Zhiqun Lin

The controlled synthesis of nanohybrids composed of noble metals and metal oxides have received considerable attention for applications in photocatalysis, solar cells, drug delivery, surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy and many other important areas.

A climax in the development of cost-effective and high-efficiency transition metal-based electrocatalysts has been witnessed recently for sustainable energy and related conversion technologies. In this regard, structure-activity relationships based on several descriptors have already been proposed to rationally design electrocatalysts. However, the dynamic reconstruction of the surface structures and compositions of catalysts during electrocatalytic water oxidation, especially during the anodic

Concerns over air quality reduction and energy crisis resulting from rapid consumption of limited fossil fuels have driven the development of clean and renewable energy sources.

Hydrogel-based conductive materials for smart wearable devices have attracted increasing attention due to their excellent flexibility, versatility, and outstanding biocompatibility. This review presents the recent advances in multifunctional conductive hydrogels for electronic devices. First, conductive hydrogels with different components are discussed, including pure single network hydrogels based on conductive polymers, single network hydrogels with additional conductive additives (<i>i.e.</i>

Cu2O/TiO2 p–n heterojunction photoelectrodes were prepared by depositing different amounts of p-type Cu2O nanoparticles on n-type TiO2 nanotube arrays (i.e., forming Cu2O/TiO2 composite nanotubes) via an ultrasonication-assisted sequential chemical bath deposition. The success of deposition of Cu2O nanoparticles was corroborated by structural and composition characterizations. The enhanced absorption in the visible light region was observed in Cu2O/TiO2 composite nanotubes. The largely improved

This Review highlights the recent developments pertaining to pure and modified TiO₂ nanotube arrays for photocatalysis.

The increasing demand for higher-energy-density batteries driven by advancements in electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, and portable electronic devices necessitates the development of alternative anode materials with a specific capacity beyond that of traditional graphite anodes. Here, the state-of-the-art developments made in the rational design of Si-based electrodes and their progression toward practical application are presented. First, a comprehensive overview of fundamental electr

Research into the evaporation of solutions is not only aimed at a better understanding the physics of evaporation, but increasingly at capitalizing on the extremely simple method it offers to assemble diverse nonvolatile solutes into complex ordered structures on the submicron and longer length scales. This Review highlights recent advances in evaporative assembly of confined solutions, focusing especially on recently developed approaches that provide structures with unprecedented regularity com

Thermoelectric materials have garnered considerable attention due to their unique ability to directly convert heat to electricity and vice versa. Polymers carry many intrinsic advantages such as low thermal conductivity, solution processability, and roll-to-roll production for fabricating high-performance, light-weight, and flexible thermoelectric modules. In this review, we highlight recent advances in the preparation, modification and optimization of polymer thermoelectric materials, focusing

The past decade has witnessed tremendous advances in synthesis of metal halide perovskites and their use for a rich variety of optoelectronics applications. Metal halide perovskite has the general formula ABX3, where A is a monovalent cation (which can be either organic (e.g., CH3NH3+ (MA), CH(NH2)2+ (FA)) or inorganic (e.g., Cs+)), B is a divalent metal cation (usually Pb2+), and X is a halogen anion (Cl-, Br-, I-). Particularly, the photoluminescence (PL) properties of metal halide perovskites

In recent years, there have been rapid advances in the synthesis of lead halide perovskite nanocrystals (NCs) for use in solar cells, light emitting diodes, lasers, and photodetectors. These compounds have a set of intriguing optical, excitonic, and charge transport properties, including outstanding photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) and tunable optical band gap. However, the necessary inclusion of lead, a toxic element, raises a critical concern for future commercial development. To address

A copper zinc tin sulfide (CZTS) semiconductor can be used as an effective counter-electrode (CE) material in place of platinum metal, yielding low-cost, high-efficiency dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). CZTS nanocrystals were synthesized and then spin-coated on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass. After selenization, the power conversion efficiency of the resulting DSSC was comparable that with a Pt CE. Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are among the most promising photovoltaic devices for

Abstract The development of efficient photocatalysts for the degradation of organic pollutants and production of hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) is an attractive two‐in‐one strategy to address environmental remediation concerns and chemical resource demands. Graphitic carbon nitride (g‐C 3 N 4 ) possesses unique electronic and optical properties. However, bulk g‐C 3 N 4 suffers from inefficient sunlight absorption and low carrier mobility. Once exfoliated, ultrathin nanosheets of g‐C 3 N 4 attain m

The current trend in the miniaturization of electronic devices has driven the investigation into many nanostructured materials. The ferroelectric material barium titanate (BaTiO3) has garnered considerable attention over the past decade owing to its excellent dielectric and ferroelectric properties. This has led to significant progress in synthetic techniques that yield high quality BaTiO3 nanocrystals (NCs) with well-defined morphologies (e.g., nanoparticles, nanorods, nanocubes and nanowires)