Heteroatom Immobilization Engineering toward High-Performance Metal Anodes.

Heteroatom immobilization engineering (HAIE) is becoming a forefront approach in materials science and engineering, focusing on the precise control and manipulation of atomic-level interactions within heterogeneous systems. HAIE has emerged as an efficient strategy to fabricate single-atom sites for enhancing the performance of metal-based batteries. Despite the significant progress achieved through HAIE in metal anodes for metal-based batteries, several critical challenges such as metal dendrites, side reactions, and sluggish reaction kinetics are still present. In this review, we delve into the fundamental principles underlying heteroatom immobilization engineering in metal anodes, aiming to elucidate its role in enhancing the electrochemical performance in batteries. We systematically investigate how HAIE facilitates uniform nucleation of metal in anodes, how HAIE inhibits side reactions at the metal anode-electrolyte interface, and the role of HAIE in promoting the desolvation of metal ions and accelerating reaction kinetics within metal-based batteries. Finally, we discuss various strategies for implementing HAIE in electrode materials, such as high-temperature pyrolysis, vacancy reduction, and molten-salt etching and anchoring. These strategies include selecting appropriate heteroatoms, optimizing immobilization methods, and constructing material architectures. They can be utilized to further refine the performance to enhance the capabilities of HAIE and facilitate its widespread application in next-generation metal-based battery technologies.

0D-2D multifunctional bimetallic MOF derivative-MXene heterojunction for high areal capacity lithium-sulfur batteries.

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries have attracted much attention due to their high specific capacity. However, at high loads and rates, the polysulfides conversion rate and ion transport of batteries are slow, limiting their commercialization. This work reports zero-dimensional (0D) bimetallic MOF derivatives grown in situ on two-dimensional (2D) MXene by electrostatic adsorption (FeCo@Ti3C2). The 0D bimetallic structure effectively avoids the stacking of MXene while providing a dual catalytic site for polysulfides. The 2D structure of MXene also provides a large number of pathways for the rapid diffusion of lithium ions. This 0D-2D heterostructured heterogeneous catalyst with bimetallic synergistic active sites efficiently immobilizes and catalyzes polysulfides, providing a fast charge transfer pathway for the electrochemical reaction of lithium polysulfides. The Li-S battery with this multifunctional 0D-2D heterojunction structure catalyst has outstanding high rate capacity (703 mAh g-1 at 4 C at room temperature and 555 mAh g-1 at 2 C at 0 °C), fascinating capacity at high load (5.5 mAh cm-2 after 100 cycles at a high sulfur content of 8.2 mg cm-2). The study provides new ideas for the commercialization of high-efficiency Li-S batteries.

Liquid metal interface mechanochemistry disentangles energy density and biaxial stretchability tradeoff in composite capacitor film.

Dielectric polymer composites for film capacitors have advanced significantly in recent decades, yet their practical implementation in industrial-scale, thin-film processing faces challenges, particularly due to limited biaxial stretchability. Here, we introduce a mechanochemical solution that applies liquid metal onto rigid dielectric fillers (e.g. boron nitride), dramatically transforming polymer-filler interface characteristics. This approach significantly reduces modulus mismatch and stress concentration at the interface region, enabling polypropylene composites to achieve biaxial stretching ratio up to 450 × 450%. Furthermore, liquid metal integration enhances boron nitride's dielectric polarization while maintaining inherent insulation, producing high-dielectric-constant, low-loss films. These films, only microns thick yet quasi square meters in area, achieve a 55% increase in energy density over commercial biaxially-oriented polypropylene (from 2.9 to 4.5 J cm-3 at 550 MV/m), keeping 90% discharge efficiency. Coupled with improved thermal conductivity, durability, and device capacitance, this distinctive interface engineering approach makes these composites promising for high-performance film capacitors.

Identification of macrophage driver genes in fibrosis caused by different heart diseases based on omics integration.

BACKGROUND: Myocardial fibrosis, a hallmark of heart disease, is closely associated with macrophages, yet the genetic pathophysiology remains incompletely understood. In this study, we utilized integrated single-cell transcriptomics and bulk RNA-seq analysis to investigate the relationship between macrophages and myocardial fibrosis across omics integration. METHODS: We examined and curated existing single-cell data from dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM), myocardial infarction (MI), and heart failure (HF), and analyzed the integrated data using cell communication, transcription factor identification, high dimensional weighted gene co-expression network analysis (hdWGCNA), and functional enrichment to elucidate the drivers of macrophage polarization and the macrophage-to-myofibroblast transition (MMT). Additionally, we assessed the accuracy of single-cell data from the perspective of driving factors, cell typing, anti-fibrosis performance of left ventricular assist device (LVAD). Candidate drugs were screened using L1000FWD. RESULTS: All four heart diseases exhibit myocardial fibrosis, with only MI showing an increase in macrophage proportions. Macrophages participate in myocardial fibrosis through various fibrogenic molecules, especially evident in DCM and MI. Abnormal RNA metabolism and dysregulated transcription are significant drivers of macrophage-mediated fibrosis. Furthermore, profibrotic macrophages exhibit M1 polarization and increased MMT. In HF patients, those responding to LVAD therapy showed a significant decrease in driver gene expression, M1 polarization, and MMT. Drug repurposing identified cinobufagin as a potential therapeutic agent. CONCLUSION: Using integrated single-cell transcriptomics, we identified the drivers of macrophage-mediated myocardial fibrosis in four heart diseases and confirmed the therapeutic effect of LVAD on improving HF with single-cell accuracy, providing novel insights into the diagnosis and treatment of myocardial fibrosis.

Construction of Coordination Spaces with Narrow Pore Windows in Co-Based Metal-Organic Frameworks toward CO2/N2 Separation.

Carbon emission reduction is an important measure to mitigate the greenhouse effect, which has become a hotspot in global climate change research. To contribute to this, here, we fabricated two Co-based metal-organic frameworks (Co-MOFs), namely, {[Co3(NTB)2(bib)]·(DMA)2·(H2O)4}n (DZU-211) and {[Co3(NTB)2(bmip)]·(DMA)2}n (DZU-212) (H3NTB = 4,4',4″-nitrilotribenzoic acid, bib = 1,4-bis(imidazol-1-yl)-butane, bmip = 1,3-bis(2-methyl-1H-imidazol-1-yl)propane) to realize efficient CO2/N2 separation by dividing coordination spaces into suitable pores with narrow windows. DZU-211 reveals a 3D open porous framework, while DZU-212 exhibits a 3D double-fold interpenetrated structure. The two MOFs both possess large coordination spaces and small open pore sizes, via the bib ligand insertion and framework interpenetration, respectively. Comparatively, DZU-211 reveals superior selective CO2 uptake properties due to its more suitable pore characteristics. Gas sorption experiments show that DZU-211 has a CO2 uptake of 52.6 cm3 g-1 with a high simulated CO2/N2 selectivity of 101.7 (298 K, 1 atm) and a moderate initial adsorption heat of 38.1 kJ mol-1. Moreover, dynamic breakthrough experiments confirm the potential application of DZU-211 as a CO2 separation material from postcombustion flue gases.

Design of NiCoP nanorod loaded on cocoon carbon substrate and its non-metal doping for efficient hydrogen evolution.

The quest for effective and sustainable electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution is crucial in advancing the widespread use of H2. In this study, we utilized silkworm cocoons as the source material to produce porous N-doped carbon (PNCC) substrates through a process involving degumming and annealing. Subsequently, NiCoP nanorod (NiCoP@PNCC) is deposited onto the substrates via a simple impregnation and calcination method to enhance the catalytic performance for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The optimal spacing between the silk fibers of PNCC facilitates longitudinal growth, increases the active surface area, and balances the adsorption and desorption of reaction intermediates, thereby accelerating HER kinetics. Consequently, NiCoP@PNCC demonstrates impressive performance, with 44 mV overpotential to achieve a current density of 10 mA cm-2. Additionally, density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the electronic structure and energy band of NiCoP@PNCC can be modified through the doping of elements such as B, C, N, O, F, and S. In addition, with the electronegativity enhancement of the doping elements, the interaction between Co atoms in NiCoP@PNCC and O atoms in adsorbed H2O molecules gradually enhanced, which is conducive to the dissociation of water in alkaline solution. This research introduces a novel approach for fine-tuning the catalytic activity of transition metal phosphides.

Unveiling the Enhancement of Electrocatalytic Oxygen Evolution Activity in Ru-Fe2O3/CoS Heterojunction Catalysts.

The development of highly efficient electrocatalysts for the sluggish anodic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is crucial to meet the practical demand for water splitting. In this study, an effective approach is proposed that simultaneously enhances interfacial interaction and catalytic activity by modifying Fe2O3/CoS heterojunction using Ru doping strategy to construct an efficient electrocatalytic oxygen evolution catalyst. The unique morphology of Ru doped Fe2O3 (Ru-Fe2O3) nanoring decorated by CoS nanoparticles ensures a large active surface area and a high number of active sites. The designed Ru-Fe2O3/CoS catalyst achieves a low OER overpotential (264 mV) at 10 mA cm-2 and demonstrates exceptional stability even at high current density of 100 mA cm-2, maintaining its performance for an impressive duration of 90 h. The catalytic performance of this Ru-Fe2O3/CoS catalyst surpasses that of other iron-based oxide catalysts and even outperforms the state-of-the-art RuO2. Density functional theory (DFT) calculation as well as experimental in situ characterization confirm that the introduction of Ru atoms can enhance the interfacial electron interaction, accelerating the electron transfer, and serve as highly active sites reducing the energy barrier for rate determination step. This work provides an efficient strategy to reveal the enhancement of electrocatalytic oxygen evolution activity of heterojunction catalysts by doping engineering.

Defect-rich porous graphitic phase carbon nitride layer grafted MXene as desolvation promoter for efficient sulfur conversion in extremely harsh conditions.

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries exhibit superior theoretical capacity and energy density but are still hindered by the sluggish redox conversion kinetic of lithium polysulfides arising from the significant desolvation barrier, especially under high current density or low-temperature environments. Herein, a two-dimensional (2D) porous graphitic phase carbon nitride/MXene (CN-MX) heterostructure with intrinsic defects was designed via electrostatic adherence and in-situ thermal polycondensation. In the design, the defect-rich CN with abundant catalytic activity and porous structure could efficiently facilitate the lithium polysulfides capture, the dissociation of solvated lithium-ion (Li+), and fast Li+ diffusion. Concurrently, 2D MXene nanosheets with high electronic conductivity could act as charge transport channels and provide electrochemical active sites for sulfur redox reactions. The Li-S cells with CN-MX heterostructure modified separator demonstrated uncommon rate performance (945 mAh/g at 4.0 C) and satisfactory areal capacity (5.5 mAh cm-2 at 0.2 C). Most remarkably, even at 0 °C, the assembled Li-S batteries performed favorable cycle stability (91.6% capacity retention after 100 cycles at 0.5 C) and outstanding rate performance (695 mAh/g at 2.0 C), and superior high loading performance (5.1 mAh cm-2 at 0.1 C). This work offers exciting new insights to enable Li-S batteries to operate in extreme environments.

Superfast Zincophilic Ion Conductor Enables Rapid Interfacial Desolvation Kinetics for Low-Temperature Zinc Metal Batteries.

Low-temperature rechargeable aqueous zinc metal batteries (AZMBs) as highly promising candidates for energy storage are largely hindered by huge desolvation energy barriers and depressive Zn2+ migration kinetics. In this work, a superfast zincophilic ion conductor of layered zinc silicate nanosheet (LZS) is constructed on a metallic Zn surface, as an artificial layer and ion diffusion accelerator. The experimental and simulation results reveal the zincophilic ability and layer structure of LZS not only promote the desolvation kinetics of [Zn(H2O)6]2+ but also accelerate the Zn2+ transport kinetics across the anode/electrolyte interface, guiding uniform Zn deposition. Benefiting from these features, the LZS-modified Zn anodes showcase long-time stability (over 3300 h) and high Coulombic efficiency with ≈99.8% at 2 mA cm-2, respectively. Even reducing the environment temperature down to 0 °C, ultralong cycling stability up to 3600 h and a distinguished rate performance are realized. Consequently, the assembled Zn@LZS//V2O5-x full cells deliver superior cyclic stability (344.5 mAh g-1 after 200 cycles at 1 A g-1) and rate capability (285.3 mAh g-1 at 10 A g-1) together with a low self-discharge rate, highlighting the bright future of low-temperature AZMBs.

Towards low-temperature dendrite-free zinc anode by constructing functional MXene buffer layer with duplex zincophilic sites.

Dendrite growth and side reactions of zinc metal anode have severely limited the practical application of aqueous zinc ion batteries (AZIBs). Herein, we introduce an artificial buffer layer composed of functional MXene (Ti3CN) for zinc anodes. The synthesized Ti3CN exhibits superior conductivity and features duplex zincophilic sites (N and F). These characteristics facilitate the homogeneous deposition of Zn2+, accelerate the desolvation process of hydrated Zn2+, and reduce the nucleation overpotential. The Ti3CN-protected Zn anode demonstrates significantly enhanced reversibility compared to bare Zn anode during long-term cycling, achieving a cumulative plating capacity of 10,000 mAh cm-2 at 10 mA cm-2. In Ti3CN-Zn||Cu asymmetric cell, it maintains nearly 100 % Coulombic efficiency over 2500 cycles at 2 mA cm-2. Furthermore, the assembled Ti3CN-Zn//δ-K0.51V2O5 (KVO) full cell exhibit a low capacity decay rate of 0.002 % per cycle at 5 A/g. Even at 0 °C, the Ti3CN-Zn symmetric cell maintains steady cycling for 2000 h. This study introduces a novel approach for designing artificial solid electrolyte interlayers for commercial AZIBs.

Atom-Level Tandem Catalysis in Lithium Metal Batteries.

High-energy-density lithium metal batteries (LMBs) are limited by reaction or diffusion barriers with dissatisfactory electrochemical kinetics. Typical conversion-type lithium sulfur battery systems exemplify the kinetic challenges. Namely, before diffusing or reacting in the electrode surface/interior, the Li(solvent)x + dissociation at the interface to produce isolated Li+, is usually a prerequisite fundamental step either for successive Li+ "reduction" or for Li+ to participate in the sulfur conversions, contributing to the related electrochemical barriers. Thanks to the ideal atomic efficiency (100 at%), single atom catalysts (SACs) have gained attention for use in LMBs toward resolving the issues caused by the five types of barrier-restricted processes, including polysulfide/Li2S conversions, Li(solvent)x + desolvation, and Li0 nucleation/diffusion. In this perspective, the tandem reactions including desolvation and reaction or plating and corresponding catalysis behaviors are introduced and analyzed from interface to electrode interior. Meanwhile, the principal mechanisms of highly efficient SACs in overcoming specific energy barriers to reinforce the catalytic electrochemistry are discussed. Lastly, the future development of high-efficiency atomic-level catalysts in batteries is presented.

HIV/HBV coinfection: understanding the complex interactions and their impact on spontaneous HBV clearance, chronic liver damage, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma.

Compared to either HIV or hepatitis B virus (HBV) monoinfected individuals, HIV/HBV-coinfected individuals have a decreased probability of spontaneous HBV clearance and a greater risk of developing chronic liver damage and a faster progression to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. This manuscript attempts to provide a comprehensive review of the landscape of current HIV/HBV coinfection research with a focus on the intricate interactions between these two viruses. Our review will help understand the disease dynamics of HIV/HBV coinfection and has important implications for designing public health strategies.

Novel Strategy for High Efficient and Stable Perovskite Solar Cells through Atomic Layer Deposition.

The perovskite material has demonstrated conceivable potential as an absorbing material of solar cells. Although the power conversion efficiency of the device based on perovskite has rapidly come to 26%, there are still many factors that affect the further improvement of the photoelectric conversion efficiency. Interface defects are the dominating concern that influence carrier transportation and stability. Here, we report a novel strategy where B2O3 is deposited on the fresh perovskite film by atomic layer deposition technology. The organic atmosphere during atomic layer deposition can effectively regulate the crystallization kinetics of perovskites and promote crystal growth. The B2O3 adsorbed on the perovskite light-absorption layer can effectively reduce the electropositive defects on the surface of the perovskite, such as uncoordinated Pb2+ and I vacancies due to the electron-donating properties of the side O atoms in B2O3. Consequently, the power conversion efficiency of the perovskite solar cell after B2O3 treatment increases to 21.78% from 18.89%. Simultaneously, B2O3 can improve the stability of devices.

Dressing Paraffin Wax/Boron Nitride Phase Change Composite with a Polyethylene "Underwear" for the Reliable Battery Safety Management.

Phase change material (PCM) can provide a battery system with a buffer platform to respond to thermal failure problems. However, current PCMs through compositing inorganics still suffer from insufficient thermal-transport behavior and safety reliability against external force. Herein, a best-of-both-worlds method is reported to allow the PCM out of this predicament. It is conducted by combining a traditional PCM (i.e., paraffin wax/boron nitride) with a spirally weaved polyethylene fiber fabric, just like the traditional PCM is wearing functional underwear. On the one hand, the spirally continuous thermal pathways of polyethylene fibers in the fabric collaborate with the boron nitride network in the PCM, enhancing the through-plane and in-plane thermal conductivity to 10.05 and 7.92 W m-1 K, respectively. On the other, strong polyethylene fibers allow the PCM to withstand a high puncture strength of 47.13 N and tensile strength of 18.45 MPa although above the phase transition temperature. After this typical PCM packs a triple Li-ion battery system, the battery can be promised reliable safety management against both thermal and mechanical abuse. An obvious temperature drop of >10 °C is observed in the battery electrode during the cycling charging and discharging process.

Adjusted Preferential Adsorption of Intermediates via Regulation of the Electronic Structure during the Electrocatalytic CO2 Reduction Process.

The surface electronic structures of catalysts play a crucial role in CO2 adsorption and activation. Here, sulfur vacancies are introduced into CuInS2 nanosheets (Vs-CuInS2) to evaluate the effect of electronic structures at the surface-active sites on the electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR). Vs-CuInS2 exhibits a significant disparity in the highest FEformate/FECO (6.50) compared to that of CuInS2 (1.86). Specifically, the maximum current density (Jmax) of carbon products on Vs-CuInS2 is 78.78 mA cm-2, and a Faraday efficiency of carbon products (FEcarbon products) of ≥80% is achieved in 600 mV wide potential windows. In situ Raman measurements and density functional theory calculations elucidate the origin of the apparent alterations in the carbon product selectivity. The introduction of sulfur vacancies realizes the controllable regulation of the local electronic density around the metal active sites, inducing the transformation of *COOH and *OCHO from competitive adsorption on CuInS2 to specific adsorption on Vs-CuInS2. In addition, the regulation of electronic structures on Vs-CuInS2 inhibits *H adsorption. This work reveals the transfer of adsorption of CO2RR intermediates via regulation of the electronic structure, complementing the understanding of the mechanism for the enhanced CO2RR.

Defect and Donor Manipulated Highly Efficient Electron-Hole Separation in a 3D Nanoporous Schottky Heterojunction.

Given the rapid recombination of photogenerated charge carriers and photocorrosion, transition metal sulfide photocatalysts usually suffer from modest photocatalytic performance. Herein, S-vacancy-rich ZnIn2S4 (VS-ZIS) nanosheets are integrated on 3D bicontinuous nitrogen-doped nanoporous graphene (N-npG), forming 3D heterostructures with well-fitted geometric configuration (VS-ZIS/N-npG) for highly efficient photocatalytic hydrogen production. The VS-ZIS/N-npG presents ultrafast interfacial photogenerated electrons captured by the S vacancies in VS-ZIS and holes neutralization behaviors by the extra free electrons in N-npG during photocatalysis, which are demonstrated by in situ XPS, femtosecond transient absorption (fs-TA) spectroscopy, and transient-state surface photovoltage (TS-SPV) spectra. The simulated interfacial charge rearrangement behaviors from DFT calculations also verify the separation tendency of photogenerated charge carriers. Thus, the optimized VS-ZIS/N-npG 3D hierarchical heterojunction with 1.0 wt % N-npG exhibits a comparably high hydrogen generation rate of 4222.4 µmol g-1 h-1, which is 5.6-fold higher than the bare VS-ZIS and 12.7-fold higher than the ZIS without S vacancies. This work sheds light on the rational design of photogenerated carrier transfer paths to facilitate charge separation and provides further hints for the design of hierarchical heterostructure photocatalysts.

Nanotubular Fe2O3 and Mn3O4 with hierarchical porosity as high-performance anode materials for lithium-ion batteries.

Developing eco-friendly and low-cost advanced anode materials, such as Fe2O3 and Mn3O4, is fundamental to improve the electrochemical performance of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). The rational engineering of the microstructure of Fe2O3 and Mn3O4 to endow it with one-dimensionally and hierarchically porous architecture is a feasible way to further improve and optimize the electrochemical performance of the anode materials. Herein, we demonstrate a facile strategy to prepare nanotubular Fe2O3 and Mn3O4 as advanced anode materials for high-performance LIBs. By combining the merits of the one-dimensionally nanotubular morphology and hierarchically porous structure, limitations in the lithiation activity of Mn3O4 and Fe2O3 anode materials, such as low electrical conductivity, large volume expansion, and sluggish lithium-ion diffusion within the materials, have been effectively overcome. When used as anode materials, t-Fe2O3 and t-Mn3O4 exhibited outstanding electrochemical performances, including a high reversible discharge capacity (859.7 and 901.4 mA h g-1 for t-Fe2O3 and t-Mn3O4, respectively), excellent rate performance, and ultra-stable cycling stability. Such superior electrochemical performances proved the exceptional potential of the materials for the real-world application in LIBs.

Study on the Progress of Application of Qingxin Lianzi Drink in Paediatric Nephrotic Syndrome.

Nephrotic syndrome, a common kidney disease syndrome in children, has triggered extensive clinical research to identify safe and effective treatments. Qingxin Lianzi Drink, as a traditional Chinese medicine prescription, has been paid more and more attention in the treatment of nephrotic syndrome in children. Its main ingredients include Shilotus meat, scutellaria skullcap and ground bone skin, etc. These ingredients have the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, reducing swelling and water, and nourishing liver and kidney. In the treatment of nephrotic syndrome in children, Qingxin Lianzi Drink can play a role in many ways: first, it can inhibit inflammatory response, reduce glomerular inflammatory damage, relieve proteinuria and other symptoms; Secondly, the ingredients such as stone lotus meat can promote the excretion of waste and water in the body, reduce edema and edema and other symptoms; Finally, scutellaria and other ingredients can nourish liver and kidney and promote the recovery of liver and kidney function. At present, a large number of studies have found that Qingxin Lianzi Drink has obvious effect on chronic kidney disease. In addition, Qingxin Lianzi Drink as a natural therapy, compared with traditional western medicine treatment, more safe, natural and effective, has been widely concerned. Therefore, Qingxin Lianzi Drink in the treatment of children with nephrotic syndrome of the mechanism of action and efficacy evaluation of the study is of great significance. In this paper, combining the pathogenesis and treatment status of nephrotic syndrome in children, the mechanism of Qingxin Lianzi Drink in the treatment of nephrotic syndrome is explored, which can better understand its effectiveness in the treatment of nephrotic syndrome in children, and provide scientific basis for its application in clinical practice.

Interfacial Modulation of a Self-Sacrificial Synthesized SnO2@Sn Core-Shell Heterostructure Anode toward High-Capacity Reversible Li+ Storage.

Sn-based anodes are promising high-capacity anode materials for low-cost lithium ion batteries. Unfortunately, their development is generally restricted by rapid capacity fading resulting from large volume expansion and the corresponding structural failure of the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) during the lithiation/delithiation process. Herein, heterostructural core-shell SnO2-layer-wrapped Sn nanoparticles embedded in a porous conductive nitrogen-doped carbon (SOWSH@PCNC) are proposed. In this design, the self-sacrificial Zn template from the precursors is used as the pore former, and the LiF-Li3N-rich SEI modulation layer is motivated to average uniform Li+ flux against local excessive lithiation. Meanwhile, both the chemically active nitrogen sites and the heterojunction interfaces within SnO2@Sn are implanted as electronic/ionic promoters to facilitate fast reaction kinetics. Consequently, the as-converted SOWSH@PCNC electrodes demonstrate a significantly boosted Li+ capacity of 961 mA h g-1 at 200 mA g-1 and excellent cycling stability with a low capacity decaying rate of 0.071% after 400 cycles at 500 mA g-1, suggesting their great promise as an anode material in high-performance lithium ion batteries.

Waste biomass-derived N, P co-doping carbon aerogel-coated CoxFe1-xP with modulated electron density for efficient electrooxidation of contaminants.

Developing low-cost, green, high-performing electrode materials to address environmental pollutants and the energy crisis is significant but challenging. Herein, the bimetallic iron cobalt phosphide coated in waste biomass-derived N, P co-doping carbon (CoxFe1-xP@NPC) is constructed. Furthermore, the active site density and the water decomposition energy barrier of surface-coated NPC are modulated by optimizing the electronic structure of CoxFe1-xP via doping engineering. The Fe-modulated CoxFe1-xP@NPC exhibits a hierarchical porous self-supporting structure and excellent physical & chemical properties with excellent electrooxidation performance, achieving over 95% removal of TCH within 60 min. The density functional theory (DFT) calculations further confirms that N carries more positive charge and P carries more negative charge in the NPC of CoxFe1-xP@NPC with Fe modulation, which can promote the adsorption and dissociation of water molecules. Of note, Co0.75Fe025P@NPC displays a low water dissociation energy barrier to produce ·OH and a high energy barrier to produce O2 than its counterparts. This study offers new insight into controllable modulation of biomass carbon-based composite electrode catalytic activity for high-efficiency degradation of contaminants.