No abstract

Photocatalysts with hollow structures have drawn great interest owing to their high specific surface area, which can enhance the photocatalytic performance. Herein, we designed the hollow cubic Cu2–x S@Ni–Mo–S nanocomposites by vulcanizing from the Cu2O template and loading the Ni–Mo–S lamellas. The Cu2–x S@Ni–Mo–S composites greatly improved the photocatalytic hydrogen performance. Among them, Cu2–x S–NiMo-5 achieved the optimal photocatalytic rate of 1326.07 μmol/g h, which is approximately 3.85 times higher than that of hollow Cu2–x S (344 μmol/g h) and had good stability for 16 h. The enhanced photocatalytic property was attributed to the metallic behavior of bimetallic Ni–Mo–S lamellas and the LSPR (localized surface plasmon resonance) effect of Cu2–x S. The bimetallic Ni–Mo–S can effectively capture the photogenerated electrons and quickly transfer-diffuse to produce H2. Meanwhile, the hollow Cu2–x S not only provided many more active sites to take part in the reaction but also introduced the LSPR effect to increase the solar utilization. This work provides valuable insights into the synergistic effect of using non-precious metal co-catalysts and the LSPR materials to assist in the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution.

Lean‐zinc anode is a promising configuration that can eliminate the trade‐off of energy density and cycle lifetime of zinc metal (Zn0) batteries. However, there are rare investigations of lean‐Zn anode designs and it remains a grand change to sustain high zinc reversibility under lean zinc conditions. Herein, a lean‐Zn anode design based on a hierarchical and zincophilic cobalt metal (Co0) nanowire‐decorated carbon host, which is derived from a ZnCo bimetallic organic framework, is reported. Within the lean‐Zn anode, the trace amount of Zn0 acts as a zinc reservoir to make up for any irreversible loss of zinc source upon cycling, while the zincophilic Co0 nanowires can guide uniform zinc nucleation and growth through a lattice matching mechanism. Consequently, high Zn0 reversibility (average Coulomb efficiency of 99.6% for 4250 cycles), low nucleation overpotential (50.8 mV at 1 mA cm−2), and uniform and compact zinc electrodeposition are realized. When coupling the lean‐Zn anode with a Zn‐containing cathode, the full cell delivers high Coulomb efficiency (99.6% for 4250 cycles on average) and a long lifetime of more than 5000 cycles.