The design of highly efficient, durable, and earth-abundant catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction is crucial to a variety of important energy conversion and storage processes. Here, we use carbon quantum dots (CQDs, ∼5 nm) to form hybrids with the ultrathin nickel-iron layered double-hydroxide (NiFe-LDH) nanoplates. The resulting CQD/NiFe-LDH complex exhibits high electrocatalytic activity (with an overpotential of ∼235 mV in 1 M KOH at a current density of 10 mA cm(-2)) and stability for oxygen evolution, which almost exceed the values of all previously reported Ni-Fe compounds and were comparable to those of the most active perovskite-based catalyst.

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Carbon quantum dots (CQDs) were demonstrated to have the ability to enhance the photocatalytic performance of monoclinic BiVO4 with different exposed facets under visible light.

A combustion flame method is developed for the convenient and scalable fabrication of single- and dual-doped carbon quantum dots (CQDs) (N-CQDs, B-CQDs, P-CQDs, and S-CQDs and dual-doped B,N-CQDs, P,N-CQDs, and S,N-CQDs), and the doping contents can be easily adjusted by simply changing the concentrations of precursors in ethanol. These single/dual-doped CQDs, especially B,N-CQDs, show high catalytic activities for the oxygen reduction reaction.

Tailoring high performance, stable, and earth-abundant electrocatalysts for water oxidation is of fundamental importance for the development of promising energy conversion and storage technologies. In this work, we report a remarkably simple and efficient approach for the preparation of ZnCo-layered double hydroxides and reduced graphene oxide (RGO/ZnCo-LDH) nanocomposites via a facile one-pot coprecipitation method. The resulting RGO/ZnCo-LDH complex investigated for the first time as a catalyst for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) exhibits higher electrocatalytic activity (with onset overpotential ∼330 mV in 0.1 M KOH) and excellent stability than pristine ZnCo-layered double hydroxides and commercial Pt/C, making it a highly efficient nonprecious metal-based novel LDH composite electrocatalyst for OER.