Ultrathin two-dimensional (2D) metal oxyhalides exhibit outstanding photocatalytic properties with unique electronic and interfacial structures. Compared with monometallic oxyhalides, bimetallic oxyhalides are less explored. In this work, we have developed a novel top-down wet-chemistry desalination approach to remove the alkali-halide salt layer within the complicated precursor bulk structural matrix Pb0.6Bi1.4Cs0.6O2Cl2, and successfully fabricate a new 2D ultrathin bimetallic oxyhalide Pb0.6Bi1.4O2Cl1.4. The unlocked larger surface area, rich bimetallic active sites, and faster carrier dynamics within Pb0.6Bi1.4O2Cl1.4 layers significantly enhance the photocatalytic efficiency for atmospheric CO2 reduction. It outperforms the corresponding parental matrix phase and other state-of-the-art bismuth-based monometallic oxyhalides photocatalysts. This work reports a top-down desalination strategy to engineering ultrathin bimetallic 2D material for photocatalytic atmospheric CO2 reduction, which sheds light on further constructing other ultrathin 2D catalysts for environmental and energy applications from similar complicate structure matrixes.

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Herein, the important role of the isomer purity of hole‐transporting materials (HTMs) in achieving high‐performance perovskite solar cells (PSCs) is highlighted. The isomer‐pure 2,9,16,24‐tetra‐n‐butyl‐Zn(II) phthalocyanine (RE‐ZnBu4Pc) is directly synthesized through a ring expansion method, without any further purification. The ground‐state absorption, fluorescence and thermal properties of RE‐ZnBu4Pc and the isomer mixture ZnBu4Pc, along with their hole mobilities and film morphologies are investigated, proving that RE‐ZnBu4Pc can be the more efficient HTM. The devices based on RE‐ZnBu4Pc, as dopant‐free HTMs, achieve a higher average power conversion efficiency (PCE of 11.49% ± 0.67%) and more stability at 25 °C and under 75% relative humidity than that of isomer mixture ZnBu4Pc (PCE of 9.51% ± 1.15%). RE‐ZnBu4Pc‐based PSCs also show better reproducibility in the fabrication process. This study demonstrates that better device performance can be expected for PSCs with isomer‐pure HTM materials.

Two soluble tetraalkyl-substituted zinc phthalocyanines (ZnPcs) for use as anode buffer layer materials in tris(8-hydroxyquinoline)aluminum (Alq3)-based organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) are presented in this work. The hole-blocking properties of these ZnPc layers slowed the hole injection process into the Alq3 emissive layer greatly and thus reduced the production of unstable cationic Alq3 ( Alq 3 + ) species. This led to the enhanced brightness and efficiency when compared with the corresponding properties of OLEDs based on the popular poly-(3, 4-ethylenedioxythiophene): poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT: PSS) buffer layer. Furthermore, because of the high thermal and chemical stabilities of these ZnPcs, a nonaqueous film fabrication process was realized together with improved charge balance in the OLEDs and enhanced OLED lifetimes.