A facile strategy has been developed to fabricate Ni₃S₂ nanoparticles wrapped with in situ generated N-doped graphene sheets (Ni₃S₂@N-G). In this strategy, the nitrogen and sulfur-containing resin is introduced as a sulfur source to form the Ni₃S₂ nanoparticles and to provide a source of nitrogen and carbon to grow a coating of N-doped graphene sheets on their surface. As an anode material in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), Ni₃S₂@N-G exhibits a highly improved reversible capacity, as well as an excellent cycling performance and rate performance. It delivers a discharge capacity of up to 809 mA h g⁻¹ in the 150^th cycle. With the successful synthesis of Ni₃S₂@N-G as a starting point, this facile strategy can be used to synthesize other metal sulfides/graphene sheets nanocomposites and will immensely extend its applications.

A facile method has been used to synthesize boron and nitrogen-dual-self-doped graphene sheets (BNGs). The procedures include a borane-tert-butylamine complex as the precursor to impregnate with a certain amount of cobalt ions, then thermolysis in a tube furnace. The synthesized boron and nitrogen-dual-self-doped graphene sheets are systematically characterized by XRD, Raman spectra, XPS, SEM, EDS, TEM and EELS. Analysis results show that nitrogen and boron atoms are successfully self-doped into the graphene sheets. The BNG-1000 indicates the nitrogen and boron doping levels of 7.72 at.% and 7.18 at.%, respectively. The BNGs show a remarkable activity and high stability for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). An onset potential of 0.95 V which is close to that of Pt/C and a well-defined limiting current plateau for the ORR is observed in alkaline media. It has been evidenced that the catalyst is very stable and without degradation after 5000 cycles.

A novel flower-like superstructure consisting of single-crystalline Cu ₃ P porous nanosheets wrapped by a uniform carbon shell exhibits excellent electrochemical performance for sodium storage.

A rational design of MnO₂/3D porous graphene-like (PG) (denoted as 3D PG–Mn) composites and their fabrication via a simple and cost-effective redox process have been achieved for the first time. The 3D PG can provide a highly conductive structure in conjunction with a large surface area to support good contact between the MnO₂ nanoparticles and effectively enhance the mechanical strength of the composite during volume changes as well as suppress the aggregation of MnO₂ nanoparticles during Li ion insertion/extraction. As a result, the 3D PG–Mn composite with a content of 62.7 wt% MnO₂ shows a highly stable capacity of up to 836 mA h g⁻¹ after 200 cycles at a current density of 100 mA g⁻¹ and reversible high rate charge–discharge performance. Such a highly stable 3D PG–Mn composite can be produced on a large-scale and might have even wider applications as an anode material in lithium-ion batteries.

This paper reviews the recent advances in transition metal phosphide-based heterostructure electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction.