A universal strategy is developed to construct a cascade Z‐Scheme system, in which an effective energy platform is the core to direct charge transfer and separation, blocking the unexpected type‐II charge transfer pathway. The dimension‐matched (001)TiO₂‐g‐C₃N₄/BiVO₄ nanosheet heterojunction (T‐CN/BVNS) is the first such model. The optimized cascade Z‐Scheme exhibits ≈19‐fold photoactivity improvement for CO₂ reduction to CO in the absence of cocatalysts and costly sacrificial agents under visible‐light irradiation, compared with BVNS, which is also superior to other reported Z‐Scheme systems even with noble metals as mediators. The experimental results and DFT calculations based on van der Waals structural models on the ultrafast timescale reveal that the introduced T as the platform prolongs the lifetimes of spatially separated electrons and holes and does not compromise their reduction and oxidation potentials.

We present a time-domain ab initio study of electron–hole recombination in pristine MAPbI₃, and compare it to the trap mediated recombination in MAPbI₃ with the iodine interstitial defect. Nonadiabatic molecular dynamics combined with time-domain density functional theory show that the iodine interstitial defect creates a subgap state capable of trapping both electrons and holes. Hole trapping occurs much faster than electron trapping or electron–hole recombination. The trapped hole survives for hundreds of nanoseconds, because, rather surprisingly, recombination of electrons with the trapped hole takes several times longer than recombination of electrons with holes in the valence band. Because the hole trap is relatively shallow, the hole can escape into the valence band prior to recombining with the electron. The differences are rationalized by variation in nonadiabatic electron–phonon couplings, phonon-induced pure-dephasing times and electronic energy gaps. The time-domain atomistic simulations contribute to understanding of the experimentally known defect-tolerance of perovskite solar cells, which is of great importance to the solar cell performance.

Metallic interface engineering is a promising strategy to stabilize Zn anode via promoting Zn²⁺ uniform deposition. However, strong interactions between the coating and Zn²⁺ and sluggish transport of Zn²⁺ lead to high anodic polarization. Here, we present a bio-inspired silk fibroin (SF) coating with amphoteric charges to construct an interface reversible electric field, which manipulates the transfer kinetics of Zn²⁺ and reduces anodic polarization. The alternating positively and negatively charged surface as a build-in driving force can expedite and homogenize Zn²⁺ flux via the interplay between the charged coating and adsorbed ions, endowing the Zn-SF anode with low polarization voltage and stable plating/stripping. Experimental analyses with theoretical calculations suggest that SF can facilitate the desolvation of [Zn(H₂O)₆]²⁺ and provide nucleation sites for uniform deposition. Consequently, the Zn-SF anode delivers a high-rate performance with low voltage polarization (83 mV at 20 mA cm⁻²) and excellent stability (1500 h at 1 mA cm⁻²; 500 h at 10 mA cm⁻²), realizing exceptional cumulative capacity of 2.5 Ah cm⁻². The full cell coupled with Zn_xV₂O₅·nH₂O (ZnVO) cathode achieves specific energy of ~ 270.5/150.6 Wh kg⁻¹ (at 0.5/10 A g⁻¹) with ~ 99.8% Coulombic efficiency and retains ~ 80.3% (at 5.0 A g⁻¹) after 3000 cycles.

Anticancer-drug delivery is now becoming a challenging approach for researchers as it allows controlled drug delivery near cancerous cells with minimized generic collection and the avoidance of secondary side effects.

As a four-electron transfer reaction, oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is limited by large overpotential and slow kinetics. Here, we in-situ synthesized two-dimensional (2D) Ni-Fe metal-organic framework nanosheets on nickel foam (Ni_xFe-TPA/NF, TPA = terephthalic acid) for oxygen evolution in alkaline and alkaline seawater electrolytes. In 1 M KOH, Ni₃Fe-TPA/NF shows a low overpotential (η₁₀) of 189 mV at 10 mA·cm⁻² and an ultra-low overpotential of only 260 mV at 500 mA·cm⁻². In alkaline seawater, Ni₃Fe-TPA/NF still provides impressive OER performance, with an η₁₀ of 265 mV. In-situ Raman characterization results show that the phase transition occurs during the OER, and Ni₃FeOOH with more oxygen vacancies is in-situ formed, reducing the OER energy barrier. Density functional theory (DFT) reveals that the synergy between Ni and Fe reduces the energy barrier and accelerates the rate-determining step. In addition, the ultra-thin 2D sheet structure and the close combination of Ni₃FeOOH and highly conductive NF support ensure the high catalytic OER activity. Therefore, the surface reconstruction and structural modification strategy can be used to design and prepare high-performance OER electrocatalysts for energy-related applications.