Developing low-cost and highly efficient catalysts toward the efficient oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is highly desirable for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. Herein, we demonstrated that N-incorporation could efficiently activate NiFeO_x catalysts for significantly enhancing the oxygen evolution activity and stability of BiVO₄ photoanodes, and the photocurrent density has been achieved up to 6.4 mA cm⁻² at 1.23 V (vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE), AM 1.5 G). Systematic studies indicate that the partial substitution of O sites in NiFeO_x catalysts by low electronegative N atoms enriched the electron densities in both Fe and Ni sites. The electron-enriched Ni sites conversely donated electrons to V sites of BiVO₄ for restraining V⁵⁺ dissolution and improving the PEC stability, while the enhanced hole-attracting ability of Fe sites significantly promotes the oxygen-evolution activity. This work provides a promising strategy for optimizing OER catalysts to construct highly efficient and stable PEC water splitting devices.

Ordered mesoporous NiO–Al₂O₃ composite oxides with different nickel content were facilely synthesized via an improved evaporation induced self-assembly (EISA) strategy with Pluronic P123 as template in absolute ethanol solvent. The catalytic properties of the obtained mesoporous materials were investigated for the carbon dioxide reforming of methane reaction. These materials were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), N₂ adsorption and desorption characterization, H₂ temperature-programmed reduction (TPR), and thermogravimetry (TG). It was observed that these catalysts with mesostructure presented both high catalytic activity and long stability. The improved catalytic performance was suggested to be closely associated with both the amount of “accessible” active centers for the reactants on the mesopore wall surface and the stabilisation of the active sites by the alumina matrix due to the “confinement effect” of the mesopores. The “confinement effect” existing among the mesoporous structure of the materials contributed to preventing Ni particles from sintering under severe reduction and reaction conditions. The stabilized Ni nanoparticles had strong resistance to carbon deposition, accounting for no deactivation after a 100 h long-term stability test at 700 °C. Thus, the ordered mesoporous NiO–Al₂O₃ composite oxides promised a novel and stable series of catalyst candidates for the carbon dioxide reforming of methane reaction.

Plasma-exfoliation of CoOOH catalysts into defect-rich and ultrathin nanolayers (∼2 nm) significantly improved the photoelectrochemical activities of BiVO ₄ photoanodes.

A simple and effective process for the dehydration of fructose into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) using ionic liquid 1-(4-sulfonic acid) butyl-3-methylimidazolium hydrogen sulfate (IL-1) as the catalyst was developed. High fructose conversion of 100% with HMF yield of 94.6% was obtained at 120 °C for 180 min reaction time in water-4-methyl-2-pentanone (MIBK) biphase system. Generally, the increase of water content had a negative effect on the reaction, the HMF selectivity decreased as the excessive elevation of temperature and prolonging of time, which suggested the decomposition of HMF. The ionic liquid IL-1 could be recycled and exhibited constant activity for six successful runs. This paper provided a new strategy for HMF production from fructose.