Tuning metal–support interactions (MSIs) to precisely control the selectivity of supported Cu catalysts toward the CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) is a crucial yet challenging topic. Herein, a series of CuO nanosheet/CeO2 nanorod composites with various morphologies and compositions were synthesized and used as electrocatalysts. The CO2RR product distributions of composites are experimentally verified to be dependent on the loading amounts and sizes of CuO nanosheets, with the maximum Faradaic efficiency (FE) of CH4 and C2H4 reaching 37.8 and 44.8%, respectively. The mechanism investigation supports our perspective that modulating the strength of the MSIs between CuO nanosheets and CeO2 nanorods not only influences the adsorption properties of CO2RR intermediates but also further dominates the formation of exposed facets during the CuO structural reconstruction process, thus customizing the CO2RR pathway.

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Self-assembled Fe 3 O 4 hierarchical microspheres (HMSs) were prepared by a one-pot synchronous reductionself-assembling (SRSA) hydrothermal method. In this simple and inexpensive synthetic process, only glycerol, water, and a single iron source (potassium ferricyanide (K 3 [Fe(CN) 6 ])) were employed as reactants without additional reductants, surfactants, or additives. The iron source, K 3 [Fe(CN) 6 ], and glycerol significantly affected the synthesis of Fe 3 O 4 HMSs. Fe 3 O 4 HMSs with a self-assembled spherical shape readily functioned as high-performance anode materials for lithiumion batteries with a specific capacity of > 1000 mA h g −1 at 0.5 A g −1 after 270 cycles. Further charging and discharging results revealed that Fe 3 O 4 HMSs displayed good reversible performance (> 1000 mA h g −1 ) and cycling stability (700 cycles) at 0.5 A g −1 . Furthermore, as multifunctional materials, the as-obtained Fe 3 O 4 HMSs also exhibited high saturation magnetization (99.5 emu g −1 ) at room temperature (25°C) and could be further employed as efficient and magnetically recyclable catalysts for the hydrogenation of nitro compounds.

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