In the knowledge era, intellectual capital (IC) has been recognized as the determinant of firm performance. The main goal of the current study is to analyze the relationship between IC and its elements and financial performance of Chinese manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). We also examine whether industry type has an impact on this relationship. This study uses the data of 588 Chinese listed SMEs in the manufacturing industry between 2015 and 2020 and employs the modified value-added intellectual coefficient (MVAIC) model to assess IC. The results show that IC improves SMEs’ financial performance, and physical and human capitals are the main contributor. In addition, the impact of IC and its elements on the financial performance of Chinese manufacturing SMEs is different in different types of industries. Specifically, capital-intensive SMEs have a greater impact of IC on financial performance than labor- and technology-intensive SMEs; labor-intensive SMEs have a higher efficiency of physical capital, while technology-intensive SMEs have higher human capital efficiency. The findings could help SMEs’ managers improve corporate performance by the effective utilization of their IC.

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Layered MoS2 has attracted increasing interests as a promising low-cost alternative to Pt-based electrocatalysts for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). As is known to all, insufficient active sites and poor conductivity of MoS2 impede the improvement of its catalytic efficiency. In this work, the vanadium nitride (VN) with an enlarged specific surface area (VN­(CTAB), CTAB refers to hexadecyltrimethyl­ammonium bromide) was prepared as a substrate, and MoS2 nanoplates were vertically grown on the obtained VN­(CTAB) for the first time. The synthesized MoS2–VN­(CTAB) as an electrocatalyst for HER performs a low onset overpotential (85 mV) and small Tafel slope (53.31 mV dec–1) as well as superior stability. Besides the benefits from higher conductivity (106 S m–1) and greater stability of VN­(CTAB) beyond the traditional carbon-based substrates, the expanded interlayer spacing (1.00 nm) and extra defects along with the lower valence states of Mo and S due to the stronger electron interaction between VN­(CTAB) and MoS2 also effectively contribute to the excellent catalytic performance of MoS2–VN­(CTAB). This study shows a new method to design efficient and stable HER electrocatalysts by means of non-carbon substrates.

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Pd/C electrocatalysts containing VN with different morphology (particles (Pd‐VN(particles)/C) and plates (Pd‐VN(plates)/C)) were prepared by a simple reduction with sodium borohydride and their electrocatalytic performance for methanol oxidation was investigated. The Pd‐VN(particles)/C and Pd‐VN(plates)/C performed better activity, stronger resistance to CO poisoning and higher stability for methanol oxidation compared with Pd/C by the measurements of cyclic voltammograms (CVs), CO stripping voltammetry and chronoamperometry (CA), respectively. The X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) and electrochemical impedance spectrums (EIS) tests were conducted for exploring the role of VN. It is found that the promotion effects of VN can be explained by a bifunctional mechanism and the increase in metallic Pd in electrocatalysts containing VN. Furthermore, the different promotive extents between the VN with different morphology are attributed to the differences of the crystallinity and contact situation of Pd and VN.