Latest ArticlesNitrous oxide (N2O), a potent greenhouse gas, requires urgent and effective mitigation strategies. Among traditional (high-temperature thermal decomposition, selective catalytic reduction (SCR), direct catalytic decomposition, etc.) and emerging (biological treatment, photo/electrocatalysis, plasma-assisted decomposition, etc.) technologies, direct catalytic decomposition stands out as a highly promising approach thanks to its energy efficiency and environmental benefits. This review systematically summarizes recent progress in the catalytic decomposition of N2O, with emphasis on catalysts, including noble metal catalysts, transition metal oxide catalysts, zeolite-based catalysts, and emerging catalytic materials. Atomic-level active site engineering, oxygen vacancy modulation, and active site-support interactions, which determine catalytic performances and reaction mechanisms, are critically delineated. Furthermore, practical challenges of catalyst designs and integrated reaction systems are addressed. By establishing connections between fundamental research and industrial applications, this review proposes a comprehensive framework for the development of next-generation N2O decomposition catalysts, thereby supporting global efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Piezocatalysis based on electrode polarization processes represents a highly promising approach for in-situ H2O2 generation. The efficiency of piezocatalytic H2O2 generation faces dual constraints from extrinsic operational parameters like excitation frequency and intrinsic material properties, particularly crystallographic characteristics and polarization magnitude governing charge separation kinetics. Consequently, structural optimization targeting enhanced polarization response, accelerated charge transfer, and strengthened reactant adsorption at active sites has become a central research imperative. This review evaluates piezoelectric material design strategies, establishes structure-function relationships spanning multiscale features and H2O2 production efficiency, and assesses technological viability for advanced wastewater remediation. By systematically analyzing core structural determinants, including crystal symmetry, heterojunction, surface functionalization, polymerization degree, and microstructural parameters (porosity/thickness), across diverse piezocatalytic systems, we elucidate governing structure-function interdependencies for H2O2 production. These determinants have been further validated in material classes spanning perovskites, bismuth-based layered compounds, wurtzite-type materials, transition metal dichalcogenides, carbon-based materials, polymers, metal-organic frameworks, and MAX phase materials. These insights will establish mechanistic foundations for in-situ H2O2 synthesis, advancing sustainable water remediation via piezocatalysis.
Developing S-scheme heterojunctions with a strong internal electric field (IEF) is crucial to facilitating charge separation and thereby enhancing catalytic activity. Herein, a 3D nanoflower-like oxygen vacancy (OV)-modified carbon quantum dot (CQD)/Bi2WO6 heterojunction was synthesized through a hydrothermal process followed by alkaline etching. The experimental and theoretical results demonstrate that the introduction of OVs optimizes the band structure of Bi2WO6 and increases the Fermi level difference between Bi2WO6 and the CQDs, thereby generating an enhanced interfacial IEF to boost the separation/migration of photoproduced charges. Quantitative analysis reveals that the IEF intensity of CQD/Bi2WO6-OV is 1.84 times greater than that of CQD/Bi2WO6. The S-scheme charge migration pathway between the CQDs and Bi2WO6-OV was elucidated via in situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), which facilitates efficient charge separation and enhances the photocatalytic redox capability. As a result, the optimized CQD/Bi2WO6-OV S-scheme heterojunction exhibits a degradation efficiency of 95.2% for ciprofloxacin (CIP) within 40 min under visible light, and its kinetic rate constant is 3.4 and 30.8 times greater than that of Bi2WO6 and the CQDs, respectively. Furthermore, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and Fukui function analyses elucidate the degradation mechanisms of CIP, and toxicity assessment confirms the low environmental risk of its intermediates. This work provides insights into the design of OV-engineered S-scheme heterojunctions for efficient charge separation and antibiotic photodegradation.
Nanozymes have been widely used in tumor theranostics because of their enzyme-like catalytic properties and the ease of preparation and stability, which are superior to those of natural enzymes. The complex tumor microenvironment limits the therapeutic efficacy in various ways, while carbon-based nanozymes stand out among the nanozymes due to their high specific surface area, strong drug-carrying capacity, easy-to-modify surfaces, excellent biocompatibility, and unique optical-photothermal conversion efficiency. In recent years, significant progress has been made in the application of carbon nanozymes (CNs) in tumor therapy. This article mainly reviews the classification, characteristics, catalytic mechanism and the latest applications of CNs in tumor theranostics. Additionally, it analyzes the prospects and challenges faced by CNs.
Electronic metal-support interaction (EMSI) offers a revolutionary strategy for designing high-performance electrocatalysts by precisely modulating interfacial electron transfer dynamics. Herein, we construct a Ru-loaded tungsten-molybdenum bimetallic phosphide heterostructure (Ru/WP-MoP) through EMSI engineering, which demonstrates exceptional hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance across pH-universal electrolytes. The optimized catalyst presents a remarkably low overpotential of 40 mV at 10 mA/cm2 in alkaline media, outperforming Ru/C (η10 = 52 mV). Remarkably, it retains significant activity even under acidic conditions (η10 = 55 mV) and alkaline seawater (η10 = 42 mV). In alkaline media, it operates continuously at 200 mA/cm2 for 55 h with current density decay of less than 2%. Combined X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis reveals that the strong EMSI effect induces electron transfer from WP-MoP to Ru, optimizing the d-band center position and reducing the water dissociation energy barrier compared with monometallic counterparts. This work establishes a general paradigm for developing robust transition metal phosphide catalysts via interfacial electronic structure manipulation, particularly for industrial-scale seawater electrolysis applications.
Hydrogen energy is a key clean and sustainable alternative to fossil fuels. Producing “green hydrogen” via water electrolysis using renewable energy is a leading approach, but high costs and reliance on scarce precious metal catalysts like platinum and iridium remain major barriers. Developing affordable, efficient, and stable non-precious metal catalysts is therefore essential for scaling up green hydrogen technology. Nickel-based materials have emerged as promising candidates due to their good electrocatalytic activity for both hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions, corrosion resistance, and low cost. Recent studies have focused on nickel-based compounds such as hydroxides, sulfides, selenides, and phosphates as bifunctional catalysts. However, their performance still lags precious metals in activity and stability, necessitating further improvement through material modification. This review examines the fundamental mechanisms of electrocatalysis and explores strategies to enhance nickel-based catalysts, including anion/cation doping, microstructure control, and heterointerface engineering. These approaches help optimize electronic structures, increase surface area, and improve mass transfer, thereby boosting catalytic activity and durability. Finally, the practical potential and development pathway of high-performance nickel-based electrocatalysts for large-scale green hydrogen production are discussed.
Over the past few decades, various forms of selenium, including organic and inorganic types, have been extensively researched for their impact on synthetic chemistry. Organic selenium has evolved from being a niche and pungent chemical compound to being recognized as an environmentally sustainable tool that facilitates greener organic synthesis. Chemists have made substantial advancements in selenium chemistry, advancing from stoichiometric to catalytic processes and from racemic to asymmetric transformations. To address the limitations in asymmetric reactions, a group of scientists led by Denmark, Breder, Yeung, Chen, Zhao and Shirakawa introduced a range of chiral selenium catalysts. These catalysts, each with distinct structures, exhibit varying levels of reaction activity and catalyze different types of reactions. Despite these differences, the majority of reactions focus on olefin substrates and arenes. The selenium-mediated transformations demonstrate high chemoselectivity, regioselectivity, and stereoselectivity. This review summarizes recent advances in selenium-catalyzed enantioselective reactions, categorizing them by selenium properties, reaction types, and proposed mechanisms.
Triplet-triplet annihilation upconversion (TTA-UC), a process capable of converting low-energy photons into higher-energy light, has garnered significant interest for applications in photovoltaics, bioimaging, and photopolymerization. This phenomenon relies on the concerted interaction between a sensitizer (energy donor) and an annihilator (energy acceptor). While considerable research has been devoted to developing diverse molecular derivatives of photosensitizers with tailored photophysical properties, the deliberate structural design of annihilators has remained relatively underexplored. However, in molecular diffusion-limited systems, such as in solid-state matrices, rational annihilator design becomes crucial. This review summarizes recent advances in the structural design of triplet annihilators for TTA-UC systems. We categorize these emerging annihilators into three groups based on their design principles: (1) Multichromophoric annihilators engineered for intramolecular TTA, (2) supramolecular macrocycle-based annihilators that enhance both triplet-triplet energy transfer and TTA processes, and (3) annihilators designed with ordered molecular arrangements to achieve efficient TTA-UC in diffusion-limited environments.
Ammonium vanadate (NVO) is an attractive cathode material for aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) owing to its tunable layered structure. However, its practical use is limited by structural instability and irreversible NH4+ extraction during cycling. To overcome these challenges, we employed a dual-guest pillar strategy for NVO, utilising a one-pot hydrothermal co-intercalation technique to insert Al3+ and benzyltrimethylammonium ions (BTMA+) into its interlayer spacing. The synergistic intercalation of Al3+ and BTMA+ not only expanded the interlayer spacing to 10.9 Å but also further modulated the electronic structure. Simulations reveal a narrowed band gap and enhanced Zn2+ adsorption capability, which synergistically boost rapid Zn2+ migration and enhance structural stability. Consequently, the resultant cathode delivers a high specific capacity of 432.8 mAh/g at 1.0 A/g, alongside excellent rate capability and cycling stability (92.07% capacity retention after 2000 cycles at 6.0 A/g). This work demonstrates that dual-guest co-intercalation-enabled molecular pillaring and electronic modulation is an effective strategy for fabricating high-performance vanadium-based cathodes for advanced AZIBs.
Niobium pentoxide (Nb2O5) is a promising yet inefficient photocatalyst due to its wide bandgap, rapid charge recombination, and limited active sites. Herein, we propose a predictive doping paradigm guided by multi-dimensional atomic mismatch (in ionic radius, valence state, and element nature) to direct boron into interstitial sites within a three-dimensional (3D) cross-linked ultrathin Nb2O5 architecture. This atomic-mismatch-guided interstitial doping effectively engineers the electronic structure, substantially reducing the exciton binding energy and creating long-lived shallow traps for charge carriers. The deliberately constructed 3D porous network provides abundant exposed active sites, high adsorption capacity, and enhanced mass transport. Synergistically, the tailored electronic structure enables highly efficient visible-light photocatalysis. In the optimized catalyst (BNO-2), this synergistic mechanism leads to exceptional doxorubicin (DOX) degradation (96.9% within 30 min) under visible light, along with effective detoxification and progressive mineralization. Mechanistic studies identify the superoxide radical as the predominant reactive species. This work not only establishes a novel predictive doping paradigm based on atomic mismatch but also demonstrates the capability of concurrently engineering nanoarchitecture and electronic structure to design high-performance environmental remediation materials.
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