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The co‐electroreduction of CO2 and NOx⁻ (NO3⁻/NO2⁻) to generate formamide (HCONH2) offers an opportunity for downstream chemical and polymer manufacturing decarbonization; however, significant challenges lie in the C‒N coupling and the associated low product selectivity. Herein, p‐block metal oxides are incorporated in copper oxides to provide more accessible active sites for reactant adsorption and activation, tuning the reaction selectivity toward the formamide production. Through in situ Raman and synchrotron‐based infrared spectroscopy measurements, C─N bond formation is demonstrated in real‐time with the CuOx/BiOx catalyst, where the C─N bond is detected via a *CHO and *NH2 intermediates formation, in agreement with the density functional theory calculations. When tested in a flow electrolyzer, a formamide yield rate of 134 ± 11 mmol h−1 gcat−1 is reported, the first report of co‐electroreduction of CO2 and NOx⁻ to formamide beyond conventional H‐cell measurements. These new insights on the C‒N coupling mechanisms and scale‐up capability provide directions for further development of electrocatalysts for the formamide production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over 79 % of 6.3 billion tonnes of plastics produced from 1950 to 2015 have been disposed in landfills or found their way to the oceans, where they will reside for up to hundreds of years before being decomposed bringing upon significant dangers to our health and ecosystems. Plastic photoreforming offers an appealing alternative by using solar energy and water to transform plastic waste into value‐added chemical commodities, while simultaneously producing green hydrogen via the hydrogen evolution reaction. This review aims to provide an overview of the underlying principles of emerging plastic photoreforming technologies, highlight the challenges associated with experimental protocols and performance assessments, discuss recent global breakthroughs on the photoreforming of plastics, and propose perspectives for future research. A critical assessment of current plastic photoreforming studies shows a lack of standardised conditions, hindering comparison amongst photocatalyst performance. Guidelines to establish a more accurate evaluation of materials and systems are proposed, with the aim to facilitate the translation of promising fundamental discovery in photocatalysts design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over 79 % of 6.3 billion tonnes of plastics produced from 1950 to 2015 have been disposed in landfills or found their way to the oceans, where they will reside for up to hundreds of years before being decomposed bringing upon significant dangers to our health and ecosystems. Plastic photoreforming offers an appealing alternative by using solar energy and water to transform plastic waste into value‐added chemical commodities, while simultaneously producing green hydrogen via the hydrogen evolution reaction. This review aims to provide an overview of the underlying principles of emerging plastic photoreforming technologies, highlight the challenges associated with experimental protocols and performance assessments, discuss recent global breakthroughs on the photoreforming of plastics, and propose perspectives for future research. A critical assessment of current plastic photoreforming studies shows a lack of standardised conditions, hindering comparison amongst photocatalyst performance. Guidelines to establish a more accurate evaluation of materials and systems are proposed, with the aim to facilitate the translation of promising fundamental discovery in photocatalysts design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The utilization of water electrolysis for green hydrogen (H2) production, powered by renewable energy, is a promising avenue for sustainable development. Proton-exchange-membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE) stands out as one of the most efficient H2 production technologies. However, implementing it on an industrial scale faces substantial challenges, particularly regarding the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). The OER, a critical process with inherently slow kinetics requiring additional potential, significantly influences overall water-splitting efficiency. Most OER electrocatalysts in PEMWE struggle with poor stability in harsh acidic environments at high oxidative potentials. While rare-earth metal oxides, such as iridium or ruthenium oxides, offer stability in commercial oxygen-evolving electrocatalysts (OECs), their use depends on achieving economically and sustainably viable operations. An alternative approach involves developing low- or non-noble metal-based OECs with sustaining high activity and long-term durability. Although such materials currently exhibit lower activity and stability than noble-based OECs, notable progress has been made in enhancing their performance. This review provides an overview of recent advancements in designing acidic-stable OECs based on low or without noble metal contents. It delves into the thermodynamics and degradation mechanisms of OECs in acidic media, evaluation parameters for activity and stability, strategies for developing active and acid-stable OECs, and the challenges and opportunities of acid water electrolysis. Through a detailed analysis of these aspects, the review aims to identify opportunities for engineering actively durable OECs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coupling the hydrogen evolution reaction with plastic waste photoreforming provides a synergistic path for simultaneous production of green hydrogen and recycling of post‐consumer products, two major enablers for establishment of a circular economy. Graphitic carbon nitride (g‐C3N4) is a promising photocatalyst due to its suitable optoelectronic and physicochemical properties, and inexpensive fabrication. Herein, a mechanistic investigation of the structure‐activity relationship of g‐C3N4 for poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) photoreforming is reported by carefully controlling its fabrication from a subset of earth‐abundant precursors, such as dicyandiamide, melamine, urea, and thiourea. These findings reveal that melamine‐derived g‐C3N4 with 3 wt.% Pt has significantly higher performance than alternative derivations, achieving a maximum hydrogen evolution rate of 7.33 mmolH2 gcat−1 h−1, and simultaneously photoconverting PET into valuable organic products including formate, glyoxal, and acetate, with excellent stability for over 30 h of continuous production. This is attributed to the higher crystallinity and associated chemical resistance of melamine‐derived g‐C3N4, playing a major role in stabilization of its morphology and surface properties. These new insights on the role of precursors and structural properties in dictating the photoactivity of g‐C3N4 set the foundation for the further development of photocatalytic processes for combined green hydrogen production and plastic waste reforming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the limited interface contact and weak interfacial interaction, planar heterojunction perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have space for further improvement. Herein, a structural and chemical crosslinking interface is proposed and constructed by introducing an extra layer, which blends tin dioxide (SnO2) nanoparticles with chloride salts. Since the incorporated materials can be dissolved during the fabrication of perovskite, the quality of perovskite films is improved, leading to larger grain size and reduced trap‐state density. Also, more chloride ions at the SnO2/perovskite interface are observed and the interaction between Cl− and Sn4+ is confirmed. It results in more pronounced n‐type SnO2 with better conductivity and deeper conduction bands, leading to preferable energy level alignment between SnO2 and perovskite. Consequently, the open‐circuit voltage and fill factor of the devices increase, and target cells present better stability, retaining 98% of initial efficiencies after >10 000 h storage in dry air (≈5% relative humidity) and maintaining 85.50% of the initial efficiency after 1000 h of operation under light. This strategy enables the achievement of 25.28% efficiency with a low bandgap (1.53 eV) perovskite composition, and it is confirmed to be universal when other related materials are utilized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • P(VDF-TRFE) boosts Spiro-OMeTAD-based power conversion efficiency (PCE) to 24.1%. • P(VDF-TRFE)-integrated cells retain > 90 % PCE for 45 days under ambient conditions. • P(VDF-TRFE)-integrated cells retained 94% PCE after 1080-hour light-soaking. • Robust bonding between P(VDF-TRFE) and Li-TFSI/TBP enhances HTL film quality. This study demonstrates the transformative impact of incorporating poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-trifluoroethylene) P(VDF-TRFE) as an additive in the hole transport layer (HTL) of 2,2′,7,7′-Tetrakis[N,N-di(4-methoxyphenyl)amino]-9,9′-spirobifluorene (Spiro-OMeTAD). The P(VDF-TRFE) additive forms resilient coordination bonds with 4- tert -butylpyridine (TBP) and lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide additives, which mitigates TBP evaporation and improves Spiro-OMeTAD film quality. In addition, we observed improvements in solar cell current–voltage characteristics consistent with increased Spiro-OMeTAD conductivity and suppressed non-radiative recombination at the HTL/perovskite interface. P(VDF-TRFE)-integrated devices exhibit an increment in power conversion efficiency (PCE) up to 24.1 % (reverse scan) from a reference PCE of 21.4 %. Furthermore, the unencapsulated P(VDF-TRFE)-integrated devices demonstrate improved stability, retaining over 90 % PCE after 45 days in an ambient atmosphere in the dark and 94 % PCE after 1080 h of continuous light-soaking in a nitrogen environment. This work demonstrates how additive engineering, as exemplified by P(VDF-TRFE), can effectively address stability and performance challenges within Spiro-OMeTAD in perovskite solar cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]