The author list, affiliations, and corresponding author are being added to/corrected. First, three authors should be added: Dr. Hermann Tempel, Dr. Hans Kung,l and Prof. Rüdiger-A. Eichel. The XRD results shown in Figure 1 in the manuscript were conducted at Research Center Jülich. These three researchers directed the XRD analysis and accordingly contributed to this work. We carefully recalled the

Porous catalysts with higher activated surface area are strategic materials to enhance oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and for improving performance of the microbial fuel cells (MFCs). In this investigation, highly porous cage-like zirconium-metal-organic framework (Zr-MOF) was synthesized by solvothermal method and used as ORR catalyst in an air-cathode MFC. Raman spectroscopy, X-Ray Diffraction,

Energy storage devices such as supercapacitors of high-performance are in great need due to the continuous expansion of digitalization and related devices for mobile electronics, autonomous sensors and vehicles of different kinds. However, the non-renewable resources and often complex preparation processes associated with electrode materials and structure pose limited scale-up in production and difficulties

Interfacial architecture is key in tuning ferroelectric nanocomposites, however, the dynamic process of energy storage and release at the interface still remains mystery. Herein, we experimentally demonstrated the direct proof of interfacial polarization, and interfacial energy distribution and coupling in ferroelectric nanocomposites by Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPM) techniques. Remarkably, static

Visible-light driven photocatalytic reduction of CO2 into value-added chemical fuel is considered as an up-and-coming pathway for CO2 conversion utilizing green solar energy. Herein, we report heterostructures of NH2-MIL-101(Fe)/g-C3N4 (g-C3N4 = polymeric graphite-like carbon nitride) as prominent photocatalysts for reduction of CO2 via a solvent-free reaction. Among these heterogenous photocatalysts

The use of hydrogen, being the environmentally cleaner source of energy, may reduce the pressing problem of CO2 emissions due to the burning of conventional fossil fuels. However, prolonged production of hydrogen is a major issue and can be solved through designing stable electrocatalyst. In this work, we have designed a Ni-doped Pd17Se15 catalyst which retains its activity for 20000 electrochemical

Bismuth telluride based alloys are the best known thermoelectric materials in the room-temperature regime. Here, we report on the enhanced thermoelectric properties of electrodeposited copper doped tellurium films as n-type thermoelectric material for near room temperature applications. With increase of the copper content in the films, we observe an enhancement of the thermoelectric properties. Thereby

Towards scalable manufacturing of perovskite solar panels, high-performance planar p-i-n perovskite solar cells (PVSCs) and modules have been demonstrated with blade-coating and rapid thermal processing (RTP). The PVSCs made using RTP for less than 30 seconds have equivalent photovoltaic performance as devices fabricated from hot-plate annealing for 2 minutes. The resulting PVSCs show a best average

Electrochemically polymerized anthraquinone derivatives on conductive carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are redox active as organic cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries. Density functional theory calculations and electrochemical measurements reveal that the polymerized anthraquinone cathodes exhibit the multiple redox reactions with electrolyte ions through a bipolar charge storage mechanism: (1) n-type

Rechargeable aqueous zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) have shown extraordinary talents in recent years due to the prominent superiority including resource sustainability, non-toxicity, excellent energy density of zinc anode and better safety. Nevertheless, the development of ZIBs is still hindered by the lack of suitable cathode materials possessing a high discharge voltage, sufficient specific energy density

The rapid loss of active sulfur due to a notorious effect of polysulfide shuttle leads to a severe capacity fading in lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries. Although oxygen-doping in cathodic materials is a promising strategy to enhance bonding interactions with lithium polysulfides, the origin of strong interactions remains to be poorly understood owing to a lack of consideration for the spatial arrangement

The lightweight carbon nanotube (CNT) has been attracting great attention in the field of flexible electronics, but it is still a challenge in increasing both high capacitance and high energy density. Here, we report the use of epoxy-ended hyperbranched polymer (EHP) as a reactive template in in-situ preparation of porous NiCo2O4 on a pristine CNT film. The resultant porous NiCo2O4 has a core-shell

Choline chloride as a photosynthesis promoter is important for increasing plant yield, and we have found that it has a similar effect in perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Here, we propose the innovation of using molecular self-assembly methods to produce a choline chloride monolayer on the surface of the SnO2; this monolayer works as a passivation layer that reduces the surface oxygen vacancies and improves

Magnesium borohydride ammonia borane, Mg(BH4)2(NH3BH3)2, was electrochemically investigated. Impedance measurements of the mechanochemically synthesized Mg(BH4)2(NH3BH3)2 exhibited an ionic conductivity of 1.3 × 10−5 S cm−1 at 30 °C. Electrochemical cells fabricated with Mg(BH4)2(NH3BH3)2 as the solid electrolyte demonstrated reversible Mg migration through the material, indicating its potential for

Controlled assembly of small and highly dispersed earth-abundant transition metal-based oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts on pristine graphene could greatly boost the OER efficiency while significantly reducing the cost, but presents great challenges. Pristine graphene (rather than reduced graphene oxide or graphene with a damaged electronic structure) supported NiFe alloy nanoparticles (NPs)

The power of Fourier transformed large amplitude alternating current voltammetry (FTACV) has been applied to parameterise the reduction of the phospho-tungstate [PW11O39{Sn(C6H4)C≡C(C6H4)(N3C4H10)}]4- polyoxometalate (KWSn[N3C4H10]4-/5-/6- processes) at glassy carbon (GC), gold (Au) and platinum (Pt) electrodes as well as its GC surface confined KWSn[-]4--grafted diazonium derivative in acetonitrile

A new approach to fabricate Cu(In,Ga)Se2 solar cells on conductive fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) is reported, in which commercial CuO, In2O3, and Ga2O3 are formulated into high-quality ink based on ethyl cellulose solution in terpineol. From this ink, a 2 m photoabsorber layer is fabricated by convenient screen printing followed by thermal selenization, during which the final Cu(In,Ga)Se2 is formed

Oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) being critically important in energy converting systems, the advancement of a catalyst that accelerates the process is of paramount importance. Here, an ORR electrocatalyst was developed by the stoichiometric addition of Co(II) ions to a model composite (FePH) and termed as γ-CoFePH. The developed electrocatalyst shows a significant enhancement in ORR activity with improved

PEMFCs are established viable sustainable source of energy, especially for key sectors such as transportation, stationary and portable plants. Pt is their best performing electrocatalyst. However, Pt is affected by stability and durability issues from corrosion, leaching, particle size growth, poisoning and deleterious by-products effects. One promising approach to meeting these challenges is the use

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have developed rapidly in the past ten years. However, they are faced with huge challenge on stability improvement because of the volatile organic component in light absorption and hole transporting layer. Herein, we fabricate all inorganic PSCs with the structure of FTO/c-TiO2/m-TiO2/CsPbI3 quantum dots (QDs)/Cu12Sb4S13 QDs/Au to improve device stability. To enhance the

It’s of great significance to reduce the amount of platinum for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells. In this work, copper single atom coordinated by nitrogen doped carbon nanotubes is employed as a support for the deposition of platinum nanoparticles (Pt/Cu-SAC), according to the prediction of the density functional theory calculation which reveals the ORR

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are a strong contender for next-generation photovoltaic technology with niche applications as solar-powered windows. The performance of a DSSC is particularly susceptible to the dye sensitizer, which is adsorbed onto the surface of a wide-band-gap semiconductor such as TiO2, to form the working electrode. The nature by which such surfaces are sensitized stands to

Solar-driven evaporation is a promising technology with many potential applications including desalination, power generation, purification, sterilization and phase separation. Recently, much research has been directed towards increasing solar-driven evaporation efficiencies with photothermal materials that reside at the air-water interface to provide a localized thermal energy source when subjected

The lithium-sulfur batteries are of significant interest because of their potential use in next generation energy storage. After years of efforts, the bottleneck in its application still remains in the polysulfide dissolution and thus-induced impact on cathode itself, electrolyte, and Li anode. In this work, in-situ 1,3-dioxolane (DOL) polymerization initiated by PEDOT:PSS co-polymer is proposed and

Glazing employing electrochromic materials can change their optical characteristics of transparency and absorption of solar radiation according to users' needs, by simultaneously reducing visible light and NIR transmission through the window. However, spectral selectivity has been becoming a key requirement in smart dynamic windows as it permits maximizing both visual and thermal comfort while minimizing

Sequential deposition is one of the most promising approaches towards achieving scalable fabrication of metal halide perovskite thin films. However, this fabrication approach conventionally lends itself to the incomplete conversion of the lead halide, which impacts stability, performance, and reproducibility of the final devices. In this work, we have overcome this limitation by using a simple solvent

The major cause for capacity fading of silicon nanoparticles (SiNPs)-based electrodes is the immense pressure applied towards the conductive networks during charge/discharge process. While numerous efforts have been devoted to investigating different types of polymer binders, rational design of an adhesive binder with pressure sensitivity has rarely been reported. Herein, a series of pressure-sensitive

This article reports the first instance of exploring a chemically Zn(II) pre-inserted organic–inorganic hybrid material [vanadyl ethylene glycolate or VEG, (VO(CH2O)2)] as an efficient cathode for rechargeable zinc ion batteries (ZIBs). The control VEG electrode synthesized by a glycothermal process showed a modest specific capacity of 157 mAh/g at 0.1 A/g current density, however, suffered from poor

Porous and hollow nanomaterials have been an exciting research area for next generation numerous technological applications. However, it is still a challenge to assemble porous and hollow nanostructures of appropriate composition and characteristics in designed architectures. Here, we report a self-templated metal organic frameworks based strategy for synthesis and engineering of porous and hollow

We investigated the lithium peroxide (Li2O2) and pore size distribution in lithium-O2 battery electrodes at different states of charge using transmission X-ray microscopy coupled with Zernike phase contrast to carry out nano-Computed Tomography. We report that such technique enables, at the nanoscale, to distinguish light elements such as carbon and Li2O2 in Li-O2 battery cathode electrodes. We verified