The primary objective in researching the anode side of electrochemical CO₂ reduction reaction (CO₂RR) is to substitute the frequently employed Ir anodic catalyst with more readily available and cost-effective non-noble metal oxide. When organic molecules are loaded on the Cu₂O surface, a synergistic effect can be formed between different components. This effect can accelerate electron transfer, provide new active sites, and further enhance the performance of OER. This study proposes a new type of anodic catalyst, PDI/Cu₂O/Cu, and investigates its OER activity and three other anodic catalysts (IrO₂/Ti mesh, Ni foam, and Pt mesh) in the CO₂RR system. The results show that PDI/Cu₂O/Cu exhibited OER activity with an overpotential of 422.1 mV to drive a current density of 70 mA cm^-2 in neutral electrolytes. Compared to IrO₂/Ti mesh, the overpotential of PDI/Cu₂O/Cu is decreased by 490 mV. This significantly lowers the energy consumption of the CO₂RR system without compromising the performance of CO₂RR. Furthermore, the use of precious metal materials is unnecessary, leading to a substantial reduction in the cost of the anodic catalyst. PDI/Cu₂O/Cu holds the potential to serve as a non-precious metal alternative to Ir in neutral electrolytes as an anodic catalyst.

Addressing the degradation of persistent organic pollutants like bisphenol A (BPA) and rhodamine B (RhB) with a photocatalyst that is both cost-effective and environmentally friendly is a notable challenge. This research presents the synthesis of an optimized g-C₃N₄/Bi₄O₅Br₂ composite featuring a Z-scheme heterojunction structure. The precise band alignment of this composite significantly enhances the separation of photogenerated charges and the production of dominant reactive species. The composite demonstrated exceptional photocatalytic performance, with BPA degradation efficiency nearing 98% and RhB achieving complete degradation within 80 and 35 min under visible light, respectively. These results are approximately 1.3 times greater than the individual performance of CN and BOB, surpassing recent literature benchmarks. Through EPR and free radical capture experiments, the role of h⁺ and ·O₂⁻ as the primary active free radicals in the degradation process have been confirmed. First-principles calculations validated the experimental results, indicating that the Z-type heterojunction is instrumental in generating active species, thus improving degradation efficiency. This study offers a promising strategy for the design of photocatalysts targeting emerging organic pollutants.

Antibiotics are a widely used and effective treatment for bacterial infections. However, bacteria can gradually evolve during infection, leading to developing resistance to antibiotics, which renders previously effective treatments ineffective. Finding a useful and convenient manner to treat bacterial infections is a great challenge. Here, we report a flexible hydrogen-bond-bridged phosphorene film with photodynamic antibacterial properties and excellent mechanical properties, fabricated from electrochemical exfoliation of black phosphorus (BP). When illuminated under 700 nm light, the hydrogen bond-bridged phosphorene flexible film is capable of converting ground-state triplet oxygen (O₂) into excited-state singlet oxygen (¹O₂), destroying the structure of the membrane of Staphylococcus aureus, and eventually leading to bacterial death, via breaking the C=C of unsaturated fatty acids within the bacterial cell membrane after the reaction between ¹O₂ and unsaturated fatty acids, thus realizing a highly efficient antibacterial approach, which is supported by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) technique. This work establishes an effective phototherapy platform for treating bacterial traumatic infections.

The anodic electrooxidation of ethanol to value-added acetate is an excellent example of replacing the oxygen evolution reaction to promote the cathodic hydrogen evolution reaction and save energy. Herein, we present a colloidal strategy to produce Ni-Fe bimetallic alloy nanoparticles (NPs) as efficient electrocatalysts for the electrooxidation of ethanol in alkaline media. Ni-Fe alloy NPs deliver a current density of 100 mA·cm⁻² in a 1.0 M KOH solution containing 1.0 M ethanol merely at 1.5 V vs. reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE), well above the performance of other electrocatalysts in a similar system. Within continuous 10 h testing at this external potential, this electrode is able to produce an average of 0.49 mmol·cm⁻²·h⁻¹ of acetate with an ethanol-to-acetate Faradaic efficiency of 80%. A series of spectroscopy techniques are used to probe the electrocatalytic process and analyze the electrolyte. Additionally, density functional theory (DFT) calculations demonstrate that the iron in the alloy NPs significantly enhances the electroconductivity and electron transfer, shifts the rate-limiting step, and lowers the energy barrier during the ethanol-to-acetate reaction pathway.