The low efficiency of water electrolysis mostly arises from the thermodynamic uphill oxygen evolution reaction. The efficiency can be greatly improved by rationally designing low-cost and efficient oxygen evolution anode materials. Herein, we report the synthesis of Ni–P alloys adopting a facile electroless plating method under mild conditions on nickel substrates. The relationship between the Ni–P properties and catalytic activity allowed us to define the best conditions for the electroless synthesis of highperformance Ni–P catalysts. Indeed, the electrochemical investigations indicated an increased catalytic response by reducing the thickness and Ni/P ratio in the alloy. Furthermore, the Ni–P catalysts with optimized size and composition deposited on Ni foam exposed more active sites for the oxygen evolution reaction, yielding a current density of 10 mA cm⁻² at an overpotential as low as 335 mV, exhibiting charge transfer resistances of only a few ohms and a remarkable turnover frequency (TOF) value of 0.62 s⁻¹ at 350 mV. The present study provides an advancement in the control of the electroless synthetic approach for the design and large-scale application of high-performance metal phosphide catalysts for electrochemical water splitting.

Nanocomposites obtained by the decoration of graphene-based materials with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have received increasing attention owing to their antimicrobial activity. However, the complex synthetic methods for their preparation have limited practical applications. This study aims to synthesize novel NanoHybrid Systems based on graphene, polymer, and AgNPs (namely, NanoHy-GPS) through an easy microwave irradiation approach free of reductants and surfactants. The polymer plays a crucial role, as it assures the coating layer/substrate compatibility making the platform easily adaptable for a specific substrate. AgNPs’ loading (from 5% to 87%) can be tuned by the amount of Silver salt used during the microwave-assisted reaction, obtaining spherical AgNPs with average sizes of 5–12 nm homogeneously distributed on a polymer-graphene nanosystem. Interestingly, microwave irradiation partially restored the graphene sp² network without damage of ester bonds. The structure, morphology, and chemical composition of NanoHy-GPS and its subunits were characterized by means of UV-vis spectroscopy, thermal analysis, differential light scattering (DLS), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), and High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM) techniques. A preliminary qualitative empirical assay against the typical bacterial load on common hand-contacted surfaces has been performed to assess the antibacterial properties of NanoHy-GPS, evidencing a significative reduction of bacterial colonies spreading.

In the present study, the successful fabrication, through a surfactant-free one-pot synthesis in ethanol solution, of the all-inorganic halide perovskite CsPbBr₃ has been achieved. The phase formation has been obtained for the first time, using the β-diketonate complexes [Pb(hfa)₂diglyme]₂ and Cs(hfa) (Hhfa = 1,1,1,5,5,5-hexafluoro-2,4-pentanedione; diglyme = 2-methoxyethyl ether) and Br₂ as the precipitating agent. The growth of CsPb₂Br₅ microcrystals has been obtained and stabilized under specific synthetic conditions, by controlling the phase transition from CsPbBr₃ to CsPb₂Br₅ as well. The entire process was operated under acid-catalyzed conditions without any need of humidity control and hazardous organic solvents. The control of the aging time and the phase stability during the heat treatment represent the key points in order to selectively and reproducibly obtain the CsPbBr₃ or CsPb₂Br₅ phases. Structural, morphological, and compositional characterizations of the final product show the formation of square microcrystals, with a grain size of up to 3 μm, of the pure and stable perovskite CsPbBr₃ phase. Finally, promising results in photocatalytic degradation tests using rhodamine B solution have been obtained under UV light (λ = 360 nm) and visible light, showing high degradation yields of up to 81.9% and 58.4% for CsPbBr₃ and CsPb₂Br₅, respectively.