Direct ethanol fuel cells (DEFCs) have drawn attention for their simplicity, rapid start-up, high power density and environmental friendliness. Despite these advantages, the widespread application of DEFCs faces challenges, primarily due to the inadequate performance of anode and cathode catalysts. Pd-based materials have shown exceptional catalytic activity for both the ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR) and the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Alloying noble metals with rare earth elements has emerged as an effective strategy to further enhance the catalytic activity by modulating the electronic structure. In this study, we synthesized a series of palladium-rare earth (Pd₃RE) alloys supported on carbon to serve as bifunctional catalysts that efficiently promote both ORR and EOR. Compared to Pd/C, the Pd₃Tb/C catalyst exhibits 3.1-fold and 1.8-fold enhancement in activity for ORR and EOR, respectively. The charge transfer in the Pd₃Tb/C results in an electron-rich Pd component, thereby weakening the binding energy with oxygen species and facilitating the two reactions.

Plasmon-driven catalytic reaction (PDCR) as a part of photocatalysis has attracted immense attention. Due to the collective oscillation of free electrons at the surface of metallic nanostructures, the charge distributions store energy from the incident light that could transfer energy to molecules that promote photocatalysis. As an environment-friendly and green photocatalysis process, PDCR illustrates a brilliant future. In this study, the PDCR efficiency of photo-reducing 4-nitro-benzenthiol (4-NBT) dry film to p,p'-dimercaptoazobenzene (DMAB) in ambient conditions has been studied by using Ag nanodiscs (NDs) and Ag nanoparticles (NPs) as catalysts. The distribution of catalytic efficiency of 4-NBT to DMAB using an individual Ag ND catalyst has been illustrated using spatial Raman mapping. The result is direct evidence that the PDCR efficiency has a positive correlation with plasmon-induced electromagnetic field intensity. Additionally, time-dependent surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) experiments reveal that the PDCR of 4-NBT to DMAB is reciprocal. The discovery in this research will aid to improve the PDCR performance and modulate the catalysis reaction for a high reduction of 4-NBT in industrial.

Identifying air-stable two-dimensional (2D) ferromagnetism with high Curie temperature (T_c) is highly desirable for its potential applications in next-generation spintronics. However, most of the work reported so far mainly focuses on promoting one specific key factor of 2D ferromagnetism (T_c or air stability), rather than comprehensive promotion of both of them. Herein, ultrathin Cr_1–xTe crystals grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) show thickness-dependent T_c up to 285 K. The out-of-plane ferromagnetic order is well preserved down to atomically thin limit (2.0 nm), as evidenced by anomalous Hall effect observed in non-encapsulated samples. Besides, the CVD-grown Cr_1−xTe nanosheets present excellent ambient stability, with no apparent change in surface roughness or electrical transport properties after exposure to air for months. Our work provides an alternative platform for investigation of intrinsic 2D ferromagnetism and development of innovative spintronic devices.