Recent advances in carbon-based materials for electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction

The increase of atmospheric CO₂ concentration has caused many environmental issues. Electrochemical CO₂ reduction reaction（CO₂RR） has been considered as a promising strategy to mitigate these challenges. The electrocatalysts with a low overpotential, high Faradaic efficiency, and excellent selectivity are of great significance for the CO₂RR. Carbon-based materials including metal-free carbon catalysts and metal-based carbon catalysts have shown great p...     

Recent trends on electrochemical carbon-based nanosensors for sensitive assay of pesticides

Pesticides are substances or mixtures used to prevent, control, and reduce harmful organisms, are divided into various groups as carbamates, organophosphates, organochlorines, pyrethroids, fungicides, herbicides, and rodenticides. Uncontrolled and long-term use of pesticides has become an important issue that causes environmental pollution and health problems. Therefore, it is necessary to develop effective sensors to determine pesticides in various samples. Electrochemical techniques stand out with high sensitivity, easy application, low cost, and user-friendliness, among other analysis techniques such as spectroscopic and chromatographic methods. Furthermore, carbon nanomaterials are advantageous materials for the sensor design as modification agents due to their unique electrical, physical, electrocatalytic, and chemical features. In this review, the most significant studies on the electroanalysis of pesticides (e.g., carbaryl, carbofuran, chlorpyrifos, malathion, methyl parathion, paraoxon) using carbon-based nanosensors in the last five years are overviewed. In addition, electrochemical methods and the carbon nanomaterials used in these studies are also evaluated.     

Recent developments in electrochemical water oxidation

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Recent progress in hybrid materials science

This themed issue of Chemical Society Reviews reviews recent progress made in hybrid materials science. Guest editors Clément Sanchez, Susumu Kitagawa and Ken Shea introduce the issue and the academic and industrial importance of the field.     

有机荧光材料研究进展

对三类主要的有机荧光材料－－具刚性结构的芳香稠环化合物,具共轭结构的分子内电荷转移化合物及某些金属配合物尤其是稀土金属配合物近二十年来的研究与应用进行了综述,引用文献48篇。     

Recent progress in organic mechanoluminescent materials

This review provides a brief overview of the recent research progress of pure organic mechanoluminescence. Depending on whether the external light excitation is required, mechano-responsive conjugated molecules with mechanofluorochromic and triboluminescent properties are discussed respectively. Challenges and opportunities in this specific research area are proposed as well.     

Recent progress in improving the performance of in vivo electrochemical microsensor based on materials

In vivo monitoring of neurochemicals is important for exploring the mechanism and function of the central nervous system. In vivo electrochemical microsensor benefiting from high temporal and spatial resolution has been demonstrated to be one effective strategy for neurochemical detection. However, due to the complex biological environment, microsensor faces huge challenges in sensitivity, selectivity, stability, and biocompatibility. Materials with good electron-transfer, rough surface, and easy functionalization are widely used to enhance the performance of microsensor. In this review, we summarize the recent progress in improving the performance of in vivo electrochemical microsensor based on materials.     

Free-base porphyrin polymer for bifunctional electrochemical water splitting

Water splitting is considered a promising approach for renewable and sustainable energy conversion. The development of water splitting electrocatalysts that have low-cost, long-lifetime, and high-performance is an important area of research for the sustainable generation of hydrogen and oxygen gas. Here, we report a metal-free porphyrin-based two-dimensional crystalline covalent organic polymer obtained from the condensation of terephthaloyl chloride and 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(4-aminophenyl) porphyrin which is stabilized by an extensive hydrogen bonding network. This material exhibits bifunctional electrocatalytic performance towards water splitting with onset overpotentials, η, of 36 mV and 110 mV for HER (in 0.5 M H₂SO₄) and OER (in 1.0 M KOH), respectively. The as-synthesized material is also able to perform water splitting in neutral phosphate buffer saline solution, with 294 mV for HER and 520 mV for OER, respectively. Characterized by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and chronoamperometry, the as-synthesized material also shows enhanced conductivity and stability compared to its molecular counterpart. Inserting a non-redox active zinc metal center in the porphyrin unit leads to a decrease in electrochemical activity towards both HER and OER, suggesting the four-nitrogen porphyrin core is the active site. The high performance of this metal-free material towards water splitting provides a sustainable alternative to the use of scarce and expensive metal electrocatalysts in energy conversion for industrial applications.

Water splitting is considered a promising approach for renewable and sustainable energy conversion.     

Emerging materials for plasmon-assisted photoelectrochemical water splitting

Energy production and environmental pollution are the two major problems the world is facing today. The depletion of fossil fuels and the emission of harmful gases into the atmosphere leads to the research on clean and renewable energy sources. In this context, hydrogen is considered an ideal fuel to meet global energy needs. Presently, hydrogen is produced from fossil fuels. However, the most desirable way is from clean and renewable energy sources, like water and sunlight. Sunlight is an abundant energy source for energy harvesting and utilization. Recent studies reveal that photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting has promise for solar to hydrogen (STH) conversion over the widely tested photocatalytic approach since hydrogen and oxygen gases can be quantified easily in PEC. For designing light-absorbing materials, semiconductors are the primary choice that undergoes excitation upon solar light irradiation to produce excitons (electron-hole pairs) to drive the electrolysis. Visible light active semiconductors are attractive to achieve high solar to chemical fuel conversion. However, pure semiconductor materials are far from practical applications because of charge carrier recombination, poor light-harvesting, and electrode degradation. Various heteronanostructures by the integration of metal plasmons overcome these issues. The incorporation of metal plasmons gained significance for improving the PEC water splitting performance. This review summarizes the possible main mechanisms such as plasmon-induced resonance energy transfer (PIRET), hot electron injection (HEI), and light scatting/trapping. It also deliberates the rational design of plasmonic structures for PEC water splitting. Furthermore, this review highlights the advantages of plasmonic metal-supported photoelectrodes for PEC water splitting.     

Recent progress in polyolefin materials and processing

In 1998, about 50% of plastic materials production in the world was made up by polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP) and other such polyolefin groups. Recently, various types of high‐performance polyolefin materials including alloy and blend with other materials have been developed and accepted broadly in the market. For further widespread use, enhanced performance, further cost reduction, and considerations for environmental protection are needed. To find appropriate approaches to these requirements, polyolefin should be investigated in terms of not only materials but also processing.     

Recent progress for capillary electrophoresis with electrochemical detection

Capillary electrophoresis (CE) is an attractive technique in separation science because of its high separation performance, short analysis time and low cost. Electrochemical detection (EC) is a powerful tool for CE because of its high sensitivity. In this review, developments of CE-EC from 2008 to August, 2011 are reviewed. We choose papers of innovative and novel results to demonstrate the newest and most important progress in CE-EC.      

纳米碳材料非金属催化的研究进展

纳米碳材料直接作为催化剂的非金属碳催化是目前材料科学与催化领域的前沿方向之一.相对于传统金属催化剂,纳米碳材料催化剂具有高效环保、低能耗、耐腐蚀等优点.在烃类转化、化学品合成、能源催化等领域表现出优异的催化性能和发展潜力.综述了近年来纳米碳非金属催化研究的最新进展,主要包括新型纳米碳材料的表面性质、催化特性、反应机理和宏观制备等关键问题,并对纳米碳催化存在的挑战和前景进行了展望.     

Recent advances in bismuth vanadate-based photocatalysts for photoelectrochemical water splitting

Photoelectrochemical(PEC) technology is considered to be a promising approach for solar-driven hydrogen production with zero emissions. Bismuth vanadate(BiVO_4) is a kind of photocatalytic material with strong photoactivity in the visible light region and appropriate band gap for PEC water splitting.However, the solar-to-hydrogen efficiency(STH) of BiVO_4 is far away from the 10% target needed for practical application due to its poor charge separation ability. Therefore, this review attempts to summarize the strategies for improving the photocurrent density and especially hydrogen production of BiVO_4 materials through PEC techniques in the last three years, such as doping nonmetal and metal elements, depositing noble metals, constructing heterojunctions, coupling with carbon and metalorganic framework(MOF) materials to further enhance the PEC performance of BiVO_4 photoanode. This review aims to serve as a general guideline to fabricate highly efficient BiVO_4-based materials for PEC water splitting.     

Transition metal tellurides as emerging catalysts for electrochemical water splitting

Renewable energy powered electrochemical water splitting has been recognized as a sustainable and environmentally-friendly way to produce green hydrogen, which is an important vector to decarbonize the transport sector and hard-to-abate industry, able to contribute to achieving global carbon neutrality. For large-scale deployment of water electrolyzers, it is essential to develop efficient and durable electrocatalysts—one of key components determining the electrochemical performance, based on cheap and earth-abundant materials. To this end, transition metal tellurides (TMTs) have recently emerged as a promising alternative to the conventional platinum group metals for both hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). This review article provides a brief account of the latest development in TMT-based HER and OER catalysts, with a focus on various strategies developed to improve the catalytic performance, such as nanostructure engineering, composition engineering, and heterostructuring/hybridization. Perspectives of future research on TMT-based catalysts are also shortly outlined.     

多金属氧酸盐材料在电化学检测方面的研究进展

多金属氧酸盐因其可调控的化学组成、丰富的电子结构和优异的物理化学性能而成为非常有应用前景的一类材料.近年来,多金属氧酸盐被用于设计多种多样的功能材料,在电学、催化、生物学等多个领域都有广泛的应用.电化学检测由于其响应时间快、成本低、灵敏度高等诸多优点而成为环境科学、生命科学等领域的研究热点之一,在检测环境污染物和生物分...