Search

Electrochemical CO 2 reduction reaction (CO 2 RR) offers a promising approach to close the carbon cycle and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. However, traditional decoupled CO 2 RR processes involve energy-intensive CO 2 capture, conversion, and product separation, which increases operational costs. Here, we report the development of a bismuth-poly(ionic liquid) (Bi-PIL) hybrid catalyst that exhibits exceptional electrocatalytic performance for CO 2 conversion to formate. The Bi-PIL catalyst achieves over 90% Faradaic efficiency for formate over a wide potential range, even at low 15% v/v CO 2 concentrations typical of industrial flue gas. The biphenyl in PIL backbone affords hydrophobicity while maintaining high ionic conductivity, effectively mitigating the flooding issues. The PIL layer plays a crucial role as a CO 2 concentrator and co-catalyst that accelerates the CO 2 RR kinetics. Furthermore, we demonstrate the potential of Bi-PIL catalysts in a solid-state electrolyte (SSE) electrolyzer for the continuous and direct production of pure formic acid solutions from flue gas. Techno-economic analysis suggests that this integrated process can produce formic acid at a significantly reduced cost compared to the traditional decoupled approaches. This work presents a promising strategy to overcome the challenges associated with low-concentration CO 2 utilization and streamline the production of valuable liquid fuels and chemicals from CO 2 ., (© 2024 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are high-performance adsorbents for atmospheric water harvesting but have poor water-desorption ability, requiring excess energy input to release the trapped water. Addressing this issue, a Janus-structured adsorbent with functional asymmetry is presented. The material exhibits contrasting functionalities on either face - a hygroscopic face interfaced with a photothermal face. Hygroscopic aluminum fumarate MOF and photothermal Cu x S layers are in-situ grown on opposite sides of a Cu/Al bimetallic substrate, resulting in a Cu x S-Cu/Al-MOF Janus hygro-photothermal hybrid. The two faces serve as independent "factories" for photothermal conversion and water adsorption-desorption respectively, while the interfacing bimetallic layer serves as a "heat conveyor belt" between them. Due to the high porosity and hydrophilicity of the MOF, the hybrid exhibits a water-adsorption capacity of 0.161 g g -1 and a fast adsorption rate (saturation within 52 min) at 30% relative humidity. Thanks to the photothermal Cu x S, the hybrid can reach 71.5 °C under 1 Sun in 20 min and desorb 97% adsorbed water in 40 min, exhibiting a high photothermal conversion efficiency of over 90%. Cu x S-Cu/Al-MOF exhibits minimal fluctuations after 200 cycles, and its water-generation capacity is 3.21 times that of powdery MOF in 3 h in a self-designed prototype in one cycle., (© 2024 The Authors. Small published by Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Bipolar membranes (BPMs) have emerged as a promising solution for mitigating CO 2 losses, salt precipitation and high maintenance costs associated with the commonly used anion-exchange membrane electrode assembly for CO 2 reduction reaction (CO 2 RR). However, the industrial implementation of BPM-based zero-gap electrolyzer is hampered by the poor CO 2 RR performance, largely attributed to the local acidic environment. Here, we report a backbone engineering strategy to improve the CO 2 RR performance of molecular catalysts in BPM-based zero-gap electrolyzers by covalently grafting cobalt tetraaminophthalocyanine onto a positively charged polyfluorene backbone (PF-CoTAPc). PF-CoTAPc shows a high acid tolerance in BPM electrode assembly (BPMEA), achieving a high FE of 82.6 % for CO at 100 mA/cm 2 and a high CO 2 utilization efficiency of 87.8 %. Notably, the CO 2 RR selectivity, carbon utilization efficiency and long-term stability of PF-CoTAPc in BPMEA outperform reported BPM systems. We attribute the enhancement to the stable cationic shield in the double layer and suppression of proton migration, ultimately inhibiting the undesired hydrogen evolution and improving the CO 2 RR selectivity. Techno-economic analysis shows the least energy consumption (957 kJ/mol) for the PF-CoTAPc catalyst in BPMEA. Our findings provide a viable strategy for designing efficient CO 2 RR catalysts in acidic environments., (© 2024 The Authors. Angewandte Chemie International Edition published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Metalloporphyrins and metallophthalocyanines emerge as popular building blocks to develop covalent organic nanosheets (CONs) for CO 2 reduction reaction (CO 2 RR). However, existing CONs predominantly yield CO, posing a challenge in achieving efficient methanol production through multielectron reduction. Here, ultrathin, cationic, and cobalt-phthalocyanine-based CONs (iminium-CONs) are reported for electrochemical CO 2 -to-CH 3 OH conversion. The integration of quaternary iminium groups enables the formation of ultrathin morphology with uniformly anchored cobalt active sites, which are pivotal for facilitating rapid multielectron transfer. Moreover, the cationic iminium-CONs exhibit a lower activity for hydrogen evolution side reaction. Consequently, iminium-CONs manifest significantly enhanced selectivity for methanol production, as evidenced by a remarkable 711% and 270% improvement in methanol partial current density (j CH3OH ) compared to pristine CoTAPc and neutral imine-CONs, respectively. Under optimized conditions, iminium-CONs deliver a high j CH3OH of 91.7 mA cm -2 at -0.78 V in a flow cell. Further, iminium-CONs achieve a global methanol Faradaic efficiency (FE CH3OH ) of 54% in a tandem device. Thanks to the single-site feature, the methanol is produced without the concurrent generation of other liquid byproducts. This work underscores the potential of cationic covalent organic nanosheets as a compelling platform for electrochemical six-electron reduction of CO 2 to methanol., (© 2023 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Constructing a reliable solid-electrolyte interphase (SEI) is imperative for enabling highly reversible zinc metal (Zn 0 ) electrodes. Contrary to conventional "bulk solvation" mechanism, we found the SEI structure is dominated by electric double layer (EDL) adsorption. We manipulate the EDL adsorption and Zn 2+ solvation with ether additives (i.e. 15-crown-5, 12-crown-4, and triglyme). The 12-crown-4 with medium adsorption on EDL leads to a layer-structured SEI with inner inorganic ZnF x /ZnS x and outer organic C-O-C components. This structure endows SEI with high rigidness and strong toughness enabling the 100 cm 2 Zn||Zn pouch cell to exhibit a cumulative capacity of 4250 mAh cm -2 at areal-capacity of 10 mAh cm -2 . More importantly, a 2.3 Ah Zn||Zn 0.25 V 2 O 5 ⋅n H 2 O pouch cell delivers a recorded energy density of 104 Wh L cell -1 and runs for >70 days under the harsh conditions of low negative/positive electrode ratio (2.2 : 1), lean electrolyte (8 g Ah -1 ), and high-areal-capacity (≈13 mAh cm -2 )., (© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Ammonia is an indispensable commodity in the agricultural and pharmaceutical industries. Direct nitrate-to-ammonia electroreduction is a decentralized route yet challenged by competing side reactions. Most catalysts are metal-based, and metal-free catalysts with high nitrate-to-ammonia conversion activity are rarely reported. Herein, it is shown that amorphous graphene synthesized by laser induction and comprising strained and disordered pentagons, hexagons, and heptagons can electrocatalyze the eight-electron reduction of NO 3 - to NH 3 with a Faradaic efficiency of ≈100% and an ammonia production rate of 2859 µg cm -2 h -1 at -0.93 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode. X-ray pair-distribution function analysis and electron microscopy reveal the unique molecular features of amorphous graphene that facilitate NO 3 - reduction. In situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and theoretical calculations establish the critical role of these features in stabilizing the reaction intermediates via structural relaxation. The enhanced catalytic activity enables the implementation of flow electrolysis for the on-demand synthesis and release of ammonia with >70% selectivity, resulting in significantly increased yields and survival rates when applied to plant cultivation. The results of this study show significant promise for remediating nitrate-polluted water and completing the NO x cycle., (© 2023 The Authors. Advanced Materials published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Optogenetics has been plagued by invasive brain implants and thermal effects during photo-modulation. Here, two upconversion hybrid nanoparticles modified with photothermal agents, named PT-UCNP-B/G, which can modulate neuronal activities via photostimulation and thermo-stimulation under near-infrared laser irradiation at 980 nm and 808 nm, respectively, are demonstrated. PT-UCNP-B/G emits visible light (410-500 nm or 500-570 nm) through the upconversion process at 980 nm, while they exhibit efficient photothermal effect at 808 nm with no visible emission and tissue damage. Intriguingly, PT-UCNP-B significantly activates extracellular sodium currents in neuro2a cells expressing light-gated channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) ion channels under 980-nm irradiation, and inhibits potassium currents in human embryonic kidney 293 cells expressing the voltage-gated potassium channels (KCNQ1) under 808-nm irradiation in vitro. Furthermore, deep-brain bidirectional modulation of feeding behavior is achieved under tether-free 980 or 808-nm illumination (0.8 W cm -2 ) in mice stereotactically injected with PT-UCNP-B in the ChR2-expressing lateral hypothalamus region. Thus, PT-UCNP-B/G creates new possibility of utilizing both light and heat to modulate neural activities and provides a viable strategy to overcome the limits of optogenetics., (© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Organic intercalation of layered nanomaterials is an attractive strategy to fabricate organic/inorganic superlattices for a wide range of promising applications. However, the synthesis of 2D organic/inorganic superlattice nanosheets remains a big challenge. Herein, the preparation of 2D polyaniline/MoO 3- x (PANI/MoO 3- x ) superlattice nanosheets via intercalation-induced morphological transformation from MoO 3  nanobelts, as efficient Fenton-like reagents for chemodynamic therapy (CDT), is reported. Micrometer-long MoO 3  nanobelts are co-intercalated with Na + /H 2 O followed by the guest exchange with aniline monomer for in situ polymerization to obtain PANI/MoO 3- x nanosheets. Intriguingly, the PANI intercalation can induce the morphological transformation from long MoO 3  nanobelts to 2D PANI/MoO 3- x nanosheets along with the partial reduction of Mo 6+ to Mo 5+ , and generation of rich oxygen vacancies. More importantly, thanks to the PANI intercalation-induced activation, the PANI/MoO 3- x nanosheets exhibit excellent Fenton-like catalytic activity for generation of hydroxyl radical (·OH) by decomposing H 2 O 2  compared with the MoO 3  nanobelts. It is speculated that the good conductivity of PANI can facilitate electron transport during the Fenton-like reaction, thereby enhancing the efficiency of CDT. Thus, the polyvinylpyrrolidone-modified PANI/MoO 3- x nanosheets can function as Fenton-like reagents for highly efficient CDT to kill cancer cells and eradicate tumors., (© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

The on-chip electrocatalytic microdevice (OCEM) is an emerging platform specialized in the electrochemical investigation of single-entity nanomaterials, which is ideal for probing the intrinsic catalytic properties, optimizing performance, and exploring exotic mechanisms. However, the current catalytic applications of OCEMs are almost exclusively in electrocatalytic hydrogen/oxygen evolution reactions with minimized influence from the mass transfer. Here, an OCEM platform specially tailored to investigate the electrocatalytic oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) at a microscopic level by introducing electrolyte convection through a microfluidic flow cell is reported. The setup is established on gold microelectrodes and later successfully applied to investigate how Ar-plasma treatment affects the ORR activities of 2H MoS 2 . This study finds that Ar-plasma treatment significantly enhances the ORR performance of MoS 2 nanosheets owing to the introduction of surface defects. This study paves the way for highly efficient microscopic investigation of diffusion-controlled electrocatalytic reactions., (© 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

The incorporation of charged functional groups is effective to modulate the activity of molecular complexes for the CO 2 reduction reaction (CO 2 RR), yet long-term heterogeneous electrolysis is often hampered by catalyst leaching. Herein, an electrocatalyst of atomically thin, cobalt-porphyrin-based, ionic-covalent organic nanosheets (CoTAP-iCONs) is synthesized via a post-synthetic modification strategy for high-performance CO 2 -to-CO conversion. The cationic quaternary ammonium groups not only enable the formation of monolayer nanosheets due to steric hindrance and electrostatic repulsion, but also facilitate the formation of a *COOH intermediate, as suggested by theoretical calculations. Consequently, CoTAP-iCONs exhibit higher CO 2 RR activity than other cobalt-porphyrin-based structures: an 870% and 480% improvement of CO current densities compared to the monomer and neutral nanosheets, respectively. Additionally, the iCONs structure can accommodate the cationic moieties. In a flow cell, CoTAP-iCONs attain a very small onset overpotential of 40 mV and a stable total current density of 212 mA cm -2 with CO Faradaic efficiency of >95% at -0.6 V for 11 h. Further coupling the flow electrolyzer with commercial solar cells yields a solar-to-CO conversion efficiency of 13.89%. This work indicates that atom-thin, ionic nanosheets represent a promising structure for achieving both tailored activity and high stability., (© 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

The emerging nonlayered 2D materials (NL2DMs) are sparking immense interest due to their fascinating physicochemical properties and enhanced performance in many applications. NL2DMs are particularly favored in catalytic applications owing to the extremely large surface area and low-coordinated surface atoms. However, the synthesis of NL2DMs is complex because their crystals are held together by strong isotropic covalent bonds. Here, nonlayered molybdenum phosphide (MoP) with well-defined 2D morphology is synthesized from layered molybdenum dichalcogenides via surface-confined atomic substitution. During the synthesis, the molybdenum dichalcogenide nanosheet functions as the host matrix where each layer of Mo maintains their hexagonal arrangement and forms isotropic covalent bonds with P that substitutes S, resulting in the conversion from layered van der Waals material to a covalently bonded NL2DM. The MoP nanosheets converted from few-layer MoS 2 are single crystalline, while those converted from monolayers are amorphous. The converted MoP demonstrates metallic charge transport and desirable performance in the electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). More importantly, in contrast to MoS 2 , which shows edge-dominated HER performance, the edge and basal plane of MoP deliver similar HER performance, which is correlated with theoretical calculations. This work provides a new synthetic strategy for high-quality nonlayered materials with well-defined 2D morphology for future exploration., (© 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Nonradiative decay invariably competes with radiative decay during the deexcitation process of matter. In the community of luminescence research, nonradiative decay has been deemed less attractive than radiative decay. However, all things in their being are good for something and so is nonradiative decay. As the molecular motion-facilitated nonradiative decay (MMFND) effect is inevitable in photophysical processes, it provides a new avenue to convert the harvested light energy into exploitable forms by harnessing molecular motion. In many cases, active molecular motion enables thermal deactivation from excited states. In this Minireview, recent advances in photothermal and photoacoustic systems with MMFND character are summarized. We believe that this presentation of the rational engineering of molecular motion for efficient photothermal generation will deepen the understanding of the relationship between molecular motion and nonradiative decay and navigate people to rethink the positive aspects of nonradiative decay for the establishment of new light-controllable techniques., (© 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is crucial to electrochemical hydrogen production. However, designing and fabricating efficient electrocatalysts still remains challenging. By confinedly coordinating organic ligands with metal species in layered double hydroxides (LDHs), an innovative LDHs-assisted approach is developed to facilely synthesize freestanding bimetallic 2D metal-organic framework nanosheets (2D MOF NSs), preserving the metallic components and activities in OER. Furthermore, the research has demonstrated that the incorporation of carboxyl organic ligands coordinated with metal atoms as proton transfer mediators endow 2D MOF NSs with efficient proton transfer during the electrochemical OH ads  → O ads transition. These freestanding NiFe-2D MOF NSs require a small overpotential of 260 mV for a current density of 10 mA cm -2 . When this strategy is applied to LDH nanosheets grown on nickel foam, the overpotential can be reduced to 221 mV. This outstanding OER activity supports the capability of multimetallic organic frameworks for the rational design of water oxidation electrocatalysts. This strategy provides a universal path to the synthesis of 2D MOF NSs that can be used as electrocatalysts directly., (© 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Electrocatalytic carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO 2 RR) holds significant potential to promote carbon neutrality. However, the selectivity toward multicarbon products in CO 2 RR is still too low to meet practical applications. Here the authors report the delicate synthesis of three kinds of Ag-Cu Janus nanostructures with {100} facets (JNS-100) for highly selective tandem electrocatalytic reduction of CO 2 to multicarbon products. By controlling the surfactant and reduction kinetics of Cu precursor, the confined growth of Cu with {100} facets on one of the six equal faces of Ag nanocubes is realized. Compared with Cu nanocubes, Ag 65 -Cu 35 JNS-100 demonstrates much superior selectivity for both ethylene and multicarbon products in CO 2 RR at less negative potentials. Density functional theory calculations reveal that the compensating electronic structure and carbon monoxide spillover in Ag 65 -Cu 35 JNS-100 contribute to the enhanced CO 2 RR performance. This study provides an effective strategy to design advanced tandem catalysts toward the extensive application of CO 2 RR., (© 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Sustainable solutions on fabricating and using a face mask to block the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spread during this coronavirus pandemic of 2019 (COVID-19) are required as society is directed by the World Health Organization (WHO) toward wearing it, resulting in an increasingly huge demand with over 4 000 000 000 masks used per day globally. Herein, various new mask technologies and advanced materials are reviewed to deal with critical shortages, cross-infection, and secondary transmission risk of masks. A number of countries have used cloth masks and 3D-printed masks as substitutes, whose filtration efficiencies can be improved by using nanofibers or mixing other polymers into them. Since 2020, researchers continue to improve the performance of masks by adding various functionalities, for example using metal nanoparticles and herbal extracts to inactivate pathogens, using graphene to make masks photothermal and superhydrophobic, and using triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) to prolong mask lifetime. The recent advances in material technology have led to the development of antimicrobial coatings, which are introduced in this review. When incorporated into masks, these advanced materials and technologies can aid in the prevention of secondary transmission of the virus., (© 2021 The Authors. Advanced Science published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Worldwide, countless deaths have been caused by the coronavirus disease 2019. In addition to the virus variants, an increasing number of fatal fungal infections have been reported, which further exacerbates the scenario. Therefore, the development of porous surfaces with both antiviral and antimicrobial capacities is of urgent need. Here, a cost-effective, nontoxic, and metal-free strategy is reported for the surface engineering of laser-induced graphene (LIG). The authors covalently engineer the surface potential of the LIG from -14 to ≈+35 mV (LIG + ), enabling both high-efficiency antimicrobial and antiviral performance under mild conditions. Specifically, several candidate microorganisms of different types, including Escherichia coli, Streptomyces tenebrarius, and Candida albicans, are almost completely inactivated after 10-min solar irradiation. LIG + also exhibits a strong antiviral effect against human coronaviruses: 99% HCoV-OC43 and 100% HCoV-229E inactivation are achieved after 20-min treatment. Such enhancement may also be observed against other types of pathogens that are heat-sensitive and oppositely charged. Besides, the covalent modification strategy alleviates the leaching problem, and the low cytotoxicity of LIG + makes it advantageous. This study highlights the synergy of surface potential and photothermal effect in the inactivation of pathogens and it provides a direction for designing porous materials for airborne disease removal and water disinfection., (© 2021 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

The prevalence of COVID-19 has caused global dysfunction in terms of public health, sustainability, and socio-economy. While vaccination shows potential in containing the spread, the development of surfaces that effectively reduces virus transmission and infectivity is also imperative, especially amid the early stage of the pandemic. However, most virucidal surfaces are operated under harsh conditions, making them impractical or potentially unsafe for long-term use. Here, it is reported that laser-induced graphene (LIG) without any metal additives shows marvelous antiviral capacities for coronavirus. Under low solar irradiation, the virucidal efficacy of the hydrophobic LIG (HLIG) against HCoV-OC43 and HCoV-229E can achieve 97.5% and 95%, respectively. The photothermal effect and the hydrophobicity of the HLIG synergistically contribute to the superior inactivation capacity. The stable antiviral performance of HLIG enables its multiple uses, showing advantages in energy saving and environmental protection. This work discloses a potential method for antiviral applications and has implications for the future development of antiviral materials., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2021 Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Manganese dioxide (MnO 2 ) is a promising photo-thermo-electric-responsive semiconductor material for environmental applications, owing to its various favorable properties. However, the unsatisfactory environmental purification efficiency of this material has limited its further applications. Fortunately, in the last few years, significant efforts have been undertaken for improving the environmental purification efficiency of this material and understanding its underlying mechanism. Here, the aim is to summarize the recent experimental and computational research progress in the modification of MnO 2 single species by morphology control, structure construction, facet engineering, and element doping. Moreover, the design and fabrication of MnO 2 -based composites via the construction of homojunctions and MnO 2 /semiconductor/conductor binary/ternary heterojunctions is discussed. Their applications in environmental purification systems, either as an adsorbent material for removing heavy metals, dyes, and microwave (MW) pollution, or as a thermal catalyst, photocatalyst, and electrocatalyst for the degradation of pollutants (water and gas, organic and inorganic) are also highlighted. Finally, the research gaps are summarized and a perspective on the challenges and the direction of future research in nanostructured MnO 2 -based materials in the field of environmental applications is presented. Therefore, basic guidance for rational design and fabrication of high-efficiency MnO 2 -based materials for comprehensive environmental applications is provided., (© 2021 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Molecular complexes with inexpensive transition-metal centers have drawn extensive attention, as they show a high selectivity in the electrochemical conversion of CO 2 to CO. In this work, we propose a new strategy to covalently graft cobalt porphyrin onto the surface of a carbon nanotube by a substitution reaction at the metal center. Material characterization and electrochemical studies reveal that the porphyrin molecules are well dispersed at a high loading of 10 wt. %. As a result, the turnover frequency for CO formation is improved by a factor of three compared to traditional physically-mixed catalysts with the same cobalt content. This leads to an outstanding overall current density of 25.1 mA cm -2 and a Faradaic efficiency of 98.3 % at 490 mV overpotential with excellent long-term stability. This work provides an effective pathway for the improvement of the performance of electrocatalysts that could inspire rational design of molecular catalysts in the future., (© 2019 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Laser-induced graphene (LIG) is a 3D porous material prepared by direct laser writing with a CO 2 laser on carbon materials in ambient atmosphere. This technique combines 3D graphene preparation and patterning into a single step without the need for wet chemical steps. Since its discovery in 2014, LIG has attracted broad research interest, with several papers being published per month using this approach. These serve to delineate the mechanism of the LIG-forming process and to showcase the translation into many application areas. Herein, the strategies that have been developed to synthesize LIG are summarized, including the control of LIG properties such as porosity, composition, and surface characteristics, and the advancement in methodology to convert diverse carbon precursors into LIG. Taking advantage of the LIG properties, the applications of LIG in broad fields, such as microfluidics, sensors, and electrocatalysts, are highlighted. Finally, future development in biodegradable and biocompatible materials is briefly discussed., (© 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Wood as a renewable naturally occurring resource has been the focus of much research and commercial interests in applications ranging from building construction to chemicals production. Here, a facile approach is reported to transform wood into hierarchical porous graphene using CO 2 laser scribing. Studies reveal that the crosslinked lignocellulose structure inherent in wood with higher lignin content is more favorable for the generation of high-quality graphene than wood with lower lignin content. Because of its high electrical conductivity (≈10 Ω per square), graphene patterned on wood surfaces can be readily fabricated into various high-performance devices, such as hydrogen evolution and oxygen evolution electrodes for overall water splitting with high reaction rates at low overpotentials, and supercapacitors for energy storage with high capacitance. The versatility of this technique in formation of multifunctional wood hybrids can inspire both research and industrial interest in the development of wood-derived graphene materials and their nanodevices., (© 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

A MoS2(1-x) P(x) solid solution (x = 0 to 1) is formed by thermally annealing mixtures of MoS2 and red phosphorus. The effective and stable electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution in acidic solution holds promise for replacing scarce and expensive platinum that is used in present catalyst systems. The high performance originates from the increased surface area and roughness of the solid solution., (© 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

All-solid-state, flexible, symmetric, and asymmetric microsupercapacitors are fabricated by a simple method in a scalable fashion from laser-induced graphene on commercial polyimide films, followed by electrodeposition of pseudocapacitive materials on the interdigitated in-plane architectures. These microsupercapacitors demonstrate comparable energy density to commercial lithium thin-film batteries, yet exhibit more than two orders of magnitude higher power density with good mechanical flexibility., (© 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Graphene quantum dots (GQDs) interacting with molybdenum disulfide (MoS2 ) monolayers induce an effective photoexcited charge transfer at the interface. Both the photoluminescence (PL) and valley polarization of this GQDs/MoS2 heterostructure can be modulated under various doping charge densities. The photon-exciton interaction is used to explain and calculate the heterostructure PL control, and is further applied to the valley-polarization tuning., (© 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Conjugated polyelectrolytes are promising candidates for the construction of fluorescent bioprobes. In this study, a series of water-soluble fluorescent polyelectrolytes have been designed and synthesized by means of the quaternization of their tetraphenylethene-containing polyyne precursors. The polyynes can be facilely prepared through Hay-Glaser polycoupling in high yields (up to 99%) with high molecular weights (up to 38,900). All the polymers exhibit a phenomenon of aggregation-induced or -enhanced emission. The fluorimetric titrations of biomolecules such as heparin, calf thymus DNA, RNA, bovine serum albumin, and human serum albumin to buffer solutions of the polyelectrolytes suggest that they are promising fluorescent bioprobes with high sensitivity and fast response. The emission intensity of the polyelectrolytes is enhanced by up to sevenfold upon binding with biomolecules through electrostatic and hydrophobic cooperative interactions. The polyelectrolytes can also serve as fluorescent visualizers for intracellular imaging with good biocompatibility and low autofluorescence interference., (Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)