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Zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) emerge as leading candidates for a flexible energy storage system, distinguished by high capacity, affordability, and inherent safety. The integration of hydrogel electrolytes, particularly those with saturated aqueous solvents, has significantly enhanced the electrochemical performance of ZIBs while preserving their essential flexibility. Nonetheless, challenges in electrochemical performance under specific conditions highlight the nascent stage of this technology, with numerous technical hurdles awaiting resolution. Addressing these challenges, recent investigations have leveraged the unique properties of cellulose hydrogel—namely, its exceptional toughness, tensile strength, extreme temperature resilience, stimulus responsiveness, and self-healing capabilities—to innovate multifunctional flexible zinc-based batteries. This paper conducts a comprehensive review of the physicochemical attributes of cellulose hydrogel electrolytes within ZIBs. We thoroughly analyze their performance under diverse environmental conditions, offering insights into the current landscape and their future potential. By examining these aspects, we aim to underscore the developmental prospects and the challenges that lie ahead for hydrogel electrolytes in ZIBs, paving the way for further advancement in this promising field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ultrafine ruthenium nanoparticles are encapsulated by single-atom Ni-bonded graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) layers anchored on carbon nanotubes (Ru/Ni-CNCT). The enhanced electronic interaction between Ru nanoparticles and Ni–N(O)–C sites anchored in g-C3N4 layers promotes water adsorption/dissociation and hydrogen evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sodium-ion batteries, because of their sustainability and low cost, provide an attractive alternative to Li-ion technology for large-scale energy storage. However, their applicability still faces a large challenge due to the lack of high energy density and cycling-stable Na-based positive materials. Here, we design and synthesize a P2-type Na0.7Li0.1Mg0.2Mn0.7O2 material exhibiting synergistic anionic and cationic redox activity. This material exhibits a high reversible capacity of 217 mA h g−1 which is attributed to Mn3+ − e− = Mn4+ and O2− − ne− = O(2−n)− demonstrated by combined spectrum and DFT calculations. Not only high energy density, NLMMO also exhibits high cycling stability with a reversible capacity of 183 mA h g−1 (84.3%) for 50 cycles. These findings, rationalized by DFT calculations, reveal the effect of interlayer Li+ migration on regulating structural stability, achieving a high reversible capacity. The present study offers a new strategy for designing high-performance cathode materials with synergistic anionic and cationic redox reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urea electrolysis can convert urea from urea‐rich wastewater to hydrogen for environmental protection and sustainable energy production. However, the sluggish kinetics of urea oxidation reaction (UOR) requires valence‐variable sites that are generally active at high anodic overpotentials. Herein, a robust ceramic coating is constructed with coupled tungsten nitride (WN)/nickel carbide (Ni3C) nanoparticles to achieve valence‐stable catalytic sites with outstanding UOR performance. Various characterization results indicate strong interfacial electron transfer from WN to Ni3C in coupled nanoparticles, which enables reservation of Ni2+ sites without self‐oxidation during UOR, quite distinct from the kinetically slow Ni3+OOH‐catalyzed UOR pathway. Theoretical calculations show that the coupled effect in WN/Ni3C leads to enhanced electron transfer from catalytic sites to adsorbed urea, and W sites are thermodynamically favorable for UOR. This efficiently lowers the barrier of rate‐determining step (RDS: *CO‐N2 → *CO·OH), thus enabling fast UOR kinetics and a low potential of 1.336 V at 100 mA cm−2, which identifies this ceramic coating as one of the best UOR electrocatalysts. This work opens a new avenue for design of stable and active sites in ceramics coatings toward advanced electrocatalytic applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An "inside-out regulation" strategy is proposed to improve the Zn2+ storage of MnO by Ni doping into the lattice and graphene wrapping outside the nanoparticles. The as-prepared Ni-MnO@rGO exhibits 112 mA h g−1 at 2.0 A g−1 over 800 cycles, due to the improved transport of electrons and ions from the synergistical function of intrinsic doping and external graphene encapsulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a Cu NPs-incorporated carbon-containing mesoporous SiO2 (Cu/C-SiO2) was successfully synthesized through a grinding-assisted self-infiltration method followed by an in situ reduction process. The obtained Cu/C-SiO2 was then employed as a Fenton-like catalyst to remove tetracycline (TC) from aqueous solutions. TEM, EDS, XRD, N2 adsorption–desorption, FTIR, and XPS methods were used to characterize the crystal structure, morphology, porosity, chemical composition, and surface chemical properties of the catalyst. The effects of initial TC concentration, catalyst dosage, H2O2 dosage, solution pH, HA addition, and water media on the TC degradation over Cu/C-SiO2 were investigated. Scavenging and electrochemical experiments were then carried out to analyze the TC degradation mechanism. The results show that the Cu/C-SiO2 can remove 99.9% of the concentrated TC solution (C0 = 500 mg·L−1), and it can be used in a wide pH range (R.E. = 94–99%, pH = 3.0–11.0). Moreover, hydroxyl radicals (•OH) were detected to be the dominant reactive species in this catalytic system. This study provides a simple and promising method for the synthesis of heteroatom-containing mesoporous catalysts for the decomposition of antibiotics in wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]