The electrochemical CO₂ reduction reaction (CO₂RR) represents a very promising future strategy for synthesizing carbon-containing chemicals in a more sustainable way. In spite of great progress in electrocatalyst design over the last decade, the critical role of wettability-controlled interfacial structures for CO₂RR remains largely unexplored. Here, we systematically modify the structure of gas-liquid-solid interfaces over a typical Au/C gas diffusion electrode through wettability modification to reveal its contribution to interfacial CO₂ transportation and electroreduction. Based on confocal laser scanning microscopy measurements, the Cassie-Wenzel coexistence state is demonstrated to be the ideal three phase structure for continuous CO₂ supply from gas phase to Au active sites at high current densities. The pivotal role of interfacial structure for the stabilization of the interfacial CO₂ concentration during CO₂RR is quantitatively analysed through a newly-developed in-situ fluorescence electrochemical spectroscopic method, pinpointing the necessary CO₂ mass transfer conditions for CO₂RR operation at high current densities.

A comprehensive overview on the recent progress of multifunctional supercapacitors which combine energy storage capability with other functions.

Platinum is the most efficient catalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction in acidic conditions, but its widespread use has been impeded by scarcity and high cost. Herein, Pt atomic clusters (Pt ACs) containing Pt-O-Pt units were prepared using Co/N co-doped carbon (CoNC) as support. Pt ACs are anchored to single Co atoms on CoNC by forming strong interactions. Pt-ACs/CoNC exhibits only 24 mV overpotential at 10 mA cm⁻² and a high mass activity of 28.6 A mg⁻¹ at 50 mV, which is more than 6 times higher than commercial Pt/C with any Pt loadings. Spectroscopic measurements and computational modeling reveal the enhanced hydrogen generation activity attributes to the charge redistribution between Pt and O atoms in Pt-O-Pt units, making Pt atoms the main active sites and O linkers the assistants, thus optimizing the proton adsorption and hydrogen desorption. This work opens an avenue to fabricate noble-metal-based ACs stabilized by single-atom catalysts with desired properties for electrocatalysis.

Graphene nanosheets arranged perpendicularly to the substrate surface, i.e., vertically-oriented graphenes (VGs), have many unique morphological and structural features that can lead to exciting properties. Plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition enables the growth of VGs on various substrates using gas, liquid, or solid precursors. Compared with conventional randomly-oriented graphenes, VGs' vertical orientation on the substrate, non-agglomerated morphology, controlled inter-sheet connectivity, as well as sharp and exposed edges make them very promising for a variety of applications. The focus of this tutorial review is on plasma-enabled simple yet efficient synthesis of VGs and their properties that lead to emerging energy and environmental applications, ranging from energy storage, energy conversion, sensing, to green corona discharges for pollution control.

The inability of membranes to handle a wide spectrum of pollutants is an important unsolved problem for water treatment. Here we demonstrate water desalination via a membrane distillation process using a graphene membrane where water permeation is enabled by nanochannels of multilayer, mismatched, partially overlapping graphene grains. Graphene films derived from renewable oil exhibit significantly superior retention of water vapour flux and salt rejection rates, and a superior antifouling capability under a mixture of saline water containing contaminants such as oils and surfactants, compared to commercial distillation membranes. Moreover, real-world applicability of our membrane is demonstrated by processing sea water from Sydney Harbour over 72 h with macroscale membrane size of 4 cm², processing ~0.5 L per day. Numerical simulations show that the channels between the mismatched grains serve as an effective water permeation route. Our research will pave the way for large-scale graphene-based antifouling membranes for diverse water treatment applications.