Photocatalytic hydrogen production from water offers an abundant, clean fuel source, but it is challenging to produce photocatalysts that use the solar spectrum effectively. Many hydrogen-evolving photocatalysts are active in the ultraviolet range, but ultraviolet light accounts for only 3% of the energy available in the solar spectrum at ground level. Solid-state crystalline photocatalysts have light absorption profiles that are a discrete function of their crystalline phase and that are not always tunable. Here, we prepare a series of amorphous, microporous organic polymers with exquisite synthetic control over the optical gap in the range 1.94–2.95 eV. Specific monomer compositions give polymers that are robust and effective photocatalysts for the evolution of hydrogen from water in the presence of a sacrificial electron donor, without the apparent need for an added metal cocatalyst. Remarkably, unlike other organic systems, the best performing polymer is only photoactive under visible rather than ultraviolet irradiation.

We report a low-cost water-in-salt electrolyte (WiSE), of 30 m ZnCl ₂ , which enables a dendrite-free Zn metal anode to possess a high coulombic efficiency.

In this work, surfactant-free atomically ultrathin Rh nanosheet nanoassemblies (Rh NNs) are synthesized and used for the first time as an effective electrocatalyst in the nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR) at ambient temperature and pressure. The inorganic polymer RhCl₃–K₃Co(CN)₆ cyanogel plays an important role in the generation of ultrathin Rh nanosheets with a clean surface. Due to their unique ultrathin two-dimensional nanosheet structure (ca. 1 nm) with a high specific surface area and modified electronic structure, the surfactant-free Rh NNs demonstrate an excellent catalytic activity for the NRR with a high production yield (NH₃: 23.88 μg h⁻¹ mg_cat ⁻¹) and favorable selectivity (no N₂H₄ generation) at low potential (−0.2 V vs. RHE), outperforming most of the current electrocatalysts reported for the NRR. Except the contribution to the efficient NRR electrocatalysis, this synthesis strategy would provide some new insights into the preparation of ultrathin precious metal nanosheets for energy related applications.