FeS ₂ /carbon tightly anchored on carbon cloth was developed as a counter electrode for dye-sensitized solar cells with efficiency and stability exceeding those of Pt.

The cathode interlayer plays a key role in the photovoltaic performance in organic solar cells.

Steering on the intrinsic active site of an electrode material is essential for efficient electrochemical biomass upgrading to valuable chemicals with high selectivity. Herein, we show that an in-situ surface reconstruction of a two-dimensional layered CdPS₃ nanosheet electrocatalyst, triggered by electrolyte, facilitates efficient 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) hydrogenation to 2,5-bis(hydroxymethyl)furan (BHMF) under ambient condition. The in-situ Raman spectroscopy and comprehensive post-mortem catalyst characterizations evidence the construction of a surface-bounded CdS layer on CdPS₃ to form CdPS₃/CdS heterostructure. This electrocatalyst demonstrates promising catalytic activity, achieving a Faradaic efficiency for BHMF reaching 91.3 ± 2.3 % and a yield of 4.96 ± 0.16 mg/h at − 0.7 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode. Density functional theory calculations reveal that the in-situ generated CdPS₃/CdS interface plays a pivotal role in optimizing the adsorption of HMF* and H* intermediate, thus facilitating the HMF hydrogenation process. Furthermore, the reconstructed CdPS₃/CdS heterostructure cathode, when coupled with MnCo₂O_4.5 anode, enables simultaneous BHMF and formate synthesis from HMF and glycerol substrates with high efficiency.

Research about two-dimensional (2D) materials is growing exponentially across various scientific and engineering disciplines due to the wealth of unusual physical phenomena that occur when charge transport is confined to a plane. The applications of 2D materials are highly affected by the electrical properties of these materials, including current distribution, surface potential, dielectric response, conductivity, permittivity, and piezoelectric response. Hence, it is very crucial to characterize these properties at the nanoscale. The Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM)-based techniques are powerful tools that can simultaneously characterize morphology and electrical properties of 2D materials with high spatial resolution, thus being more and more extensively used in this research field. Here, the principles of these AFM techniques are reviewed in detail. After that, their representative applications are further demonstrated in the local characterization of various 2D materials’ electrical properties.

A 2D–3D perovskite, in which 3D perovskite phase is bridged by 2D perovskite having periodically repeated vertical orientation is reported. It's PCE and stability is better than 3D MAPbI₃ and it is an excellent structural strategy to improve stability of perovskite solar cells.