Haemyeong In, Changyun Kim, Kwonho Jang, Chae Young Woo, Hyung Woo Lee, Ji Wook Yoon, Myungkwan Song, and Kang Hyun Park. Applied Science and Convergence Technology 2026;35:151-8. https://doi.org/10.5757/ASCT.2026.35.5.151

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is a persistent fluorinated pollutant that resists degradation due to its strong C–F bonds, necessitating efficient photocatalysts for its removal. In this study, Ce-modified electrospun In₂O₃ nanofibers were fabricated via electrospinning followed by controlled calcination. Their structural, optical, and photocatalytic properties were systematically investigated as a function of polymer content, calcination temperature, and cerium incorporation. Morphological analysis confirmed that uniform and continuous fibrous architectures were obtained at 15 wt% polyvinylpyrrolidone, while calcination at 400 °C provided an optimal balance between crystallinity and structural stability. Optical characterization revealed band-gap narrowing, which strongly correlated with enhanced photocatalytic activity. Under UV irradiation, the optimized Ce-In₂O₃ nanofibers exhibited significantly improved PFOA degradation compared to pristine In₂O₃ fibers, achieving nearly complete removal under ambient conditions without external heating or extreme pH adjustment. The enhanced performance arises from the synergy between the one-dimensional fibrous network and Ce incorporation. These findings demonstrate that Ce-In₂O₃ nanofibers as a promising and scalable photocatalytic system for efficient PFOA degradation under mild conditions, highlighting their potential for treating persistent fluorinated pollutants.

The transition toward a sustainable hydrogen economy demands cost-effective, durable, and highly active catalysts that span the entire H₂ value chain from green production through storage and transport to end-use conversion. Carbon-based catalytic materials have emerged as a uniquely versatile platform, offering tunable electronic structure, abundant defect- and edge-derived active sites, hierarchical porosity, chemical robustness, and compatibility with both metal-free and single-atom architectures. This review provides a comprehensive overview of advanced carbon-based catalysts designed for the hydrogen economy. We begin with the fundamentals of heteroatom doping, defect and curvature engineering, and M–N₄/M–N₃ coordination environments that govern binding of hydrogen-relevant intermediates (ΔG_H*, ΔG_OH*, ΔG_O*). Three application pillars are then systematically examined: (i) hydrogen production through HER and OER across PEMWE, AEMWE, AWE, and SOEC platforms, including emerging seawater and biomass-/waste-coupled electrolysis; (ii) hydrogen storage and chemical carriers, encompassing physisorption on porous carbons and catalytic (de)hydrogenation of liquid organic hydrogen carriers, ammonia, and formic acid; and (iii) hydrogen utilization in PEMFCs, AEMFCs, direct liquid fuel cells, and hydrogen-coupled CO₂ and N₂ reduction. Particular emphasis is placed on structure–activity descriptors, operando mechanistic probes, device-level benchmarking from rotating-disk electrodes to membrane-electrode assemblies, and techno-economic considerations including the levelized cost of hydrogen. We conclude by highlighting critical challenges—carbon corrosion, PGM-free durability, and scalable synthesis—and outline future directions that integrate AI-accelerated discovery, atomic-precision synthesis, and biomass-derived circular-economy carbons for next-generation hydrogen technologies.

The transition toward a sustainable hydrogen economy demands cost-effective, durable, and highly active catalysts that span the entire H2 value chain from green production through storage and transport to end-use conversion. Carbon-based catalytic materials have emerged as a uniquely versatile platform, offering tunable electronic structure, abundant defect- and edge-derived active sites, hierarchical porosity, chemical robustness, and compatibility with both metal-free and single-atom architectures. This review provides a comprehensive overview of advanced carbon-based catalysts designed for the hydrogen economy. We begin with the fundamentals of heteroatom doping, defect and curvature engineering, and M–N4/M–N3 coordination environments that govern binding of hydrogen-relevant intermediates (ΔG_H*, ΔG_OH*, ΔG_O*). Three application pillars are then systematically examined: (i) hydrogen production through HER and OER across PEMWE, AEMWE, AWE, and SOEC platforms, including emerging seawater and biomass-/waste-coupled electrolysis; (ii) hydrogen storage and chemical carriers, encompassing physisorption on porous carbons and catalytic (de)hydrogenation of liquid organic hydrogen carriers, ammonia, and formic acid; and (iii) hydrogen utilization in PEMFCs, AEMFCs, direct liquid fuel cells, and hydrogen-coupled CO₂ and N₂ reduction. Particular emphasis is placed on structure–activity descriptors, operando mechanistic probes, device-level benchmarking from rotating-disk electrodes to membrane-electrode assemblies, and techno-economic considerations including the levelized cost of hydrogen. We conclude by highlighting critical challenges — carbon corrosion, PGM-free durability, and scalable synthesis — and outline future directions that integrate AI-accelerated discovery, atomic-precision synthesis, and biomass-derived circular-economy carbons for next-generation hydrogen technologies.