Efficient bromide recovery from seawater and desalination brine is increasingly critical for renewable energy storage and industrial applications, yet conventional electrochemical systems struggle with selectivity in chloride-dominated matrices. We report bromide-selective composite electrodes (BrSCE) that integrate anion-exchange resin particles within activated carbon matrices, creating a dual-pathway architecture where ion selectivity enhances electrochemical separation. The composite design positions resin microspheres throughout the porous carbon network, enabling simultaneous capacitive deionization and selective ion exchange under applied voltage. Systematic parameter optimization identified critical performance factors: resin loading (20–50%), feed solution Cl − : Br − ratios (1: 1 to 5:1), and applied voltage (0.8–1.6 V ), yielding quadratic predictive models (R 2 > 0.97, p < 0.0001) for both selectivity and desalination efficiency. The optimized BrSCE (43.6 wt% resin content, 1.2 V) achieved Br − /Cl − selectivity of 2.83 in challenging 5:1 Cl − : Br − molar ratio solutions, directly addressing the primary limitation in halide separation from real brines. Notably, the system demonstrated exceptionally rapid bromide recovery kinetics with 45% desorption within 2 min and 97% total recovery, representing a substantial acceleration compared to conventional ion-exchange processes. The BrSCE simultaneously delivered 60% TDS reduction, enabling dual-function operation for both selective resource recovery and water purification. These performance characteristics position the composite electrode approach as a viable strategy for valorizing low-concentration bromide sources previously considered uneconomical, advancing circular economy principles in industrial water treatment, and critical resource recovery. • Bromide selective electrode (BrSCE) was developed for Br − removal & recovery • BrSCE achieved good selectivity and efficient dissolved salt reduction • Optimized BrSCE achieved 2.83 Br − selectivity over Cl − & 60% TDS reduction • Desorption yielded 97% total bromide recovery efficiency • Offers practical solutions for bromine production & targeted desalination

Synergistic effects of pyrite and sludge biochar enhancing performance and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in constructed wetland-microbial fuel cells.

Flexible ATO/CNT/rGO composite electrodes with high conductivity for superior ECG signal fidelity

Design and optimization of rGO-Cu2S-CuSe composite counter electrode for efficient quantum dot-sensitized solar cells

Natural alizarin and acetylene black co-modified graphite felt composite electrodes for sustainable on-site H2O2 electrosynthesis

Pd/γ-MnO2/Ni foam cathode for efficient electrocatalytic hydrodechlorination of chlorophenols in aqueous solution and wastewater.

Synthesis of h-BN/CNTs nanocomposites for good cycling stability supercapacitors

Ammonium fluoride-mediated waste silicon cuttings into silicon-graphite composite electrodes for lithium-ion batteries

• In-situ coupling strategy for the preparation of mixed 214- type LaSrCoO 4 /113- type LaCoO 3 (LSCO) nanostructures via tris (2-aminoethyl) amine based tripodal ligands. • Evaluation of tripodal chelating ligand’s structures on the structural integrity and morphological properties of LSCO. • Loading of MWCNTs in LSCO composites was optimized for the best hydrogen storage performance. • [LSCO/MWCNT1.0%] nanocomposites achieved highest discharge capacity of 1800.27 mAh g −1 for 16th cycle. The originality of present investigation is in-situ preparation of 214-type LaSrCoO 4 and 113-type LaCoO 3 nanostructures through a tripodal tetraamine ligand-assisted templating mechanism, for the first time. Controlling the combustion conditions of nano hetero-structured LaSrCoO 4 /LaCoO 3 (LSCO) on the composition, morphology, and crystallinity features was elaborated with tris (2-aminoethyl) amine-based ligands having different molecules of pods/arms, such as 2'-hydroxyacetophenone ( L 1 ), 2',6'-dihydroxyacetophenone ( L 2 ), and 3-indolcarbaldehyd ( L 3 ). Crystallographic information from Rietveld refinement and observation studies illustrated minimal agglomeration and more crystalline LSCO products in L 3 ligand-assisted reaction, yielding binary phase systems of tetragonal LaSrCoO 4 (60.24%) and rhombohedral LaCoO 3 (39.76%) with mean particle diameter of 65.62 nm. In this line, structural integrity and electrochemical hydrogen storage capability of resulting LSCO nanoparticles was developed with inclusion of conductive carboxylated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT-COOH) linkers. The remarkable discharge capacity in electrochemical hydrogen storage was found for [LSCO/MWCNT1.0%] nanocomposites (1800.27 mAh g −1 ) after continuously 16 cycles at a current of 1 mA as compared to L 3 -assisted auto-combustion synthesized LSCO (808.33 mAh g −1 ), 2.0%- (1540.27 mAh g −1 ) and 3.0%- (1386.66 mAh g −1 ) MWCNT reinforced composite electrodes in 2.0 M KOH electrolyte. The intertwined LSCO/MWCNT nanocomposite support the running of simple self-assembly approach for future high-performance energy storage devices.

Synergistic TiO2-nanovoids and reduced graphene oxide platform: A competitive electrochemical material for Pb2+ detection in drinking water.

Cathode chemistries directly dictate the energy densities of advanced batteries; however, these chemistries of high voltage and high capacity present a severe challenge to the reversibility of the batteries, incurring irreversible reactions between electrolytes and cathodes, resulting in electrolyte and lithium inventory consumption as well as interfacial degradation of cathode lattice structures. Here, departing from the conventional approach of electrolyte engineering, we report that the polymeric binder, an often-overlooked ingredient in the electrode composite, can mitigate all these parasitic reactions in a more economical and effective manner. The lignin-functionalized polymonofluoroacrylic acid (PFA) was shown to stabilize a wide spectrum of aggressive cathode chemistries, including LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 (NCM811), LiCoO2 (LCO), and 5-V class LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 (LNMO), with superior performances. Besides providing robust adhesive force to keep the active and conductive ingredients within the cathode composite in intimate contact, especially when the cathode experiences extreme mechanical and electrochemical stress under high voltages, PFA also serves as an F source to form LiF-rich interphases on cathode materials that insulate parasitic reactions with electrolytes. Lignin, on the other hand, makes PFA well-dispersed in the cathode composite, rendering it with excellent radical-scavenging ability. Altogether, the lignin-PFA binder combination proves versatile in stabilizing these cathodes in both lithium-ion and lithium-metal configurations, enabling the Li||NCM811 cell to maintain 77% capacity after 500 cycles at 4.6 V, or a 2.2 Ah graphite||NCM811 pouch cell with 91.2% capacity retention after 500 cycles at the high cutoff voltage of 4.6 V. This molecular design approach for an advanced binder offers a completely different and unique route to increase the energy densities of advanced batteries.

The contrasting volumetric changes and unstable formation of solid electrolyte interface films make it difficult to apply red phosphorus in lithium-ion batteries in spite of its high capacity, moderate lithiation potential and low cost. Conventional interface engineering could effectively improve the performance of red phosphorus, but generally performance improvement relies on complex processes to deal with the intrinsic interfacial incompatibility. An unconventional surface phosphorylation process is designed to achieve surface homogenization and interface integration to configure a high reversible phosphorus/carbon composite, where the phosphorylated surface of red phosphorus creates a highly reactive reaction micro-region to induce the surface phosphorylation and interface binding reaction around active carbon microparticles. The results demonstrate that this approach could create a homogenized solid electrolyte interface film and robust interface binding, resulting in enhanced cycling stability and high pseudocapacitive attribution with improved kinetics. The optimized composite electrode achieves a high reversible capacity of 778 mAh g-1 after 350 cycles, significantly outperforming the surface unhomogenized material. The strategy of interface-homogenized engineering provides a potential facile avenue to improve the interface integration of a high-capacity electrode composite for advanced LIBs.

Silver nanowire (AgNW) electrodes are considered promising candidates for application in flexible optoelectronic devices due to their excellent mechanical flexibility and optoelectrical properties. However, AgNW-based flexible transparent electrodes suffer from critical limitations such as rough surfaces, low adhesion to substrates, poor bending resistance and inferior environmental stability, hindering their industrialized application in flexible optoelectronic devices. In this study, degradable AgNWs composite electrodes with outstanding optoelectrical properties and mechanical stability were fabricated by adopting gum arabic, a natural eco-friendly material, as a modification layer. The composite electrodes exhibit low surface roughness of ∼4.9 nm, sheet resistance of 22 ± 2 Ω sq-1, transmittance of ∼98.3%, exceptional mechanical stability of 200 000 bending cycles and excellent environmental stability of 800 hours storage under ∼80 °C and ∼80% relative humidity. Based on the composite electrode, a flexible green phosphorescent organic light-emitting device achieves a luminance of 55 140 cd m-2 and a current efficiency of 77.4 cd A-1. This research provides a facile and low-cost method for the fabrication of large-area high-performance flexible transparent electrodes.

This study successfully constructed a three-dimensional composite electrode material on nickel foam (NF) by first synthesizing the precursor via a hydrothermal method, then subjecting it to calcination and final sulfidation treatment. This process yielded a Co(OH)2-derived Co3O4-supported NiFe-based sulfide/hydroxide heterojunction. This composite exhibits excellent oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalytic performance, requiring an overpotential of only 205 mV to achieve a current density of 10 mA cm-2 in 1 M KOH. The Tafel slope is 29.3 mV dec-1. After a 60 h constant current test, it maintains 93.2% of its initial current density, with the overpotential increasing by only 4 mV, demonstrating outstanding structural stability. Simultaneously, the material exhibits high sensitivity and selectivity toward methanol oxidation; the sensor demonstrated a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.1581 μM and a limit of quantification (LOQ) of 0.5270 μM for methanol. Such bifunctional characteristics underscore its potential for applications in clean energy conversion and the early screening of lung cancer within occupational cohorts. The remarkable performance enhancement originates from the effective dispersion of active sites and the facilitated electron transport enabled by the three-dimensional conductive Co3O4 precursor framework, coupled with the likely synergistic effect arising from the possible formation of a heterojunction between the generated Ni3S2 and the residual (oxy)hydroxides during the sulfidation process. This synergy optimizes the electronic structure of the material and improves its stability.

Thermo- and photo-switchable electrodes consisting of carbon nanofiber/phase transition polymer/AuNP hybrid composite for improved electrochemical communication with dopamine.

Increased interest in the development of new sustainable, highly capable energy storage technologies has produced a necessity to study advanced fabrication of eco-friendly supercapacitor electrodes through the use of hybrid frameworks of sustainable sources. This article details the synthesis of Cu-BTC@CNT composite electrodes by integrating carbon nanotubes from recycled polypropylene (PP) bottles with a Cu-BTC MOF host via a solvothermal method. Raman Spectroscopy confirmed the graphitic multiwalled nature of waste-derived CNTs with a D-band at 1338.0 cm-1, a G-band at 1582.0 cm-1, and an ID/IG ratio of 1.419. TGA validated the thermal stability of the carbon scaffold and CNT purity at 75%. The structure-property relationship of pristine Cu-BTC MOF, Cu-BTC@CNT, and Cu-BTC@rGO was characterized using SEM, EDX, XRD, FTIR, and Raman spectroscopy. These methods confirmed that CNTs form a conductive network with Cu-BTC MOF. Electrochemical tests in 1 M KOH using CV, GCD, and EIS showed Cu-BTC@CNT provided a high specific capacitance of 265.7 F g-1 at 10 mV s-1 and 245 F g-1 at 1 A g-1, surpassing Cu-BTC@rGO and pure Cu-BTC. EIS revealed a low charge-transfer resistance of 7.23 Ω, showing efficient conductivity from the CNT network. Capacity retention of 84.7% after 5000 GCD cycles at 3 A g-1 indicated excellent durability. Trasatti analysis showed a dominant pseudocapacitive contribution of 96.89% from reversible redox reactions at Cu sites. b-values from 0.62 to 0.95, from Dunn's analysis, indicated surface-controlled pseudocapacitance at lower potentials and diffusion-controlled K+ intercalation at higher potentials. Postcycling X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy directly validated reversible metal redox transitions and electrochemically induced cation intercalation into the porous framework. This work establishes a sustainable, waste-valorization pathway to high-performance interfacial electrode materials for next-generation energy storage applications.

Competitive solid-state batteries must allow for high areal loadings (>5mAh·cm-2) and fast charging rates (>2 C). Nevertheless, current academic research mainly focuses on systems with smaller loadings and lower C-rates. For established cell chemistries a focus shift is required when aiming toward practical application. Increasing the areal active material content and C-rates is often accompanied by charge transport limitations in the electrodes. In this work, the role of reaction current distribution in composite electrodes is highlighted as solid-state batteries advance toward higher areal loadings and charging rates. Using NCM-argyrodite composites as a case study, we revisit Newman's porous electrode theory in the context of solid-state batteries to rationalize composite electrode cycling performance. Further, operando high-energy X-ray diffraction is employed to track lithiation states of NCM across the electrode as a function of state of charge. The results reveal significant improvements in reaction current distribution, when employing faster conducting Li5.5PS4.5Cl1.5 instead of conventional Li6PS5Cl, underscoring the need for fast lithium-ion conductors to enable competitive solid-state batteries. This work demonstrates the importance of precisely controlling electrode composition to balance ionic and electronic transport, ensuring homogeneous utilization of the active material and mitigating local strain and overcharging.

Synthesis of a CeO2-Au nanozyme-doped MoS2/MWCNT composite network for the electrochemical detection of tanshinone IIA.

Abstract Long-term continuous electrophysiological monitoring is crucial for accurate health assessment. However, the practical implementation of flexible dry electrodes is frequently constrained by difficulty of simultaneously achieving high stretchability, stable skin adhesion, and sufficient breathability. This work presents a flexible electrode encapsulation strategy utilizing an in-situ electrospinning process integrated with direct-write transfer to fabricate embedded flexible composite electrodes. A composite of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/poly(styrene sulfonate) and silver nanowires was embedded within a poly(vinyl alcohol)–glycerol substrate, yielding epidermal electrodes exhibiting high conductivity, low Young’s modulus, and superior stretchability. The electrode exhibits low impedance (18 Ω) and biomimetic mechanical properties (Young's modulus of 1.23 MPa), with minimal resistance variation prior to exceeding 80% strain. Significantly, an in-situ nanofiber encapsulation technique was introduced to address the poor skin adhesion characteristic of dry electrodes. This approach achieves a breathability rate 3.5 times higher than that of medical polyurethane tape encapsulation while maintaining effective waterproofing. A 12-hour patch test on human skin revealed no irritation, confirming excellent biocompatibility. In practical use, the electrode enables stable acquisition of long-term electrocardiogram signals during continuous wear, offering a comfortable and user-friendly solution for wearable dry electrodes in prolonged electrophysiological monitoring.

One-dimensional flexible supercapacitors based on ZnCo2O4/MnCoP composite electrodes with enhanced electrochemical performance