Magnetic Field Manipulation of Tetrahedral Units in Spinel Oxides for Boosting Water Oxidation

Enhancing Electrochemical Reactivity with Magnetic Fields: Unraveling the Role of Magneto-Electrochemistry

Electrocatalysis performs a vital role in numerous energy transformation and repository mechanics, including power cells, Electric field-assisted catalysis, and batteries. It is crucial to investigate new methods to improve electrocatalytic performance if effective and long-lasting power systems are developed. The modulation of catalytic activity and selectivity by external magnetic fields over electrochemical processes has received a lot of interest lately. How the use of various magnetic fields in electrocatalysis has great promise for building effective and selective catalysts, opening the door for the advancement of sophisticated energy conversion is discussed. Furthermore, the challenges and possibilities of incorporating magnetic fields into electrocatalytic systems and suggestions for future research areas are discussed.

Ultrasound-Assisted Preparation and Performance Regulation of Electrocatalytic Materials

With the advancement of scientific research, the introduction of external physical methods not only adds extra freedom to the design of electro-catalytical processes for green technologies but also effectively improves the reactivity of materials. Physical methods can adjust the intrinsic activity of materials and modulate the local environment at the solid-liquid interface. In particular, this approach holds great promise in the field of electrocatalysis. Among them, the ultrasonic waves have shown reasonable control over the preparation of materials and the electrocatalytic process. However, the research on coupling ultrasonic waves and electrocatalysis is still early. The understanding of their mechanisms needs to be more comprehensive and deep enough. Firstly, this article extensively discusses the adhibition of the ultrasonic-assisted preparation of metal-based catalysts and their catalytic performance as electrocatalysts. The obtained metal-based catalysts exhibit improved electrocatalytic performances due to their high surface area and more exposed active sites. Additionally, this article also points out some urgent unresolved issues in the synthesis of materials using ultrasonic waves and the regulation of electrocatalytic performance. Lastly, the challenges and opportunities in this field are discussed, providing new insights for improving the catalytic performance of transition metal-based electrocatalysts.

1,2,4-triazole-assisted metal-organic framework-derived nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes with encapsulated Co4N particles as bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysts for rechargeable zinc-air batteries

The design of high-performance oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) dual-functional catalysts is not only important for the further applications of zinc-air batteries (ZABs) but also a major challenge in the field of energy conversion. The cheap 1,2,4-triazole (1,2,4-TZ) can be decomposed easily by heat, making it a high research value in carbon catalysts derived from metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). Here, Co₄N particles encapsulated at the top of N-doped carbon nanotubes (Co₄N@NCNTs) were conveniently prepared by 1,2,4-TZ-assisted pyrolysis of Co-MOF-74 for the first time. Owing to the excellent activity of Co₄N particles and the highly graphitized N-doped carbon nanotubes (NCNTs), Co₄N@NCNTs obtained at 900 °C (Co₄N@NCNT-900) exhibited astonishing catalytic performance in both ORR and OER, and high reversible oxygen bifunctional activity (ΔE = 0.685 V). Moreover, Co₄N@NCNT-900 displayed a larger discharge power density (122 mW cm^-2), a better specific capacity (811.8 mAh g^-1), and more excellent durability during the ZAB test, implying that Co₄N@NCNT-900 can act as a bifunctional high active catalyst in ZABs.