With the urgent requirement for high-performance rechargeable Li-S batteries, besides various carbon materials and metal compounds, lots of conducting polymers have been developed and used as components in Li-S batteries. In this review, the synthesis of polyaniline (PANI), polypyrrole (PPy) and polythiophene (PTh) is introduced briefly. Then, the application progress of the three conducting polymers is summarized according to the function in Li-S batteries, including coating layers, conductive hosts, sulfur-containing compounds, separator modifier/functional interlayer, binder and current collector. Finally, according to the current problems of conducting polymers, some practical strategies and potential research directions are put forward. We expect that this review will provide novel design ideas to develop conducting polymer-containing high-performance Li-S batteries.

Advances in BiOX photocatalysts for degradation of organic pollutants are introduced, including the controllable synthesis, heteroatom doping & surface modification, BiOX/BiOY and BiOX/Bi_mO_nX_z heterojunctions.

Among the popular electrochemical energy storage devices, supercapacitors (SCs) have attracted much attention due to their long cycle life, fast charge and discharge, safety, and reliability. Transition metal oxides are one of the most widely used electrode materials in SCs because of the high specific capacitance. Among various transition metal oxides, Co₃O₄ and related composites are widely reported in SCs electrodes. In this review, we introduce the synthetic methods of Co₃O₄, including the hydrothermal/solvothermal method, sol–gel method, thermal decomposition, chemical precipitation, electrodeposition, chemical bath deposition, and the template method. The recent progress of Co₃O₄-containing electrode materials is summarized in detail, involving Co₃O₄/carbon, Co₃O₄/conducting polymer, and Co₃O₄/metal compound composites. Finally, the current challenges and outlook of Co₃O₄ and Co₃O₄-containing composites are put forward.

Electrode materials are crucial for the electrochemical performance of supercapacitors. In view of the high specific surface area, high conductivity of graphene nanosheets and the high pseudocapacitance of polyaniline (PANI), the combination of graphene with PANI has become a research hotspot. In this work, we summarize the recent advance on the synthesis of PANI and graphene/PANI composites, and their application in supercapacitors. The synthesis of PANI is the basis of preparing graphene/PANI composites, so we first introduce the synthesis methods of PANI. Then, the advances of two dimensional (2D) and three dimensional (3D) graphene/PANI composites are summarized according to the inherent feature of graphene. The 2D composites of pristine graphene and functionalized graphene with PANI are introduced separately; furthermore, the 3D composites are classified into three sections, including flexible graphene/PANI composites, graphene framework based composites, and printable graphene/PANI composites. At last, aiming at solving the current challenges of graphene/PANI composites, we put forward some strategies for preparing high performance graphene/PANI composite electrodes.

With the rapid development of modern industries, water pollution has become an urgent problem that endangers the health of human and wild animals. The photocatalysis technique is considered an environmentally friendly strategy for removing organic pollutants in wastewater. As an important member of Bi-series semiconductors, Bi₂WO₆ is widely used for fabricating high-performance photocatalysts. In this review, the recent advances of Bi₂WO₆-based photocatalysts are summarized. First, the controllable synthesis, surface modification and heteroatom doping of Bi₂WO₆ are introduced. In the respect of Bi₂WO₆-based composites, existing Bi₂WO₆-containing binary composites are classified into six types, including Bi₂WO₆/carbon or MOF composite, Bi₂WO₆/g-C₃N₄ composite, Bi₂WO₆/metal oxides composite, Bi₂WO₆/metal sulfides composite, Bi₂WO₆/Bi-series composite, and Bi₂WO₆/metal tungstates composite. Bi₂WO₆-based ternary composites are classified into four types, including Bi₂WO₆/g-C₃N₄/X, Bi₂WO₆/carbon/X, Bi₂WO₆/Au or Ag-based materials/X, and Bi₂WO₆/Bi-series semiconductors/X. The design, microstructure, and photocatalytic performance of Bi₂WO₆-based binary and ternary composites are highlighted. Finally, aimed at the existing problems in Bi₂WO₆-based photocatalysts, some solutions and promising research trends are proposed that would provide theoretical and practical guidelines for developing high-performance Bi₂WO₆-based photocatalysts.