In this study, Co/Ni‐NC catalyst with hetero‐diatomic Co/Ni active sites dispersed on nitrogen‐doped carbon matrix is synthesized via the controlled pyrolysis of ZIF‐8 containing Co²⁺ and Ni²⁺ compounds. Experimental characterizations and theoretical calculations reveal that Co and Ni are atomically and uniformly dispersed in pairs of CoN₄‐NiN₄ with an intersite distance ≈0.41 nm, and there is long‐range d–d coupling between Co and Ni with more electron delocalization for higher bifunctional activity. Besides, the in situ grown carbon nanotubes at the edges of the catalyst particles allow high electronic conductivity for electrocatalysis process. Electrochemical evaluations demonstrate the superior ORR and OER bifunctionality of Co/Ni‐NC catalyst with a narrow potential gap of only 0.691 V and long‐term durability, significantly prevailing over the single‐atom Co‐NC and Ni‐NC catalysts and the benchmark Pt/C and RuO₂ catalysts. Co/Ni‐NC catalyzed Zn–air batteries achieve a high specific capacity of 771 mAh g⁻¹ and a long continuous operation period up to 340 h with a small voltage gap of ≈0.65 V, also much superior to Pt/C‐RuO₂.

Sodium vanadium fluorophosphate [Na3V2(PO4)2F3, NVPF], as a sodium (Na) super ionic conductor material, has attracted significant interest as a very promising cathode material for sodium-ion batteries due to its structural stability, rapid ion transport capability, and high operating potential. However, the insulating [PO4] units in NVPF isolate the V atoms, which results in low intrinsic electron conductivity and poor overall electrochemical performance, and the high cost also represents critical challenge that has impeded its widespread use. In recent years, the research focus has shifted to an enhancement of scalable fabrication technologies and improvement of operational robustness under extreme conditions. This has meant a realignment of the research paradigm from the modification of single materials to‌ an adaptive design of the entire battery system. This review assesses the research conducted on NVPF cathodes over the past three years from several perspectives, focusing on the feasible application of materials over a wide temperature range at high voltages, summarizing the challenges and required development strategies in future research.

Nearly half of the free volume was found to be compressed by the strong inter-ion electrostatic interaction in ionic liquids, which shows an inner connection with other properties.

Hydrophilic ionic liquids were easily prepared in saturated aqueous medium, with yields >90% after reaction for only 10 min.