Accelerating the separation and migration of photo-carriers (electron–hole pairs) to improve the photo-quantum utilization efficiency in photocatalytic overall water splitting is highly desirable. Herein, the photo-deposition of Ru or Au noble metal clusters with superior electronic properties as a co-catalyst on the (101) facet of anatase TiO₂ and the mechanism of intensifying the photocatalysis have been investigated by calculation based density functional theory (DFT). As a result, the as-synthesized Ru/TiO₂ and Au/TiO₂ exhibit high hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity. Such a greatly enhanced HER is attributed to the interfacial interactivity of the catalysts due to the existence of robust chemical bonds (Ru–O–Ti, Au–O–Ti) as electron-traps that provide the photogenerated electrons. In addition, the formation of new degenerate energy levels due to the existence of Ru-4d and Au-5d electronic impurity states leads to the narrowing of the band gap of the catalysts. In addition, the as-synthesized Au/TiO₂ exhibits more faster HER rate than Ru/TiO₂, which is attributed to the effects of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) as a synergistic effect of plasmon-induced ‘hot’ electrons that enhance the harvesting of the final built-in electric field and promote the migration and separation of the photo-carriers, which efficiently facilitates hydrogen evolution from the photocatalytic overall water splitting reaction.

The development of highly active and low-cost catalysts for use in oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is crucial to many advanced and eco-friendly energy techniques. N-doped carbons are promising ORR catalysts. However, their performance is still limited. In this work, a zinc-mediated template synthesis strategy for the development of a highly active ORR catalyst with hierarchical porous structures was presented. The optimal catalyst exhibited high ORR performance in a 0.1 M KOH solution, with a half-wave potential of 0.89 V vs. RHE. Additionally, the catalyst exhibited excellent methanol tolerance and stability. After a 20,000 s continuous operation, no obvious performance decay was observed. When used as the air–electrode catalyst in a zinc–air battery (ZAB), it delivered an outstanding discharging performance, with peak power density and specific capacity as high as 196.3 mW cm⁻² and 811.5 mAh g_Zn⁻¹, respectively. Its high performance and stability endow it with potential in practical and commercial applications as a highly active ORR catalyst. Additionally, it is believed that the presented strategy can be applied to the rational design and fabrication of highly active and stable ORR catalysts for use in eco-friendly and future-oriented energy techniques.

Oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalysts free of noble metals serve an essential function in boosting the practical deployment of fuel cells and metal–air batteries. Herein, an N, S-co-doped porous carbon electrocatalyst was fabricated using polyacrylonitrile (PAN), thiourea and diatomite as the precursors, sulfur source and hard template, respectively. The optimal catalyst (S-PAC-D) exhibits a high ORR performance, with a half-wave potential of 0.84 V (vs. RHE), as well as a predominant four-electron pathway, short-term stability and methanol resistance. After being constructed as a zinc–air battery (ZAB), it can deliver a peak power density of 126.6 mW·cm⁻² and a capacity of 804.1 mAh g⁻¹_Zn. This work offers a scalable, low-cost versatile methodology to fabricate high-performance non-noble metal ORR catalysts, which holds great promise for clean energy conversion devices.

Developing highly active, stable and low-cost electrocatalysts to boost the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is key to the practical applications of many advanced energy technologies. In this study, a highly active, ordered mesoporous ORR catalyst was developed using cobalt coordinated 4,4′-bipyridine as a precursor. The catalyst exhibited excellent ORR performance, with a half-wave potential of 0.87 V (vs. RHE). Additionally, the catalyst also exhibited excellent methanol tolerance and stability, as well as a nearly 100% selectivity towards the four electron path during the catalytic procedures. The more mesoporous structures, higher pyridinic N contents, and high surface area, are verified and believed to be the proper origins for the catalyst's excellence performance.