Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) is a water-processable binder widely used for graphite anodes. However, a microscopic understanding of why the identity of CMC counterions (Li⁺/Na⁺/K⁺) strongly affects electrode performance remains limited. Here, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are used to track Li⁺ transport accessibility across electrolyte/CMC/graphite three-phase interfaces, comparing pure CMC-Li, CMC-Na, CMC-K, and mixed-counterion CMC binders. We find that CMC-Li sustains a continuous Li⁺ transport pathway from the electrolyte through the binder phase toward graphite. In contrast, in CMC-Na and CMC-K, Na⁺/K⁺ ions preferentially enrich at the graphite/binder interface, forming a cationenriched interfacial layer which reduces Li⁺ accessibility to graphite. Partial replacement of Na⁺/K⁺ in CMC-Na and CMC-K with Li⁺ weakens this interfacial blocking effect and increases Li⁺ accessibility. Furthermore, a stage-resolved kinetic analysis visualizes the progressive suppression of Li⁺ crossing the binder phase upon the barrier layer formation. These results provide a microscopic rationale for the experimentally observed performance advantage of CMC-Li over CMC-Na and CMC-K binders.

Anisotropic Au nanorods with intrinsically chiral geometry have drawn significant attention in the applications of nanophotonics, biosensing, and catalysis due to their strong chirality-dependent activities. However, tuning the geometry and optical chirality of chiral Au nanorods remains a significant challenge. Here we report the integration of foreign ions with the seed-mediated chiral growth method for achieving chiral Au nanorods with the desired geometry and optical chirality. By deliberately controlling the addition of foreign ions, chiral Au nanorods with two different intrinsically chiral geometries (faceted and dendritic nanorods) can be obtained. Moreover, the chiral Au nanorods exhibit appealing morphologically dependent electrocatalytic activities toward the oxidation of tryptophan enantiomers. We further employed an epitaxial growth strategy to construct chiral Au@Pt and Au@Pd core–shell nanorods, which also exhibit remarkable enantioselectivities and catalytic activities. This work holds promise for the rational design of chiral nanomaterials with tunable geometry and chirality-dependent activities toward asymmetric photocatalysis and electrocatalysis.