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Nanofluidic ion regulation membranes have emerged as versatile platforms for applications in molecular/ion separation and energy conversion. The use of two-dimensional (2D) material-based membranes holds great potential for the regulation of nanofluidic ions owing to their unique properties of surface charges, nanochannels, and nanocapillary force. Herein, a class of 2D flexible ion-conductive membranes with surface charge-controllable and voltage-tunable ion transport properties, which are assembled with monolayered Cd vacancy-containing CdPS3 (vc-CdPS3)-based nanosheets, is reported. Importantly, the ion conductivity of the vc-CdPS3 membrane is several orders of magnitude higher than that of bulk salt solutions up to 0.1 M and reaches a plateau of ∼10 mS cm−1 in low concentrated solution (≤1 mM), demonstrating typical charge-controllable nanofluidic ion transport behavior. This membrane exhibits excellent stability and maintains an ion conductivity of 23 and 20 mS cm−1 under harsh acidic and alkaline conditions, respectively. By applying positive/negative gating voltage, ion transportation within the vc-CdPS3 membrane is tuned, resulting in low/high ion conductivity. The voltage-tunable behavior across a broad spectrum of cations with varying sizes and charges is observed, showcasing the ion-specific switch ratios of 12 and 10 for potassium and sodium ions, respectively, under an applied voltage of 2 V/−2 V. This work demonstrates the potential of vacancy-containing membranes for a variety of membrane separation applications and offer a strategy for preparing efficient ion transport devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proton transport in nanochannels under humid conditions is crucial for the application in energy storage and conversion. However, existing materials, including Nafion, suffer from limited conductivity of up to 0.2 siemens per centimeter. We report a class of membranes assembled with two-dimensional transition-metal phosphorus trichalcogenide nanosheets, in which the transition-metal vacancies enable exceptionally high ion conductivity. A Cd0.85PS3Li0.15H0.15 membrane exhibits a proton conduction dominant conductivity of ~0.95 siemens per centimeter at 90° Celsius and 98% relative humidity. This performance mainly originates from the abundant proton donor centers, easy proton desorption, and excellent hydration of the membranes induced by cadmium vacancies. We also observed superhigh lithium ion conductivity in Cd0.85PS3Li0.3 and Mn0.77PS3Li0.46 membranes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aqueous-phase reforming of methanol represents a promising avenue for hydrogen (H 2 ) production. However, developing highly efficient and low-cost nonprecious catalysts remains challenging. Here, we report the synthesis of Cu-based catalysts with Cu, Cu 2 O, and CuN 3 nanoparticles anchored on the nitrogen-doped carbon, forming Cu 0 /Cu + /Cu-N 3 active sites. This catalyst achieves a H 2 production rate of 140.1 μmol/g cat /s at 210 °C, which is several times to 2 orders of magnitude higher than that of Cu-, Ni-, even Pt-based catalysts, demonstrating excellent long-term stability over 350 h at 210 °C. A mechanism investigation reveals that the Cu-N 3 site facilitates water dissociation into *OH and improves *CO and *OH conversion, leading to enhanced CO conversion and H 2 production kinetics.

Electronic conduction in solid-polymer electrolytes is generally not desired, which causes leakage of electrons or energy loss, and the electronically conductive domains at electrode-electrolyte interfaces can lead to continuous decomposition of electrolytes and shorting issues. However, it is noticed in this work that in an insulating matrix, the conductive domains at certain aspects could also have positive effects on the electrolyte performance with proper control. This work evaluates the limitation and benefits of electronically conductive domains in a solid-polymer electrolyte system and discusses the approach to improve the electrolyte physicochemical properties with densified local electric field distribution, enhanced bulk dielectric property, and charge transfer. By deliberately introducing the conductive domains in a regular solid-polymer electrolyte, stable cycle life, low overpotential, and promising full cell performance could be achieved., (© 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)