Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations were applied at the B3LYP/6-311G+(d,p) level to examine how nitrogen (N) and boron (B) and combined nitrogen/boron doping (N/B) affected the electronic properties and chemical behavior of graphene oxide (GrO). The work aimed to measure how global reactivity descriptors, including ionization potential, chemical hardness, and electrophilicity, changed when dopants entered the system while evaluating their prediction accuracy for gas sensing performance against NH₃ and H₂O and CO₂. The results show that undoped GrO exhibits a HOMO/LUMO gap value of 2.9059 eV while the introduction of dopants increases reactivity through gap reduction because N-doping decreased the gap to 1.3622 eV, B-doping reduced it to 1.3388 eV, and co-doping (GrO-NB) led to a gap of 1.9897 eV. The TDM analysis and the gas interaction energy gap results show that GrO-NB-H₂O exhibits the strongest interaction which results in chemical reactivity through its lowest ΔE of 1.9565 eV, establishing itself as a highly sensitive water vapor sensor when compared with NH₃ and CO₂. With adsorption energies of −0.1986, −0.1742, and −0.0735 eV for NH₃, H₂O, and CO₂, respectively, the N/B co-doped graphene oxide demonstrated favorable and reversible physisorption, underscoring its potential for gas sensing applications. The results offer an essential understanding of how N/B co-doping influences the electronic and adsorption characteristics of graphene oxide, thereby supporting its potential use in graphene-based sensing technologies.

Hierarchical porous catalysts now benefit from intentional co-design of transport pathways and catalytic functionality. This review critically examines intelligent micro–mesoporous nanoarchitectures, emphasizing pore connectivity and active-site cooperativity as inseparable design principles. We first outline limitations of purely microporous systems (diffusion constraints, site inaccessibility, deactivation) and then show how multi-scale networks overcome these issues. Engineering strategies for pore connectivity involving bottom-up templating, post-synthetic reconstruction, top-down desilication/dealumination are systematically reviewed alongside metrics (tortuosity, connectivity, accessibility). Active-site cooperativity is examined via acid-based bifunctionality, metal-acid coupling, single-atom catalysis and compartmentalized architectures for cascade reactions. The central thesis is that optimal performance emerges when transport and catalytic site engineering are coupled, supported by evidence from zeolites, metal–organic frameworks, silica nanoreactors, heteroatom-doped carbons and advanced electrocatalysts. Applications include biomass upgrading, selective oxidation, and energy conversion. The review also covers stability, deactivation, and regeneration, suggests standardized reporting criteria, and highlights future challenges such as using AI for catalyst design, operando transport mapping, scalable catalyst synthesis, and programmable catalytic nanoarchitectures. This review offers a predictive design strategy for next-generation multifunctional catalytic materials by focusing on the integrated transport-reaction system instead of only focusing on the structure.

Background: The optical losses in the form of reflections, parasitic absorption, and scattering limit photovoltaic efficiency. This review examines plasma-assisted surface engineering as an effective tool for improving light management in solar cells. Plasma-based methods, including etching, oxidation, deposition, and texturing, enable precise control of surface morphology and chemistry, lowering reflectance, enhancing light trapping, and passivating defects. Methods: In contrast to wet-chemical or high-temperature processes, plasma processes are dry, low-temperature, scalable, and can be used with silicon, perovskite, thin-film, and organic solar cells, as well as tandem structures. The fundamentals of optical losses are described, along with the principles of radio-frequency (RF), inductively coupled plasma (ICP), microwave, and atmospheric plasma systems and their distinctive advantages for controlling ion and reactive-species generation. Key applications reviewed include black-silicon texturing by ICP reactive-ion etching (ICP-RIE), anti-reflective/passivation coatings by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), and interface activation by atmospheric plasma. Results: Among performance improvements are a reflectance of less than 2%, a photocurrent increase of 10–20%, and longer carrier lifetime. Conclusions: The advantages of plasma compared to lithography and sol–gel processes are in the precision and affordability of the method. The difficulties include damage caused by the processing, uniformity over extensive areas, and environmental stress resistance. Future directions rely on low-temperature plasmas for flexible PV, machine-learning-guided process optimization, and hybrid plasma–laser systems. This synthesis of otherwise fragmented studies is intended to support the implementation of plasma-based methods in next-generation, high-efficiency, and sustainable solar production.

This critical assessment develops a mechanistic framework for plasma-engineered oxynitride thin films in photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting, moving beyond description to predictive understanding. Analyzing 30 peer-reviewed studies (2010–2025) via PRISMA 2020 and a structured reliability framework, we evaluate relationships between plasma conditions, film characteristics, and solar hydrogen generation. Results reveal that plasma power, gas composition, and substrate temperature collectively control nitrogen incorporation, crystallinity, and defect formation. Optimized plasma processing conditions were generally associated with improved photocurrent generation, hydrogen evolution performance, and operational stability relative to thermal synthesis routes across most of the reviewed studies, although the 30-study evidence base is still limited and the proposed power-domain classification should be treated as a preliminary framework requiring validation against additional studies. Mechanistic analysis indicates that moderate plasma energies provide sufficient activation for nitrogen incorporation while minimizing lattice damage and excessive defect formation. A unified conceptual framework is proposed relating plasma parameters, film properties, and PEC performance, providing mechanistic guidance for photoelectrode optimization and future process development. Quality assessment identifies that only 13.3% of studies provide high-confidence evidence (46.7% moderate, 40% low), with most lacking complete plasma diagnostics or long-term stability data, highlighting critical research gaps. The framework establishes that plasma engineering’s transformative potential lies in precise control over the composition–structure–property cascade, offering a reproducible route to high-performance oxynitride photoelectrodes for sustainable hydrogen production.