Silicon (Si) anodes, despite their exceptional theoretical capacity (~ 4200 mAh·g⁻¹), face critical challenges, including severe volumetric expansion (> 300%) during lithiation and poor intrinsic conductivity, resulting in structural pulverization and unstable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) formation. This work demonstrates a hierarchical confinement strategy integrating self-assembly and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) to construct microporous silicon-based composite anode material (mpSi-MGC) synergistically encapsulated by few-layer Ti₃C₂T_x (T = F, O, and OH) MXene, reduced graphene oxide (rGO), and CVD carbon coating. The multi-confinement architecture not only enhances mechanical stability but also optimizes electron (e⁻)/lithium ions (Li⁺) transport kinetics. Systematic ex situ analysis reveals that fluorine-functionalized groups in Ti₃C₂T_x significantly boost Li⁺ diffusion coefficients by promoting LiF-rich SEI formation, while the exterior CVD-carbon coating further stabilizes the hybrid structure. The optimized mpSi-MGC delivers exceptional Li storage performance: a high reversible initial capacity of 1800 mAh·g⁻¹ at 0.2 A·g⁻¹, remarkable cyclability with 992 mAh·g⁻¹ retained after 200 cycles at 1.0 A·g⁻¹, and superior rate capability (818 mAh·g⁻¹ at 3 A·g⁻¹). This multi-scale confinement design effectively mitigates volume expansion in micron-sized Si while enhancing e⁻/Li⁺ conductivity, offering a promising paradigm for developing high-energy-density lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) through rational structural engineering and interfacial optimization.

Organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have emerged as a leading photovoltaic technology due to their exceptional power conversion efficiency (PCE) and low-cost fabrication process. However, the intrinsic thermal instability of organic cations, such as methylammonium (MA⁺) and formamidinium (FA⁺), necessitates their partial or complete substitution with inorganic cesium (Cs⁺) ions to enhance thermal robustness. While all-inorganic CsPbI₃ exhibits superior thermal stability, its susceptibility to moisture and phase instability limits its practical applicability. Moreover, the toxicity of lead (Pb) has driven interest in tin (Sn) as a more sustainable alternative. In this study, we investigate the incorporation of pseudo-halide thiocyanate anions (SCN⁻) as a crystallization modulator for two-step spin-coating preparation of Cs_0.1FA_0.9Pb_0.9Sn_0.1I₃ film, which promotes the formation of lead iodide coordination intermediates and lowering the energy barrier for perovskite crystal growth. By integrating Cs⁺ and Sn²⁺ into FAPbI₃ perovskites with SCN⁻ additives, the compositions, crystallinity, and grain interfaces of Cs_0.1FA_0.9Pb_0.9Sn_0.1I₃ film are well tuned, yielding a PCE of 21.34%. The resulting PSCs demonstrated superior long-term stability and enhanced thermal resistance, highlighting the immense potential of SCN⁻ mediated crystallization and tailored compositional engineering as effective strategies for the development of high-performance and thermally endurable PSCs.

Compared to nanostructured Si/C materials, micro-sized Si/C anodes for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have gained significant attention in recent years due to their higher volumetric energy density, reduced side reactions and low costs. However, they suffer from more severe volume expansion effects, making the construction of stable micro-sized Si/C anode materials crucial. In this study, we proposed a simple wet chemistry method to obtain porous micro-sized silicon (μP-Si) from waste AlSi alloys. Then, the μP-Si@carbon nanotubes (CNT)@C composite anode with high tap density was prepared by wrapping with CNT and coated with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)-derived carbon. Electrochemical tests and finite element (FEM) simulations revealed that the introduction of CNTs and PVP-derived carbon synergistically optimize the stability and overall performance of the μP-Si electrode via construction of tough composite interface networks. As an anode material for LIBs, the μP-Si@CNT@C electrode exhibits boosted reversible capacity (~ 3500 mAh·g⁻¹ at 0.2 A·g⁻¹), lifetime and rate performance compared to pure μP-Si. Further full cell assembly and testing also indicates that μP-Si@CNT@C is a highly promising anode, with potential applications in future advanced LIBs. It is expected that this work can provide valuable insights for the development of micro-sized Si-based anode materials for high-energy-density LIBs.

The electrocatalytic reduction of CO₂ is a promising pathway to generate renewable fuels and chemicals. However, its advancement is impeded by the absence of electrocatalysts with both high selectivity and stability. Here, we present a scalable in-situ thermal evaporation technique for synthesizing series of Bi, In, and Sn nanofilms on carbon felt (CF) substrates with a high-aspect-ratio structure. The resulting main-group metal nanofilms exhibit a homogeneously distributed and highly exposed catalyst surface with ample active sites, thereby promoting mass transport and ad-/desorption of reaction intermediates. Benefiting from the unique fractal morphology, the Bi nanofilms deposited on CF exhibit optimal catalytic activities for CO₂ electroreduction among the designed metal nanofilms electrodes, with the highest Faradaic efficiency of 96.9% for formate production at −1.3 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) in H-cell. Under an industrially relevant current density of 221.4 mA·cm⁻² in flow cells, the Bi nanofilms retain a high Faradaic efficiency of 81.7% at −1.1 V (vs. RHE) and a good long-term stability for formate production. Furthermore, a techno-economic analysis (TEA) model shows the potential commercial viability of electrocatalytic CO₂ conversion into formate using the Bi nanofilms catalyst. Our results offer a green and convenient approach for in-situ fabrication of stable and inexpensive thin-film catalysts with a fractal structure applicable to various industrial settings.

Throughout years, the two-step spin-coating process is the most common method to prepare organic lead halide perovskite materials. However, the short reaction time of dropping the solution at the second step means that PbI₂ cannot be completely transformed into perovskite phase. To solve this problem, we report the introduction of glycine hydrochloride (GlyHCl) into the second step of the two-step spin-coating process to prepare a FA_0.9MA_0.1PbI₃-x%-GlyHCl perovskite material (namely FAMA-x%-GlyHCl, where FA = formamidinium, MA = methylammonium, and x% stands for the molar ratio of GlyHCl added in FA iodide/MA iodide (FAI/MAI) precursor solution). The Cl⁻ ion in GlyHCl assists the formation of α-phase perovskite, and the –COO⁻ group coordinates with Pb²⁺ cation in a bridging way, making up for the anion vacancy in perovskite lattice and resulting in high absorption intensity. The perovskite solar cells (PSCs) based on FAMA-9%-GlyHCl achieve a long carrier lifetime (527.0 ns), a photoelectric conversion efficiency (PCE) of 19.40% and good thermal stability, maintaining 85.8% of the initial PCE after being continuously heated at 60 °C for 500 h. This study helps to solve the problem of incomplete reaction in the two-step spin-coating process and puts forward a new solution for preparing high coverage perovskite films with large grain size.

The development of self-charging supercapacitor power cells (SCSPCs) has profound implications for smart electronic devices used in different fields. Here, we epitaxially electrodeposited Mo- and Fe-codoped MnO₂ films on piezoelectric ZnO nanoarrays (NAs) grown on the flexible carbon cloth (denoted ZnO@Mo-Fe-MnO₂ NAs). A self-charging supercapacitor power cell device was assembled with the Mo- and Fe-codoped MnO₂ nanoarray electrode and poly(vinylidenefluoride-co-trifluoroethylene) (PVDF-Trfe) piezoelectric film doped with BaTiO₃ (BTO) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) (denoted PVDF-Trfe/CNTs/BTO). The self-charging supercapacitor power cell device exhibited an energy density of 30 μWh cm⁻² with a high power density of 40 mW cm⁻² and delivered an excellent self-charging performance of 363 mV (10 N) driven by both the piezoelectric ZnO nanoarrays and the poly(vinylidenefluoride-co-trifluoroethylene) piezoelectric film doped with BaTiO₃ and carbon nanotubes. More intriguingly, the device could also be self-charged by 184 mV due to residual stress alone and showed excellent energy conversion efficiency and low self-discharge rate. This work illustrates for the first time the self-charging mechanism involving electrolyte ion migration driven by both electrodes and films. A comprehensive analysis strongly confirmed the important contribution of the piezoelectric ZnO nanoarrays in the self-charging process of the self-charging supercapacitor power cell device. This work provides novel directions and insights for the development of self-charging supercapacitor power cells.

All-inorganic perovskites, adopting cesium (Cs⁺) cation to completely replace the organic component of A-sites of hybrid organic–inorganic halide perovskites, have attracted much attention owing to the excellent thermal stability. However, all-inorganic iodine-based perovskites generally exhibit poor phase stability in ambient conditions. Herein, we propose an efficient strategy to introduce antimony (Sb³⁺) into the crystalline lattices of CsPbI₂Br perovskite, which can effectively regulate the growth of perovskite crystals to obtain a more stable perovskite phase. Due to the much smaller ionic radius and lower electronegativity of trivalent Sb³⁺ than those of Pb²⁺, the Sb³⁺ doping can decrease surface defects and suppress charge recombination, resulting in longer carrier lifetime and negligible hysteresis. As a result, the all-inorganic perovskite solar cells (PSCs) based on 0.25% Sb³⁺ doped CsPbI₂Br light absorber and screen-printable nanocarbon counter electrode achieved a power conversion efficiency of 11.06%, which is 16% higher than that of the control devices without Sb³⁺ doping. Moreover, the Sb³⁺ doped all-inorganic PSCs also exhibited greatly improved endurance against heat and moisture. Due to the use of low-cost and easy-to-process nanocarbon counter electrodes, the manufacturing process of the all-inorganic PSCs is very convenient and highly repeatable, and the manufacturing cost can be greatly reduced. This work offers a promising approach to constructing high-stability all-inorganic PSCs by introducing appropriate lattice doping.

The electrocatalytic CO₂ reduction reaction (CO₂RR) is regarded as a promising route for renewable energy conversion and storage, but its development is limited by the high overpotential and low stability and selectivity of electrocatalysts. Moreover, it is complicated to accurately adjust the nanostructure of electrocatalysts, which impacts repeatability. Herein, we propose the rational design and controlled preparation of ultrafine Ag nanodots decorated fish-scale-like Zn nanoleaves (Ag-NDs/Zn-NLs) for highly selective electrocatalytic CO₂ reduction. The Ag-NDs/Zn-NLs can be in-situ grown on copper foil with simple electrodeposition and replacement reactions. Benefiting from the coordination and synergistic effect of Zn and Ag species, the reconstruction of Zn surface and the agglomeration of Ag-NDs are efficiently prevented, bringing high activity and durable electrocatalytic stability for CO₂-to-CO conversion. The Faradaic efficiency for CO production reaches 85.2% at a moderate applied potential of –1.0 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE). This study provides a promising approach for controlling the catalytic activity and selectivity of CO₂RR through the structural adjustment and decoration of transition metal based nanocatalysts.

Silicon anodes have been extensively studied as a potential alternative to graphite ones for Li-ion batteries. However, their commercial application is limited by the issues of the poor structural and interfacial stability. In this regard, one of the key strategies for fully exploiting the capacity potential of Si-based anodes is to design robust conductive binder networks. Although the amount of binder in the electrode is small, it is, however, considered as a critical component of Si-based anodes for Li-ion batteries. In this review, a brief summary is given from the structural and functional aspects of the existing binders for Si anodes. In particular, three-dimensional and multifunctional polymeric binders with excellent electrical conductivity, flexibility, and adhesion prepared by chemical bonding, electrostatic and coordination interactions have become the focus of research, and are expected to accelerate the practical application of silicon anodes. Lastly, some suggestions for the future development of Si anodic binders are put forward.

Organic–inorganic metal halide perovskites have attained extensive attention owing to their outstanding photovoltaic performances, but the existence of numerous defects in crystalline perovskites is still a serious constraint for the further development of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). In particular, the rapid crystallization guided by anti-solvents leads to plenty of surficial and interfacial defects in perovskite films. Herein, we report the adoption of a pseudo-halide anion based ionic liquid additive, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium thiocyanate (BMIMSCN) for growing ternary cation (CsFAMA, where FA = formamidinium and MA = methylammonium) perovskites with large-scale crystal grains and strong preferential orientation via the enhanced Ostwald ripening. Meanwhile, a novel halide-free passivator, benzylammonium formate (BAFa), was employed as a buffering layer on the perovskite films to suppress surface-dominated charge recombination. As a result, the cooperative effects of BMIMSCN additive and BAFa passivator lead to significant enhancements on fluorescence lifetime (from 79.41 to 201.01 ns), open-circuit voltage (from 1.13 to 1.19 V), and photoelectric conversion efficiency (from 18.90% to 22.33%). Moreover, the BMIMSCN/BAFa-CsFAMA PSCs demonstrated greatly improved stability against moisture and heat. This work suggests a promising strategy to improve the quality of perovskite materials via reducing the surficial and interfacial defects by the synergistic effects of lattice doping and interface engineering.