One dimensional core/shell nanostructures consisting of two different semiconductors with appropriate band alignment are promising for photocatalytic hydrogen production due to their efficient light harvesting and fast carrier transport. In this work, CdS/ZnO core/shell nanofibers were successfully synthesized by one-pot single-spinneret electrospinning. The ZnO layered structures (60 nm in thickness) were uniformly grown onto continuous CdS core fibers (220 nm in diameter and several micrometers in length). The as-fabricated CdS/ZnO core/shell nanofibers as nanoheterojunction photocatalysts exhibited excellent visible light photocatalytic activity and stability for hydrogen production. The possible formation mechanism of the CdS/ZnO core/shell nanofibers was also proposed based on the experimental observations. Moreover, the morphologies and components of the as-prepared nanofibers can be controlled easily by tuning the annealing temperature and Zn/Cd ratios of the precursor solution.

Simple inorganic salts are used to tune N‐containing conjugated microporous polymers (CMPs) synthesized by Buchwald–Hartwig (BH) cross‐coupling reactions. Poly(triphenylamine), PTPA, initially shows a broad distribution of micropores, mesopores, and macropores. However, the addition of inorganic salts affects all porous network properties significantly: the pore size distribution is narrowed to the microporous range only, mimicking COFs and MOFs; the BET surface area is radically improved from 58 m² g⁻¹ to 1152 m² g⁻¹; and variations of the anion and cation sizes are used to fine‐tune the surface area of PTPA, with the surface area showing a gradual decrease with an increase in the ionic radius of salts. The effect of the salt on the physical properties of the polymer is attributed to adjusting and optimizing the Hansen solubility parameters (HSPs) of solvents for the growing polymer, and named the Beijing–Xi'an Jiaotong (BXJ) method.

ZSM-5 zeolite is widely used in catalytic cracking of hydrocarbon, but the conventional ZSM-5 zeolite deactivates quickly due to its simple microporous and long diffusion pathway. Many studies have been done to overcome these disadvantages recently. In this review, four main approaches for enhancing the catalytic performance, namely synthesis of ZSM-5 zeolite with special morphology, hierarchical ZSM-5 zeolite, nano-sized ZSM-5 zeolite and optimization of acid properties, are discussed. ZSM-5 with special morphology such as hollow, composite and nanosheet structure can effectively increase the diffusion efficiency and accessibility of acid sites, giving high catalytic activity. The accessibility of acid sites and diffusion efficiency can also be enhanced by introducing additional mesopores or macropores. By decreasing the crystal size to nanoscale, the diffusion length can be shortened. The catalytic activity increases and the amount of carbon deposition decreases with the decrease of crystal size. By regulating the acid properties of ZSM-5 with element or compound modification, the overreaction of reactants and formation of carbon deposition could be suppressed, thus enhancing the catalytic activity and light alkene selectivity. Besides, some future needs and perspectives of ZSM-5 with excellent cracking activity are addressed for researchers’ consideration.