In hydrogen evolution reaction, inefficient mass transfer caused by bubble adhesion on electrode, bubble dispersion in electrolyte and slow H₂ diffusion, has greatly impeded the reaction process. Existing techniques can only resolve bubble adhesion or bubble dispersion problems. Strategy that simultaneously solve bubble adhesion, bubble dispersion and poor hydrogen diffusion problems is rarely reported. Recently, an article reported a new electrode with special wettability design, which can efficiently promote bubble transfer and dissolved H₂ diffusion. This design can simultaneously solve above mentioned three mass transfer issues and improve electrode efficiency. We summarize the remaining challenges of this work and outlook potential approaches to promote mass transfer in gas-evolution reactions.

Bio-inspired superhydrophobic magnesium (Mg) alloy surfaces are of increasing interest in corrosion protection due to superior barrier and shielding effects. However, superhydrophobic (SHB) anti-corrosion surfaces are susceptible to damage, which limit their extensive applications. To this end, a micro/nano structure-functional molecule SHB composite coating with self-healing and active anti-corrosion dual-function properties was designed on Mg alloys substrate. The dual-function SHB composite anti-corrosion coating based on lauric acid (La) intercalated and modified hydrotalcite (La-LDH) consisted of three-layer structure, namely La-LDH powder/polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)/La-LDH film. The anti-corrosion performance of as-prepared coatings was investigated by potentiodynamic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results indicate that the SHB coating shows excellent active corrosion resistance. Moreover, we also examined the self-healing and anti-corrosion properties of SHB coating upon physical damage and explained the healing mechanism. After heat treatment, the damaged SHB coating regain its surface microstructure and corrosion protection property. This work expands new insights for the wide application of Mg alloys and the research in the field of metal protection.

Efficient light absorption and trapping are of vital importance for the solar water evaporation by hydrogel-based photothermal conversion materials. Conventional strategies are focused on the development of the composition and structure of the hydrogel’s internal network. In our point of view, the importance of the surface structure of hydrogel has usually been underestimated or ignored. Here inspired by the excellent absorbance and water transportation ability of biological surface structure, the hierarchical structured hydrogel evaporators (HSEs) increased the light absorption, trapping, water transportation and water-air interface, which is the beneficial photothermal conversion and water evaporation. The HSEs showed a rapid evaporation rate of 1.77 kg·m⁻²·h⁻¹ at about 92% energy efficiency under one sun (1 kW·m⁻²). Furthermore, the superhydrophilic window device was used in this work to collect the condensed water, which avoids the light-blocking caused by the water mist formed by the small droplets and the problem of the droplets stick on the device dropping back to the bulk water. Integrated with the excellent photothermal conversion hydrogel and superhydrophilic window equipment, this work provides efficient evaporation and desalination of hydrogel-based solar evaporators in practical large-scale applications.

Superhydrophobic and superhydrophilic surfaces have been extensively investigated due to their importance for industrial applications. It has been reported, however, that superhydrophobic surfaces are very sensitive to heat, ultraviolet (UV) light, and electric potential, which interfere with their long-term durability. In this study, we introduce a novel approach to achieve robust superhydrophobic thin films by designing architecture-defined complex nanostructures. A family of ZnO hollow microspheres with controlled constituent architectures in the morphologies of 1D nanowire networks, 2D nanosheet stacks, and 3D mesoporous nanoball blocks, respectively, was synthesized via a two-step self-assembly approach, where the oligomers or the constituent nanostructures with specially designed structures are first formed from surfactant templates, and then further assembled into complex morphologies by the addition of a second co-surfactant. The thin films composed of two-step synthesized ZnO hollow microspheres with different architectures presented superhydrophobicities with contact angles of 150°-155°, superior to the contact angle of 103° for one-step synthesized ZnO hollow microspheres with smooth and solid surfaces. Moreover, the robust superhydrophobicity was further improved by perfluorinated silane surface modification. The perfluorinated silane treated ZnO hollow microsphere thin films maintained excellent hydrophobicity even after 75 h of UV irradiation. The realization of environmentally durable superhydrophobic surfaces provides a promising solution for their long-term service under UV or strong solar light irradiations.