One-pot synthesis of Co₂P nanoparticles encapsulated into doped carbon nanotubes, which can be applied as ORR/OER bifunctional catalysts for Zn–air batteries.

SnO₂ is deemed a potential candidate for high energy density (1494 mAh g⁻¹) anode materials for Li-ion batteries (LIBs). However, its severe volume variation and low intrinsic electrical conductivity result in poor long-term stability and reversibility, limiting the further development of such materials. Therefore, we propose a novel strategy, that is, to prepare SnO₂ hollow nanospheres (SnO₂-HNPs) by a template method, and then introduce these SnO₂-HNPs into one-dimensional (1D) carbon nanofibers (CNFs) uniformly via electrospinning technology. Such a sugar gourd-like construction effectively addresses the limitations of traditional SnO₂ during the charging and discharging processes of LIBs. As a result, the optimized product (denoted SnO₂-HNP/CNF), a binder-free integrated electrode for half and full LIBs, displays superior electrochemical performance as an anode material, including high reversible capacity (~735.1 mAh g⁻¹ for half LIBs and ~455.3 mAh g⁻¹ at 0.1 A g⁻¹ for full LIBs) and favorable long-term cycling stability. This work confirms that sugar gourd-like SnO₂-HNP/CNF flexible integrated electrodes prepared with this novel strategy can effectively improve battery performance, providing infinite possibilities for the design and development of flexible wearable battery equipment.

Phthalocyanine-sensitized TiO₂ significantly enhances photocatalytic performance, but the method of phthalocyanine immobilization also plays a crucial role in its performance. In order to investigate the effect of the binding strategy of phthalocyanine and TiO₂ on photocatalytic performance, a dual-pathway study has been conducted. On the one hand, zinc-tetra (N-carbonylacrylic) aminephthalocyanine (Pc) was directly grafted onto the surface of Fe₃O₄@SiO₂@TiO₂ (FST). On the other hand, Pc was immobilized on a silane coupling agent ((3-aminopropyl) triethoxysilane) grafted onto the surface of the FST. Through photocatalytic experiments on the two types of composite materials synthesized, the results showed that the photocatalyst obtained by directly sensitizing Pc (FSTP) exhibited better performance on rhodamine B(RhB) removal than did the other photocatalyst using the silane coupling agent (FSTAP). Further mechanistic studies showed that directly sensitized FSTP exhibited more efficient photogenerated electron–hole pair separation, whereas FSTAP linked by a silane coupling agent created an additional transport distance that might greatly affect the photogenerated electron transport. Therefore, the dual-pathway research in this work provides new guidance for efficiently constructing phthalocyanine-sensitized TiO₂ photocatalysts.