This paper demonstrates a rational protocol for the synthesis of ultrasmall bimetallic alloy nanoparticles (FeCo, FeNi, and NiCo; <4 nm) anchored on biomass-processed porous N–carbon as oxygen electrocatalysts via a micro–mesopore confinement synthetic strategy. Among them, a representative catalyst, termed FeCo–NC_ps, possesses highly active M–N_x–C sites, a superhigh specific surface area and a structure with abundant defects, displaying excellent bifunctional performance in both ORR and OER in 0.1 M KOH. Furthermore, a home-made rechargeable Zn–air battery was constructed using FeCo–NC_ps as the air cathode, delivering an excellent energy conversion efficiency (with an extremely high energy density of 922 W h kg⁻¹ at 10 mA cm⁻²). This work not only provides a scalable and sustainable method to produce low-cost and highly efficient ORR/OER catalysts, but also highlights the great value of the rational design of biomass-derived nanocarbons for advanced energy materials.

Biomass-derived carbon aerogel with hierarchical porosity and FeN ₄ single atom sites outperforms platinum towards the oxygen reduction reaction in alkaline media and can be used as the cathode catalyst for aluminium–air batteries.

Monodispersed AgNPs were in situ fabricated in a hybrid supramolecular hydrogel via a green strategy. The as-prepared nanocomposite has been proved to be a mouldable wound healing biomaterial.

This paper reports a rational strategy using ‘supramolecular bimetallogel’ as a template to synthesize a series of bimetal (Fe–Co, Fe–Ni or Fe–Mn)/nitrogen co-doped carbon electrocatalysts for ORR with excellent performance. The bimetallogel nanofiber network serves as both bimetal and N sources as well as host matrix for the commercially available carbon. Thermal treatment of the bimetallogels enables homogenous in situ doping of the bimetal and N, affording bimetal/N co-doped carbon catalysts.

The accurate analysis of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) holds great promise in early diagnosis and prognosis of cancers. However, the extremely low abundance of CTCs in peripheral blood samples limits the practical utility of the traditional methods for CTCs detection. Thus, novel and powerful strategies have been proposed for sensitive detection of CTCs. In particular, nanomaterials with exceptional physical and chemical properties have been used to fabricate cytosensors for amplifying the signal and enhancing the sensitivity. In this review, we summarize the recent development of nanomaterials-based optical and electrochemical analytical techniques for CTCs detection, including fluorescence, colorimetry, surface-enhanced Raman scattering, chemiluminescence, electrochemistry, electrochemiluminescence, photoelectrochemistry and so on.