Materials for energy and catalysis articles within Nature Communications

Featured

• Article
  30 October 2019 | Open Access

  Conductive 2D metal-organic framework for high-performance cathodes in aqueous rechargeable zinc batteries

  Aqueous zinc batteries are promising candidates for large scale energy storage systems but development of the cathode material remains a challenge. Here, the authors show a conductive 2D metal-organic framework involving intercalation pseudocapacitance mechanism for enhanced rate capability.

  • Kwan Woo Nam
  • , Sarah S. Park
  •  & J. Fraser Stoddart

• Article
  30 October 2019 | Open Access

  Atomic layer deposited Pt-Ru dual-metal dimers and identifying their active sites for hydrogen evolution reaction

  Atomically precise control over elemental distributions presents a challenge in the preparation of catalytic nanomaterials. Here the authors report Pt-Ru bimetallic dimer structures through atomic layer deposition process and identify the roles of Pt and Ru in hydrogen evolution reaction.

  • Lei Zhang
  • , Rutong Si
  •  & Xueliang Sun

• Article
  29 October 2019 | Open Access

  Printable magnesium ion quasi-solid-state asymmetric supercapacitors for flexible solar-charging integrated units

  Wearable self-powered electronics receive considerable attention, but development is hindered by bulky designs, energy storage systems, and safety issues. Here the authors demonstrate a flexible solar-charging integrated unit based on printed magnesium ion aqueous asymmetric supercapacitors.

  • Zhengnan Tian
  • , Xiaoling Tong
  •  & Zhongfan Liu

• Article
  29 October 2019 | Open Access

  Collective excitation of plasmon-coupled Au-nanochain boosts photocatalytic hydrogen evolution of semiconductor

  Plasmonic effect offers a valuable opportunity to improve the efficiency of semiconductor, photocatalysts. Here, the authors show that the collective excitation of plasmonic metal, nanoparticles is more favorable for enhancing the utilization of plasmonic energy by, semiconductors.

  • Guiyang Yu
  • , Jun Qian
  •  & Gang Liu

• Article
  29 October 2019 | Open Access

  The rapid electrochemical activation of MoTe₂ for the hydrogen evolution reaction

  The performance of electrocatalysts for the renewable production of hydrogen is currently limited due to the difficulty of materials design. We show that tailoring the electronic structure under applied reductive bias is key to optimal electrocatalytic performance of a 2D chalcogenide material.

  • Jessica C. McGlynn
  • , Torben Dankwort
  •  & Alexey Y. Ganin

• Article
  25 October 2019 | Open Access

  Anomalous hydrogen evolution behavior in high-pH environment induced by locally generated hydronium ions

  Most of the current understanding on electrocatalysis is obtained on bulk catalysts but has not been fully verified on nanostructured materials. An alternative alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction mechanism is proposed here for nanostructured catalysts.

  • Xuesi Wang
  • , Chaochen Xu
  •  & Shi-Zhang Qiao

• Article
  25 October 2019 | Open Access

  Photoinduced hydrogen release from hydrogen boride sheets

  The development of lightweight and safe hydrogen carrier materials is desirable for hydrogen energy storage and release. Here, authors prepare hydrogen boride nanosheets and observe hydrogen gas production induced by light irradiation.

  • Reiya Kawamura
  • , Nguyen Thanh Cuong
  •  & Masahiro Miyauchi

• Article
  25 October 2019 | Open Access

  Three-dimensional open nano-netcage electrocatalysts for efficient pH-universal overall water splitting

  Water electrolysis is considered a key reaction for future sustainable fuel generation. Here, authors report a three-dimensional RuIrOx nano-netcage catalyst that shows high activities and efficiencies for pH-universal overall water splitting.

  • Zewen Zhuang
  • , Yu Wang
  •  & Yadong Li

• Article
  24 October 2019 | Open Access

  Specific ion effects at graphitic interfaces

  Understanding aqueous solutions at graphitic interfaces is critical in a wide variety of emerging technologies. Here, the authors unravel specific ion effects at the interface with graphene and within graphene slit-pores by coupling first-principles simulations and electrochemical measurements.

  • Cheng Zhan
  • , Maira R. Cerón
  •  & Patrick G. Campbell

• Article
  24 October 2019 | Open Access

  Dynamic oxygen adsorption on single-atomic Ruthenium catalyst with high performance for acidic oxygen evolution reaction

  Monitoring catalyst structural changes under working conditions is crucial for understanding how catalysts operate. Here, authors examine single-atom Ru electrocatalyst by operando synchrotron spectroscopies to identify the catalytic mechanism during the acidic oxygen evolution reaction.

  • Linlin Cao
  • , Qiquan Luo
  •  & Tao Yao

• Article
  24 October 2019 | Open Access

  A general synthesis approach for amorphous noble metal nanosheets

  While noble metal usage in catalysis is ubiquitous, the metals’ scarcity necessitates new materials designs for efficient utilization. Here, authors report a general strategy to prepare amorphous noble metal nanosheets and find the nanomaterials to act as efficient water-splitting electrocatalysts.

  • Geng Wu
  • , Xusheng Zheng
  •  & Yadong Li

• Article
  23 October 2019 | Open Access

  Single- and multi-component chiral supraparticles as modular enantioselective catalysts

  Nanoscale biological assemblies play crucial roles in all living systems and display a variety of chemical functionalities. Here the authors show that it is possible to replicate some of the biochemical functions in similarly-sized assemblies made from inorganic nanoparticles.

  • Si Li
  • , Juan Liu
  •  & Nicholas A. Kotov

• Article
  23 October 2019 | Open Access

  Interfacial oxygen vacancies yielding long-lived holes in hematite mesocrystal-based photoanodes

  The performance of hematite (α-Fe₂O₃) photoanodes is limited by fast charge recombination. Here, authors develop hematite mesocrystal-based photoanodes with abundant interfacial oxygen vacancies for highly efficient solar water splitting under back illumination.

  • Zhujun Zhang
  • , Izuru Karimata
  •  & Takashi Tachikawa

• Article
  22 October 2019 | Open Access

  Dopant-tuned stabilization of intermediates promotes electrosynthesis of valuable C3 products

  The electro-oxidative synthesis of valued chemicals offers to enhance the overall efficiency and economic viability of renewable electrosynthesis systems. Here, the authors use dopant-tuned catalysts to promote the electrosynthesis of dimethyl carbonate from CO and methanol via oxidative carbonylation.

  • Tao-Tao Zhuang
  • , Dae-Hyun Nam
  •  & Edward H. Sargent

• Article
  22 October 2019 | Open Access

  Nickel sulfide nanocrystals on nitrogen-doped porous carbon nanotubes with high-efficiency electrocatalysis for room-temperature sodium-sulfur batteries

  Room temperature rechargeable sodium sulfur batteries are promising for next-generation energy storage systems, but their development is limited by polysulfide dissolution and slow kinetics. Here the authors report a cathode that serves as a multifunctional sulfur host and imparts enhanced performance.

  • Zichao Yan
  • , Jin Xiao
  •  & Shi-Xue Dou

• Article
  18 October 2019 | Open Access

  Ultrahigh β-phase content poly(vinylidene fluoride) with relaxor-like ferroelectricity for high energy density capacitors

  Dielectric materials are candidates for electric high power density energy storage applications, but fabrication is challenging. Here the authors report a pressing-and-folding processing of a dielectric with relaxor-like behavior, leading to high energy density in a polymer-based dielectric capacitor.

  • Nan Meng
  • , Xintong Ren
  •  & Emiliano Bilotti

• Article
  18 October 2019 | Open Access

  Utilizing solar energy to improve the oxygen evolution reaction kinetics in zinc–air battery

  The authors here report a sunlight-promoted rechargeable zinc–air battery in which photoelectrode is used as the air electrode to substantially lower the charge potential under illumination. Notably, the battery can be initially charged with an extremely low voltage of ~1.20 V.

  • Xiaorui Liu
  • , Yifei Yuan
  •  & Wenbin Hu

• Article
  17 October 2019 | Open Access

  Correlation between manganese dissolution and dynamic phase stability in spinel-based lithium-ion battery

  To unlock the potential of Mn-based cathode materials, the fast capacity fading process has to be first understood. Here the authors utilize advanced characterization techniques to look at a spinel LiMn₂O₄ system, revealing that a combination of irreversible structural transformations and Mn dissolution takes responsibility.

  • Tongchao Liu
  • , Alvin Dai
  •  & Khalil Amine

• Article
  16 October 2019 | Open Access

  Fast room temperature lability of aluminosilicate zeolites

  While aluminosilicate zeolites are of interest for many applications, the affect of water on zeolite stability in mild aqueous conditions has yet to be established. Here, using ab initio calculations and NMR spectroscopy, the authors show that covalent bonds in the zeolite chabazite are labile when in contact with neutral liquid water.

  • Christopher J. Heard
  • , Lukas Grajciar
  •  & Russell E. Morris

• Article
  15 October 2019 | Open Access

  Ba-induced phase segregation and band gap reduction in mixed-halide inorganic perovskite solar cells

  Element doping has been proven a useful strategy to tune the properties of halide perovskites. Here Xiang et al. show that barium unexpectedly does not incorporate in perovskite lattice but induces phase segregation and bandgap reduction and inhibits non-radiative recombination.

  • Wanchun Xiang
  • , Zaiwei Wang
  •  & Anders Hagfeldt

• Article
  11 October 2019 | Open Access

  Advantages of eutectic alloys for creating catalysts in the realm of nanotechnology-enabled metallurgy

  The combination of metallurgy concepts and nanotechnology with liquid metal processing has been largely unexplored. Here the authors use liquid-phase ultrasonication to produce a model system of catalytically active nano-alloys, demonstrating electrocatalysis and photocatalysis.

  • Jianbo Tang
  • , Rahman Daiyan
  •  & Kourosh Kalantar-Zadeh

• Article
  11 October 2019 | Open Access

  Reminiscent capillarity in subnanopores

  Confined fluids in porous media exhibit different behaviors in large and small pores, the crossover between the two regimes being not well understood. Here the authors show, by experiments and simulations, that capillarity is reminiscent even for very small pore diameters, providing a unified picture.

  • Irena Deroche
  • , T. Jean Daou
  •  & Benoit Coasne

• Article
  08 October 2019 | Open Access

  A universal ligand mediated method for large scale synthesis of transition metal single atom catalysts

  Single-atom catalysts are a promising class of catalytic materials, but general synthetic methods are limited. Here, the authors develop a ligand-mediated strategy that allows the large-scale synthesis of diverse transition metal single atom catalysts supported on carbon.

  • Hongzhou Yang
  • , Lu Shang
  •  & Tierui Zhang

• Article
  04 October 2019 | Open Access

  Ultrafast self-trapping of photoexcited carriers sets the upper limit on antimony trisulfide photovoltaic devices

  Antimony trisulfide has a proper bandgap of 1.7 eV for making solar cells but the devices suffer from severe voltage loss. Here Yang et al. propose that the photoexcited carriers are self-trapped by lattice deformation, which places a thermodynamic limit of only 0.8 V for the open circuit voltage.

  • Zhaoliang Yang
  • , Xiaomin Wang
  •  & Haiming Zhu

• Article
  04 October 2019 | Open Access

  Atomically ordered non-precious Co₃Ta intermetallic nanoparticles as high-performance catalysts for hydrazine electrooxidation

  Intermetallic nanoparticles comprised of early transition metals are attractive for fuel cell applications, but are generally limited to noble metal-based systems. Here, authors report non-precious early transition metal intermetallic nanoparticles with promising electrocatalytic performance for the hydrazine oxidation reaction.

  • Guang Feng
  • , Li An
  •  & Dingguo Xia

• Article
  04 October 2019 | Open Access

  Synthesis of magnesium-nitrogen salts of polynitrogen anions

  Polynitrogen compounds are potentially promising high energy density materials, but are difficult to synthesize due to their instability. Here, the authors observe the formation, under high pressure, of a Mg₂N₄ magnesium–tetranitrogen salt which remains stable at ambient conditions.

  • Dominique Laniel
  • , Bjoern Winkler
  •  & Natalia Dubrovinskaia

• Article
  03 October 2019 | Open Access

  Enhancing electron diffusion length in narrow-bandgap perovskites for efficient monolithic perovskite tandem solar cells

  Tin-based perovskites possess the suitable narrow-bandgap for tandem solar cells but their short carrier diffusion lengths limit device efficiency. Here Yang et al. add cadmium ions to increase diffusion length to above 2 µm by reducing the background free hole concentration and electron trap density.

  • Zhibin Yang
  • , Zhenhua Yu
  •  & Jinsong Huang

• Article
  03 October 2019 | Open Access

  Zinc-doped Prussian blue enhances photothermal clearance of Staphylococcus aureus and promotes tissue repair in infected wounds

  Here, the authors apply transition metal doping in combination with phototermal therapy to treat Staphylococcus aureus-infected wounds, and show that release of ions by local heat enhances bacteria clearance and promotes tissue repair in a rat model of MRSA-infected wounds

  • Jun Li
  • , Xiangmei Liu
  •  & Shuilin Wu

• Article
  02 October 2019 | Open Access

  Bottom-up growth of homogeneous Moiré superlattices in bismuth oxychloride spiral nanosheets

  Expanding the range of available materials, methods for fabricating Moiré superlattices, and realization of new emergent properties are key challenges. Here the authors report a facile bottom-up synthesis of homogeneous Moiré superlattices based on a wide-gap 2D semiconductor, bismuth oxychloride.

  • Lulu Liu
  • , Yuanhui Sun
  •  & Weitao Zheng

• Article
  02 October 2019 | Open Access

  Integration of mesopores and crystal defects in metal-organic frameworks via templated electrosynthesis

  Incorporating mesopores and active sites into metal-organic framework materials has proven advantageous for their catalytic application, but remains challenging to achieve. Here the authors obtain mesoporous, defect-rich metal-organic frameworks through templated electrosynthesis using ionic liquids as both electrolyte and template.

  • Xinchen Kang
  • , Kai Lyu
  •  & Martin Schröder

• Article
  01 October 2019 | Open Access

  Linking synthesis and structure descriptors from a large collection of synthetic records of zeolite materials

  Understanding zeolite synthesis-structure relationships remains challenging owing to the number of variables involved in their preparation. Here the authors analyze zeolite synthetic records from the literature via machine learning and find communities of synthetically related materials with previously overlooked similarities.

  • Koki Muraoka
  • , Yuki Sada
  •  & Tatsuya Okubo

• Article
  27 September 2019 | Open Access

  Photocatalytic water splitting by N-TiO₂ on MgO (111) with exceptional quantum efficiencies at elevated temperatures

  Chemical fuels, produced from light, afford an alternative to fossil fuel, but conversion materials suffer from low photon-to-fuel efficiencies. Here, authors incorporate gold/N-doped TiO₂ on MgO surfaces and show enhanced photocatalytic water splitting performances at elevated temperatures.

  • Yiyang Li
  • , Yung-Kang Peng
  •  & Shik Chi Edman Tsang

• Article
  26 September 2019 | Open Access

  Boosting selective nitrogen reduction to ammonia on electron-deficient copper nanoparticles

  Electrocatalytic nitrogen reduction is promising for ammonia production, but electrocatalysts are limited by low efficiency and high cost. Here, the authors report electron-deficient copper nanoparticles, induced by rectifying contact with polyimide, for selective reduction of nitrogen to ammonia.

  • Yun-Xiao Lin
  • , Shi-Nan Zhang
  •  & Jie-Sheng Chen

• Article
  25 September 2019 | Open Access

  Carbon dioxide capture and efficient fixation in a dynamic porous coordination polymer

  Porous coordination polymers that possess structural flexibility show great promise for gas adsorption and catalysis. Here the authors synthesize a dynamic porous coordination polymer with rotating ligands that permit effective CO₂ trapping, and demonstrate subsequent CO₂ cycloaddition to epoxides.

  • Pengyan Wu
  • , Yang Li
  •  & Susumu Kitagawa

• Article
  20 September 2019 | Open Access

  Uprooting defects to enable high-performance III–V optoelectronic devices on silicon

  The use of promising group III-V materials for optoelectronic applications is hindered by the high density of threading dislocations when integrated with silicon technology. Here, the authors present an electrochemical deep etching strategy to drastically reduce the the defect density.

  • Youcef A. Bioud
  • , Abderraouf Boucherif
  •  & Richard Arès

• Article
  18 September 2019 | Open Access

  Perfect proton selectivity in ion transport through two-dimensional crystals

  Defect-free monolayers of graphene and hexagonal boron nitride are highly permeable to thermal protons, but are impenetrable to gases. Here the authors show that mechanically exfoliated crystals exhibit perfect proton selectivity, corroborating proton transport through the bulk without atomic-scale defects.

  • L. Mogg
  • , S. Zhang
  •  & M. Lozada-Hidalgo

• Article
  18 September 2019 | Open Access

  Cross-linked beta alumina nanowires with compact gel polymer electrolyte coating for ultra-stable sodium metal battery

  Here the authors show a beta alumina nanowires/gel polymer composite electrolyte design. The dense and homogeneous solid-liquid hybrid sodium-ion transportation channels promote uniform sodium deposition and stripping and significantly improve the performance of a Na metal battery.

  • Danni Lei
  • , Yan-Bing He
  •  & Feiyu Kang

• Article
  12 September 2019 | Open Access

  Carrier lifetime enhancement in halide perovskite via remote epitaxy

  Crystallographic dislocation has proven harmful to the carrier dynamics in conventional semiconductors but it is unexplored in metal halide perovskites. Here Jiang et al. grow remote epitaxial perovskite films on graphene with density-controlled dislocations and confirm their negative impact.

  • Jie Jiang
  • , Xin Sun
  •  & Jian Shi

• Article
  09 September 2019 | Open Access

  A high-performance oxygen evolution catalyst in neutral-pH for sunlight-driven CO₂ reduction

  Solar-to-fuel conversion under mild conditions offers a renewable means to store energy. Here authors report a Brownmillerite oxide for neutral-pH oxygen evolution that, when integrated with an anodized silver cathode, enables a 13.9% energy-conversion efficiency for light-driven CO₂ reduction

  • Li Qin Zhou
  • , Chen Ling
  •  & Hongfei Jia

• Article
  06 September 2019 | Open Access

  Balancing hydrogen adsorption/desorption by orbital modulation for efficient hydrogen evolution catalysis

  Hydrogen adsorption/desorption behavior plays a key role in hydrogen evolution reaction catalysis. Here, the authors demonstrate the rational balancing of hydrogen adsorption/desorption by orbital modulation for significantly enhanced hydrogen evolution performance.

  • Feng Li
  • , Gao-Feng Han
  •  & Jong-Beom Baek

• Article
  04 September 2019 | Open Access

  Direct evidence for grain boundary passivation in Cu(In,Ga)Se₂ solar cells through alkali-fluoride post-deposition treatments

  Grain boundaries play critical roles in determining the properties and performance of solar cells based on polycrystalline materials. Here Nicoara et al. showcase that proper treatments passivate defects at grain boundaries by forming secondary material phases with the CIGSe absorbers and lead to higher Voc.

  • Nicoleta Nicoara
  • , Roby Manaligod
  •  & Sascha Sadewasser

• Article
  02 September 2019 | Open Access

  Triggered reversible phase transformation between layered and spinel structure in manganese-based layered compounds

  The irreversible layered-to-spinel phase transformation is detrimental for many cathode materials. Here, the authors show that reversibility can be realized in crystal water containing sodium birnessite by controlled dehydration, leading to enhanced ion diffusion kinetics and improved structural stability.

  • Mi Ru Jo
  • , Yunok Kim
  •  & Yong-Mook Kang

• Article
  29 August 2019 | Open Access

  Atomic and electronic modulation of self-supported nickel-vanadium layered double hydroxide to accelerate water splitting kinetics

  While water-splitting affords a renewable means to store energy, expensive catalysts are often required to achieve high performances. Here, authors modulate nickel-vanadium double hydroxide properties by noble-metal doping to accelerate electrocatalytic water splitting kinetics.

  • Dewen Wang
  • , Qun Li
  •  & Xiurong Yang

• Article
  27 August 2019 | Open Access

  Molecular cobalt corrole complex for the heterogeneous electrocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide

  Electrochemical conversion of carbon dioxide to ethanol is one of the most challenging energy conversion reactions. Here the authors show selective electroreduction of carbon dioxide to ethanol by using a functionalized cobalt A3-corrole catalyst immobilized on a carbon paper electrode.

  • Sabrina Gonglach
  • , Shounik Paul
  •  & Soumyajit Roy

• Article
  23 August 2019 | Open Access

  Atomistic structures and dynamics of prenucleation clusters in MOF-2 and MOF-5 syntheses

  Numerous techniques have been used to study the crystallization process of metal-organic frameworks, but little is known about their prenucleation clusters. Here the authors use single-molecule atomic-resolution real-time electron microscopic video imaging to identify prenucleation clusters in the synthesis of MOF-2 and MOF-5.

  • Junfei Xing
  • , Luca Schweighauser
  •  & Eiichi Nakamura

• Article
  23 August 2019 | Open Access

  Quadruple perovskite ruthenate as a highly efficient catalyst for acidic water oxidation

  Electrocatalytic water splitting provides a renewable path to store energy in chemical bonds, but highly efficient oxygen-evolving catalysts in acid media remain limited. Here the authors report a quadruple perovskite ruthenate oxide as an effective and stable oxygen evolution electrocatalyst.

  • Xianbing Miao
  • , Lifu Zhang
  •  & Shiming Zhou

• Article
  21 August 2019 | Open Access

  Screening highly active perovskites for hydrogen-evolving reaction via unifying ionic electronegativity descriptor

  Facile and reliable screening of efficient electrocatalysts is important for energy conversion technologies such as water splitting. Here, authors introduce A-site ionic electronegativity as a descriptor to understand the hydrogen-evolution activities of cobalt-based perovskites.

  • Daqin Guan
  • , Jing Zhou
  •  & Zongping Shao

• Article
  19 August 2019 | Open Access

  Tuning the activity and selectivity of electroreduction of CO₂ to synthesis gas using bimetallic catalysts

  Converting solar energy to hydrogen fuel requires light-absorbers that well-match the wavelengths of incoming sunlight. Here, authors prepare a broadband visible-light-absorbing molecular complex that efficiently produces hydrogen from water.

  • Ji Hoon Lee
  • , Shyam Kattel
  •  & Jingguang G. Chen

• Article
  19 August 2019 | Open Access

  Directly transforming copper (I) oxide bulk into isolated single-atom copper sites catalyst through gas-transport approach

  Single-atom catalysts attract lots of attention, but direct transformation of bulk metal oxide into single atoms remains challenging. Here the authors report a gas-transport route to transform monolithic copper (I) oxide into copper single-atoms catalyst with a high activity for oxygen reduction.

  • Zhengkun Yang
  • , Bingxu Chen
  •  & Yuen Wu

• Article
  16 August 2019 | Open Access

  Strong light-matter coupling for reduced photon energy losses in organic photovoltaics

  Strong light-matter coupling can tune exciton properties but its effect in photovoltaics remains unexplored. Here Nikolis et al. show that the photon energy loss from optical gap to open-circuit voltage can be reduced to unprecedented values by embedding organic solar cells in optical microcavities.

  • Vasileios C. Nikolis
  • , Andreas Mischok
  •  & Koen Vandewal