The grand challenge in the development of atomically dispersed metallic catalysts is their low metal-atom loading density, uncontrollable localization and ambiguous interactions with supports, posing difficulty in maximizing their catalytic performance. Here, we achieve an interface catalyst consisting of atomic cobalt array covalently bound to distorted 1T MoS2 nanosheets (SA Co-D 1T MoS2). The phase of MoS2 transforming from 2H to D-1T, induced by strain from lattice mismatch and formation of Co-S covalent bond between Co and MoS2 during the assembly, is found to be essential to form the highly active single-atom array catalyst. SA Co-D 1T MoS2 achieves Pt-like activity toward HER and high long-term stability. Active-site blocking experiment together with density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the superior catalytic behaviour is associated with an ensemble effect via the synergy of Co adatom and S of the D-1T MoS2 support by tuning hydrogen binding mode at the interface.

A new, slack, and uniformly porous TiO2 material is synthesized by a simple, carbon nanotube (CNT) template‐assisted hydrothermal method and is further explored for protein immobilization and biosensing. Results demonstrate that the material has a large specific surface area and a unique nanostructure with a uniform pore‐size distribution. Glucose oxidase (GOD) immobilized on the material exhibits facile, direct electrochemistry and good electrocatalytic performance without any electron mediator. The fabricated glucose oxidase sensor shows good stability and high sensitivity, which indicates that the slack porous TiO2 is an attractive material for use in the fabrication of biosensors, particularly enzymatic sensors, because of its direct electrochemistry, high specific surface area, and unique nanostructure for efficient immobilization of biomolecules.

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A unique nanostructured polyaniline (PANI)/mesoporous TiO(2) composite was synthesized and explored as an anode in Escherichia coli microbial fuel cells (MFCs). The results of X-ray diffraction, morphology, and nitrogen adsorption-desorption studies demonstrate a networked nanostructure with uniform nanopore distribution and high specific surface area of the composite. The composite MFC anode was fabricated and its catalytic behavior investigated. Optimization of the anode shows that the composite with 30 wt % PANI gives the best bio- and electrocatalytic performance. A possible mechanism to explain the excellent performance is proposed. In comparison to previously reported work with E. coli MFCs, the composite anode delivers 2-fold higher power density (1495 mW/m(2)). Thus, it has great potential to be used as the anode for a high-power MFC and may also provide a new universal approach for improving different types of MFCs.

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