1), and long cycle life over 600 cycles (degradation rate of only 0.063% every cycle). When coupled with a homemade nano-LiFePO4cathode in a full cell, it exhibits a promising energy density of 193.5 Wh kg–1and decent cycling stability for 200 cycles at 1C. The methodology driven by salt melt synthesis paves a low-cost way toward simple fabrication and manipulation of silicon–carbon materials in liquid media.

The application of electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is vital in a variety of energy conversion technologies. Exploring low-cost ORR catalysts with high activity and long-term stability is highly desirable, although it still remains challenging. Herein, we report a facile and reliable route to convert ZIF-8 modified by Fe-phenanthroline into Fe-incorporated and N-doped carbon dodecahedron nanoarchitecture (Fe-NCDNA), in which carbon nanosheets are formed in situas the building blocks with uniform Fe-N-C species decoration. Systematic electrochemical studies demonstrate that the as-synthesized Fe-NCDNA electrocatalyst possesses highly attractive catalytic features toward the ORR in terms of activity and durability in both alkaline and neutral media. The Zn-air battery with the optimal Fe-NCDNA catalyst as the cathode performs impressively, delivering a power density of 184 mW cm–2and a specific capacity of 801 mAh g–1; thus, it exhibits great competitive advantages over those of the Zn-air devices employing a Pt-based cathode electro catalyst.

Developing efficient electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is imperative to enhance the overall efficiency of electrolysis systems and rechargeable metal-air batteries operating in aqueous solutions. High-entropy materials, featured with their distinctive multi-component properties, have found extensive application as catalysts in electrochemical energy storage and conversion devices. However, synthesizing nanostructured high-entropy compounds under mild conditions poses a significant challenge due to the difficulty in overcoming the immiscibility of multiple metallic constituents. In this context, the current study focuses on the synthesis of an array of nano-sized high entropy sulfides tailored for OER viaa facile precursor pyrolysis method at low temperature. The representative compound, FeCoNiCuMnSx, demonstrates remarkable OER performance, achieving a current density of 10 mA/cm2at an overpotential of merely 220 mV and excellent stability with constant electrolysis at 100 mA/cm2for over 400 h. The in-situformed metal (oxy)hydroxide has been confirmed as the real active sites and its exceptional performance can be primarily attributed to the synergistic effects arising from its multiple components. Furthermore, the synthetic methodology presented here is versatile and can be extended to the preparation of high entropy phosphides, which also present favorable OER performance. This research not only introduces promising non-noble electrocatalysts for OER but also offers a facile approach to expand the family of nano high-entropy materials, contributing significantly to the field of electrochemical energy conversion.

Developing highly efficient electrocatalysts for selective glycerol oxidation reaction (GOR) is crucial to implement biomass valorization and to advance the energy conversion efficiency of glycerol fuel cells. Herein, a hybrid alkali-acid direct glycerol fuel cell (DGFC) that can not only deliver a high power density but also enable glycerol valorization conversion is demonstrated. Such double-benefits electrochemical device is implemented by in situgrowth of FeCoNiCrMnS2nanoparticles on carbon cloth (FeCoNiCrMnS2/CC) as anode, which exhibits high activity and selectivity for GOR with low overpotential and high Faradaic efficiency toward the formate product. Based on the results of finite element method simulations of element distribution on FeCoNiCrMnS2, the electrocatalytic sites was investigate by density functional theory in conjunction with Monte Carlo and machine learning simulations and confirmed that the desired catalytic properties primarily originate from the Ni and Co sites, while Cr and Mn optimized the electronic structure of these sites. The as-developed DGFC can release a maximum peak power density of 50.1 mW cm−2and stably generate formate with high selectivity. The present work may inspire to contrive the newly advanced energy device and provide fresh impetus for the development of newly high-entropy materials for a variety of application.

Highlights: We developed an efficient and extensible strategy to produce the single-phase ternary NbSSe nanohybrids with defect-enrich microstructure. The anionic-Se doping play a key role in effectively modulating the electronic structure and surface chemistry of NbS2phase, including the increased interlayers distance (0.65 nm), the enhanced intrinsic electrical conductivity (3.23 × 103S m-1) and extra electroactive defect sites. The NbSSe/NC composite as anode exhibits rapid Na+ diffusion kinetics and increased capacitance behavior for Na+storage, resulting in high reversible capacity and excellent cycling stability. Abstract: Sodium-based dual-ion batteries (SDIBs) have gained tremendous attention due to their virtues of high operating voltage and low cost, yet it remains a tough challenge for the development of ideal anode material of SDIBs featuring with high kinetics and long durability. Herein, we report the design and fabrication of N-doped carbon film-modified niobium sulfur–selenium (NbSSe/NC) nanosheets architecture, which holds favorable merits for Na+storage of enlarged interlayer space, improved electrical conductivity, as well as enhanced reaction reversibility, endowing it with high capacity, high-rate capability and high cycling stability. The combined electrochemical studies with density functional theory calculation reveal that the enriched defects in such nanosheets architecture can benefit for facilitating charge transfer and Na+adsorption to speed the electrochemical kinetics. The NbSSe/NC composites are studied as the anode of a full SDIBs by pairing the expanded graphite as cathode, which shows an impressively cyclic durability with negligible capacity attenuation over 1000 cycles at 0.5 A g−1, as well as an outstanding energy density of 230.6 Wh kg−1based on the total mass of anode and cathode.

Exploring high-activity electrocatalysts for water electrolysis is a pivotal field of hot research as hydrogen is a very promising renewable energy source and bountiful in supply. Understanding the structure–composition–property relationships is the key for engineering improved electrocatalysts. We herein report a rational design on Ru-RuO2hybrid nanoparticles decorating carbon nanotubes composites electrocatalysts (Ru-RuO2/CNT), which shows impressively high activity toward hydrogen/oxygen evolution reaction (HER/OER) in all pH aqueous electrolytes. The Ru-RuO2/CNT, as an OER catalyst, requires ultralow overpotentials of 0.18 V, 0.27 V and 0.21 V to drive the current density of 10 mA cm−2in acidic, neutral and alkaline media, respectively. Meanwhile, the catalyst also exhibits superior HER activity with the current density of 10 mA cm−2at −0.063 V, −0.048 V and −0.012 V in acidic, neutral and alkaline media, respectively. Systematic characterizations and comprehensive electrochemical studies coupling with theoretical calculations verify that Ru favorably works with RuO2and CNT to synergistically contribute such highly desirable electrocatalytic activity. The bifunctional catalytic properties, in conjunction with its pH-universal compatibility, inspire us to an asymmetric-electrolyte electrolyzer was set up, which can harvest the electrochemical neutralization energy with implementing electrolysis H2generation with a current density of 10 mA cm−2at an applied voltage of 0.73 V. The as-developed asymmetric-electrolyte electrolyzer, by coupling high-activity but not too expensive electrocatalysts with optimizing the catalytic efficiency in their favorable electrolyte, potentially provides an environmental-friend and energy-saving avenue for the future electrolysis H2generation.

We report a relatively low-temperature molten salt strategy to prepare hollow structured N-doped noble carbon (h-NNC) with highly desirable features of ultra-large surface area (1957 m2g−1) and high graphitization, endowing the h-NNC with high activity toward catalysis of oxygen reduction reaction in acidic medium. The h-NNC is applied as cathode catalyst of an asymmetrical-electrolyte Zn-air battery, which exhibits an open circuit voltage of 2.11 V, a power density up to 270 mW cm−2, and an energy density of 1279 W h kg−1, behaving advantages over the conventional Zn-air batteries.

Exploring high-activity electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is of great significance for a variety of renewable energy conversion and storage technologies. Herein, we report a template-free, economic and environment-friendly strategy for scalable synthesis of N-doped hierarchical porous carbon nanosheets (N-HPCNSs) with biomass water lettuces as carbon precursor. The N-HPCNSs were demonstrated to possess three dimensional (3D) hierarchical porous structures with a high surface area and uniform N-doping. Systematic electrochemical study revealed that the N-HPCNSs not only hold numerous active sites but also manifest high intrinsic activity for each of the active sites toward ORR in pH-universal electrolyte of alkali, acid and neutral. With the N-HPCNSs as cathode electrocatalyst, three types of home-made fuel cells were set up that run in alkaline, acidic and neutral medium, i.e., Zn-air alkaline fuel cell, direct methanol fuel cell, and microbial fuel cell, respectively, further demonstrating its potential to replace the high-cost Pt-based electrocatalysts for practical applications. Owning to the multiple attracting features, including high catalytic activity, good durability, low cost, and scalable production, the as-developed pH-universal N-HPCNS electrocatalysts may open a promising avenue for developing the next-generation cathode electrocatalysts for fuel cells of practical significance.

Transition metal dichalcogenide is a promising candidate for platinum-free electrocatalysts in renewable energy applications. In this work, we developed an aerosol processing method for facile and green synthesis of reduced graphene oxide (rGO)/tungsten disulfide (WS2)/tungsten trioxide (WO3) ternary nanohybrids. The resulting material has a spherical structure constructed by crumpled graphene and WS2/WO3nanorods. The crumpled graphene/WS2/WO3(CGTH) catalyst showed a superior electrocatalytic activity in the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), with a Tafel slope of 37 mV/dec and an onset potential of 96 mV. Compared with reported MoS2/WS2-based electrocatalysts, this hybrid material shows one of the highest catalytic activities in HER. The environmentally-friendly synthesis and outstanding performance suggest a great potential of CGTH as noble metal-free electrocatalysts in water splitting.

The exploration of anode materials for lithium ion batteries (LIBs) or sodium ion batteries (SIBs) represents a grand technological challenge to meet the continuously increased demand for the high-performance energy storage market. Here we report a facile and reliable synthetic strategy for in situgrowth of few-layer MoS2nanosheets on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) cross-linked hollow carbon spheres (HCS) with formation of three-dimensional (3D) network nanohybrids (MoS2-rGO/HCS). Systematic electrochemical studies demonstrate, as an anode of LIBs, the as-developed MoS2-rGO/HCS can deliver a reversible capacity of 1145 mAh g–1after 100 cycles at 0.1 A g–1and a revisible capacity of 753 mAh g–1over 1000 cycles at 2 A g–1. For SIBs, the as-developed MoS2-rGO/HCS can also maintain a reversible capacity of 443 mAh g–1at 1 A g–1after 500 cycles. The excellent electrochemical performance can be attributed to the 3D porous structures, in which the few-layer MoS2nanosheets with expanded interlayers can provide shortened ion diffusion paths and improved Li+/Na+diffusion mobility, and the hollow porous carbon spheres and the outside graphene network are able to improve the conductivity and maintain the structural integrity.

Significant “breathing effect” calls for exploring efficient strategies to address the intrinsic issues of silicon anode of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). We here report a controllable synthetic route to fabricate the silicon–carbon hybrids, in which porous silicon nanoparticles (p-SiNPs) are loaded in void carbon spheres by forming the yolk–shell p-SiNPs@hollow carbon (HC) nanohybrids tunable. A set of controlled experiments accompanying with systematic characterizations demonstrate that the void space and mass loading of Si can be adjusted in an effective way so that the nanostructure can be optimized with achieving improved electrochemical performance as anode of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). The optimized p-SiNPs@HC nanohybrids show excellent performance as anode for Li-ion battery, delivering a capacity of more than 1400 mA h g–1after 100 cycles at 0.2 A g–1and 720 mA h g–1at a high current density of 4 A g–1. The present work may provide us with an attractive and promising strategy for advancing Si-based anode materials due to advantages of tunable structure of silicon–carbon nanohybrids for optimizing electrochemical performance.

Sunlight provides us with enough renewable energy resource being potentially converted into heat for steam generation, residential water heating, desalination, and wastewater treatment, while the exploration of low-cost but high-efficiency photothermal materials still remains a grand challenge. We here reported a new Al-Ti-O nanostructure with tunable colors from gray to black, which couples the features of plasmonic effects in Al nanoparticles and high photoactivity in black TiO2, enabling the optimized black Al-Ti-O nanostructure shows a broad light absorption capability with almost covering 90.32% of solar spectrum. Inspiringly, the black Al-Ti-O hybrid were assembled into a microporous membrane that can naturally float on the surface of water for photothermal desalination application, manifesting a high efficiency of 77.52% for desalination under simulated solar light irradiance, as well as an outstanding durability upon continuous running. A solar seawater desalination system was designed and manufactured to demonstrate its potential for practical application, which can produce purified water with a rate of ~ 0.50kgm−2h−1, or ~ 4Lm−2day−1, given that the effective sunshine time is 8h per day under current solar irradiation (~ 820Wm−2). The numerous advantages in the present black Al-Ti-O hybrid, including high photothermal efficiency, viable scalable synthesis, and low cost, may build step stone for commercial solar desalination application.

The daunting challenge in electrochemical conversion of CO2into carbon resource is to explore high-activity and high-selectivity electrocatalysts for CO2reduction reaction (CO2RR). Here, we report a water-bath route for tunable synthesis of a set of CuO nanostructures including nanowires (NWs), microsphere and nanoflake. The CuO NWs show a unique one-dimensional (1D) structure constructed by nanoparticles building block and manifest a significantly enhanced electrochemical surface area compared with the counterparts and the bulk CuO. Systematic electrochemical studies demonstrate the CuO NWs, as electrocatalyst of CO2RR, manifests a highly electrocatalytic activity, as demonstrated by reaching a current dentistry of 2mAcm−2at a relative low onset potential and delivering a catalytic current density of up to 100mAcm−2at −1.6V. The nanoparticles assembled 1D structure provides a large amount of edge active sites and thus contributes to such a high electrocatalytic activity. Besides a small quantity of HCOOH, the major products of CO2RR are H2, CO, with tunable ratio of H2/CO in the range of 1.75:1 to 2.75:1 depending on the applied potential; such H2/CO mixture product are potentially used for the syngas that are key feedstocks to produce a variety of liquid fuels in industry.

In this work, a simple synthesis strategy has been developed for the preparation of nitrogen- and sulfur-codoped porous carbon nanosheets (N/S-CNS) as a cathode catalyst for microbial fuel cells (MFCs). The as-prepared N/S-CNS showed favorable features for electrochemical energy conversion such as high surface area (1004 m2g–1), defect structure, and abundant exposure of active sites that arose primarily from porous nanosheet morphology. Benefiting from the unique nanostructure, the resulting nanosheets exhibited effective electrocatalytic activity toward oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). The onset potential of the N/S-CNS in linear-sweep voltammetry was approximately −0.05 V vs Ag/AgCl in neutral phosphate buffer saline. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy showed that the ohmic and charge-transfer resistance of the codoped catalyst were 1.5 and 14.8 Ω, respectively, both of which were lower than that of platinum/carbon (Pt/C). Furthermore, the electron-transfer number of the N/S-CNS was calculated to be ∼3.5, suggesting that ORR on the catalyst proceeds predominantly through the favorable four-electron pathway. The MFC with N/S-CNS as a cathode catalyst generated current density (6.6 A m–2) comparable to that with Pt/C (7.3 A m–2). The high durability and low price indicate that N/S-CNS can be a competitive catalyst for applications of MFCs.

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are environmentally friendly technology capable of converting chemical energy stored in waste-waters directly into electrical energy by using microorganisms as biocatalysts. However, the overall low power density of the MFC and the high cost of its components are two major barriers for its commercialization. Among all the factors, the electrodes (cathode and anode) materials play the significant role in affecting the performance of MFCs. Recently, the performance of MFCs has been improved by using graphene-based electrodes that are more conductive and mechanically stable with larger surface area and higher electrocatalytic activity compared to the conventional carbon materials. This paper provides an overview of recent research progress in graphene-based materials as electrodes for MFCs, which will be the promising candidates for developing MFCs and other bioelectrochemical systems to achieve sustainable water/wastewater treatment and bioenergy production. 微生物燃料电池是一种采用微生物作为生物催化剂, 直接将储藏在废水中的化学能转化为电能的环境友好技术. 目前, 微生物燃料电池的商业发展仍受制于功率密度低、构成部件成本高这两个缺陷. 在制约微生物燃料电池商业化的因素中, 电极(包括阴极和阳极)材料具有举足轻重的地位. 相对于传统材料, 基于石墨烯的电极材料具有优异的导电性能、稳定的机械性能、较大的比表面积以及高的电催化活性, 它的使用大大提高了微生物燃料电池的性能. 本文主要综述了近期基于石墨烯基电极材料微生物燃料电池的研究进展, 基于石墨烯的电极材料有望用于可持续性的废水处理及生物能利用技术, 并在未来微生物燃料电池以及其他生物电化学系统中广泛应用.

A novel Co3O4/N-doped porous carbon hybrid with dodecahedrons structure was synthesized by a facile, two-step, thermal transformation of a cobalt-based zeolitic imidazolate framework. Well-dispersed Co3O4nanoparticles were embedded in nitrogen-doped porous carbon networks, forming a unique nanopolyhedron. When tested as anode material for lithium-ion batteries, the hybrid exhibited superior electrochemical performance, including excellent rate capability of 560mAhg−1at 10Ag−1which is close to 46% of the rate capacity at 100mAg−1, outstanding cycling stability with 91.7% capacity retention of the second cycle after 110 cycles, and considerably large discharge capacity of 1730 mAhg−1at 100mAg−1. Moreover, the hybrid also showed enhanced electrocatalytic activity for electrochemical oxygen evolution from water splitting.

A simple pyrolysis route has been developed for fabrication of nitrogen-doped carbon networks (N-Cnet) that not only features a large number of mesoporous structures, but also holds high specific surface area and excellent conductivity. The as-developed N-Cnetperforms impressively toward electrocatalysis of oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and CO2reduction reaction (CO2RR). For ORR in alkaline electrolyte, the N-Cnetmanifests an initial potential of 0.95 V and half-wave potential of 0.86 V that are comparable to the benchmarked Pt/C catalysts. While for CO2RR, the N-Cnetshows a high selectivity for CO production with Faraday efficiency (FE) of as high as 95% and long-term stability. We further demonstrate the potential application of N-Cnetin electrochemical devices of zinc-air batteries (ZABs) and microbial CO2electrolysis cell (MEC), the former is capable of releasing a maximum power density of 141 mW cm-2, while the later shows capability for efficiently converting CO2into CO with the assistance of external voltage. We thus propose and set up an integrated proof-of-concept electrochemical device with ZABs driving MEC that can implement the feasibility of self-powered conversion of CO2to value-added CO.

A field-effect transistor (FET) device-based sensor is developed to specifically detect Pb2+ions in an aqueous environment that is notably toxic. Reduced graphene oxide (rGO), as the semiconducting channel material, was utilized in the FET device through a self-assembly method. An l-glutathione reduced was employed as the capture probe for the label-free detection. By monitoring the electrical characteristics of the FET device, the performance of the sensor was measured and investigated. Compared with conventional detection technologies, this sensor enabled real-time detection with a response time of 1–2 s. A lower detection limit for Pb2+ions as low as 10 nM was achieved, which is much lower than the maximum contaminant level for Pb2+ions in drinking water recommended by the World Health Organization. Furthermore, the rGO FET sensor was able to distinguish Pb2+from other metal ions. Without any sample pretreatment, the platform is user-friendly.