Innovative bimetallic MOFs offer more possibilities to further tailor the properties of MOFs, which have attracted great attention for wide applications. However, it is still a great challenge to rationally design bimetallic MOFs due to the lack of a tunable and reasonable hybrid structure architecture. Herein, a new series of bimetallic metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) with tunable pillar linkers were prepared by a one-step synthesis method. These bimetallic MOFs retain the same crystal structure when the mole fraction (based on metal) of the two metals changes from 0 to 1 and both metal ions occupy random nodal positions. The incorporation of a second metal cation has a large influence on the intrinsic properties (e.g. thermal stabilities and band gaps) of the MOFs. Furthermore, these bimetallic MOFs were used as self-sacrificial templates to prepare bimetal oxide catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). After pyrolysis, a porous and hierarchical honeycomb-like structure with carbon network covered (bi)metal oxides is formed. Among all the bimetallic MOF-derived catalysts, CoNi1@C showed the best performance for the OER with the lowest Tafel slopes (55.6 mV dec⁻¹) and overpotentials (335 mV on a glassy carbon electrode and 276 mV on Ni foam) at a current density of 10 mA cm⁻², which is higher than those of state-of-the-art Co–Ni mixed oxide catalysts derived from MOFs for the OER. Our results indicate that the incorporation of a second metal ion is a promising strategy to tailor the properties of MOFs. More importantly, this new bimetallic MOF family with tunable linkers is expected to serve as a flexible assembly platform to offer broad possibilities for practical applications of MOFs.

The properties of non‐oxide materials are continuously revealed, and their applications in the fields of ceramics, energy, and catalysis are increasingly extensive. Regardless of the traditional binary materials or the MAX phases, the preparation methods, which are environmentally friendly, efficient, economical, and easy to scale‐up, have always been the focus of attention. Molten salt synthesis has demonstrated unparalleled advantages in achieving non‐oxide materials. In addition, with the development of the process in molten salt synthesis, it also shows great potential in scale‐up production. In this review, the recent progress of molten salt synthesis in the preparation of binary non‐oxide and MAX phase is reviewed, as well as some novel processes. The reaction mechanisms and the influence of synthetic conditions for certain materials are discussed in detail. The paper is finalized with the discussion of the application prospect and future research trends of molten salt synthesis in non‐oxide materials.

A single phase titanium oxycarbonitride TiC_0.25O_0.25N_0.5 was prepared by sintering a homogenous mixture of TiO, TiC and TiN with a molar ratio of 1 : 1 : 2 by spark plasma sintering (SPS) at 1873 K. TiO_0.25C_0.25N_0.5 was then used as the consumable anode for the USTB titanium process and the anode dissolution process was investigated by electrochemical methods. The results showed that TiO_0.25C_0.25N_0.5 was electrochemically dissolved into Ti²⁺ in the NaCl–KCl melts as determined by square-wave voltammetry analysis and simultaneously CO as well as N₂ evolved in the anode as detected by mass spectroscopy. And TiO_0.25C_0.25N_0.5 has exhibited a similar electron transfer resistance as TiC_0.5O_0.5 and TiN as measured by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analysis. By galvanostatic electrolysis, the cathode products were proved to be pure titanium powders. The results indicated that TiO_0.25C_0.25N_0.5 is a suitable consumable anode for the USTB titanium process.

Electrochemical water splitting offers a most promising pathway for “green hydrogen” generation. Even so, it remains a struggle to improve the electrocatalytic performance of non‐noble metal catalysts, especially bifunctional electrocatalysts. Herein, aiming to accelerate the hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions, an oxygen‐bridged cobalt–chromium (Co‐O‐Cr) dual‐sites catalyst anchored on cobalt phosphide synthesized through MOF‐mediation are proposed. By utilizing the filling characteristics of 3d orbitals and modulated local electronic structure of the catalytic active site, the well‐designed catalyst requires only an external voltage of 1.53 V to deliver the current density of 20 mA cm⁻² during the process of water splitting apart from the superb HER and OER activity with a low overpotential of 87 and 203 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm⁻², respectively. Moreover, density functional theory (DFT) calculations are utilized to unravel mechanistic investigations, including the accelerated adsorption and dissociation process of H₂O on the Co‐O‐Cr moiety surface, the down‐shifted d‐band center, a lowered energy barrier for the OER and so on. This work offers a design direction for optimizing catalytic activity toward energy conversion.