State Key Laboratory of Electroanalytical Chemistry

The great success of electrochemiluminescence (ECL) for in vitro diagnosis (IVD) and its promising potential in light-emitting devices greatly promote recent ECL studies. More than 45% of ECL articles were published after 2010, and the first international meeting on ECL was held in Italy in 2014. This critical review discusses recent vibrant developments in ECL, and highlights novel ECL phenomena, such as wireless ECL devices, bipolar electrode-based ECL, light-emitting electrochemical swimmers, upconversion ECL, ECL resonance energy transfer, thermoresponsive ECL, ECL using shape-controlled nanocrystals, and ECL as an ion-selective electrode photonic reporter, a paper-based microchip, and a self-powered microfluidic ECL platform. We also comment on the latest progress in bioassays, light-emitting devices and, the computational approach for the ECL mechanism study. Finally, perspectives and key challenges in the near future are addressed (198 references).

This review highlights the synthesis and optical properties of carbon quantum dots and their application in metal ion sensing.

A Fe-doped Ni₃S₂particle film grown on nickel foam (Fe_11.8%-Ni₃S₂/NF) behaves as a high-efficiency and robust oxygen evolution electrode in strongly alkaline solution.

Stimuli-responsive polymers uniquely undergo physical/chemical changes in response to changes in their environment. Here, there use for sensing and actuation is reviewed.

Fluorescent carbon dots prepared by a heat treatment of ethylene glycol solution can act as fluorescence turn-on probes for sensitive and selective detection of Ag⁺ ions.

Nitrogen, phosphorus and oxygen tri-doped porous graphite carbon@oxidized carbon cloth electrodes exhibit excellent activity and durability for full water splitting at all pH values.

A facile avenue to synthesize bimetallic PdPt nanowire networks with tunable composition and enhanced electrocatalytic performance is demonstrated.

Carbon materials have been extensively investigated due to their diversity, favorable properties, and active applications including electroanalytical chemistry. This critical review discusses new synthetic methods, novel carbon materials, new properties and electroanalytical applications of carbon materials particularly related to the preparation as well as bioanalytical and environmental applications of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite, graphene, carbon nanotubes, various carbon films (e.g. pyrolyzed carbon films, boron-doped diamond films and diamond-like carbon films) and screen printing carbon electrodes. Future perspectives in the field have also been discussed (366 references).

This review showcases the recent progress in understanding and designing M–N_x/C electrocatalysts towards the ORR, aiming to provide some guidelines for their practical applications in PEMFCs.

The oxygen evolution reaction (OER), as the anodic reaction of water electrolysis (WE), suffers greatly from low reaction kinetics and thereby hampers the large-scale application of WE. Seeking active, stable, and cost-effective OER catalysts in acidic media is therefore of great significance. In this perspective, studying the reaction mechanism and exploiting advanced anode catalysts are of equal importance, where the former provides guidance for material structural engineering towards a better catalytic activity. In this review, we first summarize the currently proposed OER catalytic mechanisms, i.e., the adsorbate evolution mechanism (AEM) and lattice oxygen evolution reaction (LOER). Subsequently, we critically review several acidic OER electrocatalysts reported recently, with focus on structure-performance correlation. Finally, a few suggestions on exploring future OER catalysts are proposed.

Enzyme mimics, especially nanozymes, play a crucial role in replacing natural enzymes for diverse applications related to bioanalysis, therapeutics and other enzyme-like catalysis. Nanozymes are catalytic nanomaterials with enzyme-like properties, which currently face formidable challenges with respect to their intricate structure, properties and mechanism in comparison with enzymes. The latest emergence of single-atom nanozymes (SAzymes) undoubtedly promoted the nanozyme technologies to the atomic level and provided new opportunities to break through their inherent limitations. In this perspective, we discuss key aspects of SAzymes, including the advantages of the single-site structure, and the derived synergetic enhancements of enzyme-like activity, catalytic selectivity and the mechanism, as well as the superiority in biological and catalytic applications, and then highlight challenges that SAzymes face and provide relevant guidelines from our point of view for the rational design and extensive applications of SAzymes, so that SAzyme may achieve its full potential as the next-generation nanozyme.

Abstract Sun, wind and tides have huge potential in providing us electricity in an environmental-friendly way. However, its intermittency and non-dispatchability are major reasons preventing full-scale adoption of renewable energy generation. Energy storage will enable this adoption by enabling a constant and high-quality electricity supply from these systems. But which storage technology should be considered is one of important issues. Nowadays, great effort has been focused on various kinds of batteries to store energy, lithium-related batteries, sodium-related batteries, zinc-related batteries, aluminum-related batteries and so on. Some cathodes can be used for these batteries, such as sulfur, oxygen, layered compounds. In addition, the construction of these batteries can be changed into flexible, flow or solid-state types. There are many challenges in electrode materials, electrolytes and construction of these batteries and research related to the battery systems for energy storage is extremely active. With the myriad of technologies and their associated technological challenges, we were motivated to assemble this 2020 battery technology roadmap.

This article mainly reviews the state-of-the-art achievements of supported metal catalysts and the characteristics and actions of their active sites, working in the reactions involved in HDO of lignin-derived phenolic compounds.

A NiMo hollow nanorod array is developed on Ti mesh <italic>via</italic> a template-assisted electrodeposition method as a bifunctional electrode for water splitting.

This review examines the current status (from 2016 to December 2018) of the electroanalytical application of boron-doped diamond (BDD), in view of its advantages and challenges for electroanalytical applications.

Fluorescence turn-on sensor based on nitrogen-doped graphene quantum dots can be used for glutathione detection in living cells.

Uniform CsPbX₃ quantum dots were synthesized <italic>via</italic> an emulsion fabrication and demulsion method at room temperature. The as-prepared CsPbX₃ QDs exhibit high synthetic yield and highly uniform morphology, as well as excellent photocatalytic activity toward the degradation of MO.

Here, we describe the synthesis of a novel interwoven NiS/NiS₂ structure with an amorphous interface accomplished by carrying out a one-step thermal decomposition of nickel sulfate and thiourea.

Porous CoP concave polyhedrons were prepared by a topological conversion from Co-MOFs with enhanced electrochemical HER activities.

Developing non-precious metal electrocatalysts (NPMCs) for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is of paramount importance for commercial implementation of several clean energy techniques (e.g. proton exchange membrane fuel cells). However, limited understanding of the ORR catalytic mechanism of NPMCs greatly hinders the progress in the precise fabrication of NPMCs at the molecular or atomic level. Recently, an increasing number of studies have demonstrated the crucial role of a carbon matrix in exposing, stabilizing, and activating the catalytic sites, thus providing a platform to identify the nature of NPMCs. Herein, the unique structural effects of a carbon matrix in NPMCs are first reviewed to inspire the development of more advanced NPMCs for the ORR.