This study systematically investigates a synergistic catalyst–ionomer design strategy integrating catalyst architecture, support chemistry, and ionomer structure to enable proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) performance relevant to heavy-duty applications. A non-commercial PtCo alloy catalyst supported on nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon (PtCo/MFCS) enhances intrinsic oxygen reduction reaction activity via alloying while promoting ionomer dispersion, proton accessibility, and favorable interfacial interactions through surface nitrogen functionalities. In parallel, a short-side-chain perfluorosulfonic acid (SSC PFSA) ionomer (Aquivion® D79) is introduced to improve proton conductivity and water retention under low-humidity conditions. In a systematic MEA campaign, PtCo/MFCS delivers over 16 × higher mass activity at 0.9 V (537 vs 32 mA mg Pt −1 ) than a commercial Pt/Vulcan catalyst, despite 43% lower Pt loading, supported by higher electrochemically active surface area and improved dispersion. Beyond kinetic gains, the mesoporous nitrogen-doped support enhances mid-to-high current density performance by facilitating oxygen transport and water management. Replacing Nafion® with Aquivion® D79 further sustains performance under partial humidification down to 33% RH, demonstrating that SSC ionomer benefits emerge only when coupled with appropriate support porosity and chemistry. Overall, the results reveal strong catalyst–support–ionomer synergy, enabling robust, balance-of-plant-friendly PEMFC operation and offering a credible pathway toward U.S. Department of Energytargets for heavy-duty fuel cell. • PtCo/N-doped carbon shows >16 × higher mass activity than commercial Pt/Vulcan. • Mesoporous N-doped support enhances ECSA, Pt utilization, and oxygen transport. • PtCo catalyst outperforms Pt/Vulcan at 2 bar(abs), revealing pressure dependence. • Short-side-chain PFSA ionomer improves PEMFC performance at low humidity (33–50% RH). • EIS confirms reduced ohmic and charge-transfer resistances versus baseline MEA.

Highly dispersed copper on lignin-based nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon for selective hydrodeoxygenation of vanillin

Enhancing Ru dispersion and catalytic stability via nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon supports for biomass-derived FDCA production

Modulated MOF-derived tunable size mesoporous nitrogen-doped carbons as model catalysts for efficient oxygen reduction

Construction of a Single Graphitic Nitrogen-Doped Mesoporous Carbon Microsphere with High Electronic and Ionic Transportation Capabilities in Multiscenario Capacitive Energy Storage

The rational design of high-performance, high-entropy inorganic electrocatalysts is crucial for advancing energy conversion technologies. This work reports an aqueous-emulsion polymerization-induced self-assembly strategy to fabricate spherical mesoporous high-entropy oxy-carbide nanoparticles (HEOCs) anchored on nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon spheres (NMCSs). The derived (FeCoNiCrMo)(C, O)/NMCS composite demonstrates exceptional electrocatalytic performance. It exhibits a low overpotential of 310 mV and a small Tafel slope of 48.5 mV dec-1 for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), superior to its quaternary carbide and oxide, and quinary oxide counterparts. Remarkably, it also catalyzes the electrochemical oxidation of phenol (EOP) to the value-added chemical p-benzoquinone with a lower overpotential of 270 mV at 100 mA cm-2. When replacing the anodic OER with this thermodynamically favorable EOP, the integrated electrolysis system (EOP||HER) achieves simultaneous H2 production and chemical synthesis, requiring only 1.42 V vs. RHE to deliver a Faraday efficiency of 93.5% for p-benzoquinone. The electrolyzer demonstrates exceptional stability at an industrial-grade current density of 1 A cm-2 for over 100 h. In situ Raman spectroscopy reveals the reaction pathway and confirms the active-phase evolution. This work provides a strategy for designing multifunctional high-entropy inorganic materials and demonstrates their promising application in energy-saving integrated electrochemical systems for concurrent chemical transformation and energy conversion.

To enable the large-scale implementation of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in alkaline electrolytes, obtaining highly active and economical electrocatalysts remains a crucial requirement. In this work, ultrafine Ni–Ru alloy nanoclusters and atomically dispersed Ru–N4 and Ni–N4 sites were successfully anchored on nitrogen-doped hollow mesoporous carbon spheres (NHMCS) via a microwave-assisted solvothermal method within 15 min, yielding Ni–Ru bimetallic catalysts (NixRuy/NHMCS). In 1.0 M KOH, the NiRu4/NHMCS-900 catalyst delivered outstanding HER performance, characterized by a record-low overpotential of 9.3 mV at 10 mA cm–2. This value is notably lower than that of the commercial Pt/C catalysts. Moreover, the catalyst demonstrated remarkable stability over 100,000 cycles and sustained performance during 120 h of continuous operation. X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS), in situ Raman spectroscopy, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations collectively demonstrate that the outstanding HER activity is governed by the synergy of Ni–Ru bimetallic sites and the reverse hydrogen spillover effect (HSE) between the NHMCS and metal clusters. Specifically, nitrogen sites in NHMCS initially adsorb H2O molecules, which then dissociate into N–H intermediates. The resulting adsorbed hydrogen atoms (Had) migrate to adjacent Ru sites, forming Ru–H intermediates that subsequently evolve into H2 gas. Simultaneously, Ni sites interact with hydroxyl groups to form Ni–OH species, modulating the electronic structure and stabilizing key intermediates. Additionally, the porous NHMCS architecture and strong metal–support interactions (MSI) prevent the aggregation of Ni–Ru clusters, further enhancing structural integrity. This study offers new insights into designing high-performance HER catalysts by harnessing reverse hydrogen spillover and bimetallic synergy.

Mesoporous carbon materials have emerged as promising candidates for potassium-ion batteries (PIBs) as anode materials due to their tunable pore structure, excellent conductivity, and high surface area. However, the sluggish reaction kinetics caused by the larger radius of K ions results in poor potassium storage performance. Here, we report a facile tetraethyl orthosilicate-mediated co-assembly strategy for anchoring cobalt single atoms into highly nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon/carbon nanotubes (Co-NMC@CNTs). The resulting composite features large mesopore size of approximately 23.7 nm, robust 1D structure, and abundant active sites introduced by Co single atoms and a high nitrogen doping of 13.6 at.%. Synchrotron radiation analysis and theoretical simulation further demonstrate that the presence of Co single atoms significantly reduces diffusion barriers of K ions and increases energy storage centers. When used as PIB anodes, the newly designed Co-NMC@CNTs electrode demonstrates an exceptional electrochemical performance with a high reversible capacity of 362.3 mAh g-1 at 100 mA g-1 after 300 cycles and an outstanding cycling stability with a capacity of 192.0 mAh g-1 at 1000 mA g-1 after 4000 cycles. This work opens up a new blueprint for achieving high-performance mesoporous carbon-based electrodes in next-generation energy storage applications.

Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have attracted significant attention in electronic devices, energy storage, and catalysis owing to their distinctive electronic properties and abundant active sites. Introducing mesoporosity into TMDs is extremely favorable to enhance the host-guest interactions and improve their performance, but very challenging. Herein, we report a universal electrostatic assembly strategy for the synthesis of mesoporous carbon/heteroatom-doped TMDs microspheres with radially oriented pores, using polydopamine (PDA) and polyoxometalates (POMs) clusters as interactive precursors. By employing POMs (e.g., H3PW12O40) as metal sources and mesoporous PDA microspheres as templates, we successfully synthesized a series of mesoporous C/heteroatom-doped TMDs microspheres (TMDs=P-WS2, Si-WS2, P-MoS2, Si-MoS2). The resulting hybrid microspheres feature an open porous architecture, high charge-carrier mobility, and abundant active sites, benefiting from their high crystallinity and in situ heteroatom doping. When employed in chemiresistive gas sensors, these C/TMDs microspheres demonstrate exceptional room-temperature NO2 sensing performance, including high sensitivity, excellent selectivity, and rapid response. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that heteroatom doping (e.g., P) can enhance the structural stability of adsorbed NO2, strengthen orbital hybridization with TMDs, and facilitate efficient charge transfer, thereby dramatically improving sensing performances.

Nitrogen-doped hollow mesoporous carbon spheres loaded with Pt nanoparticles for PEM water electrolysis

Construction of alkaline nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon desulfurizers with different morphologies and study on the catalytic oxidation of hydrogen sulfide at room-temperature

Enhancing electrocatalytic performance via mesoporous nitrogen-doped carbon aerogel for oxygen reduction reaction

This study synthesized nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon (NMC) using Zn-MOF-8 as a template, followed by the preparation of ZIF-08/NMC composites via π-π stacking interactions between ZIF-08 and NMC. The composite was characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and electrochemical methods. The resulting ZIF-08/NMC/GCE demonstrated stable and sensitive detection of hesperidin. The modified electrode exhibited a broad linear range from 0.8 to 120 µM with a detection limit of 0.16 µM (signal-to-noise ratio ≥3). Furthermore, the sensor demonstrated excellent stability, repeatability, and interference resistance, and was successfully applied for hesperidin detection in real samples.

Nanozymes, despite their promising stability and cost-effectiveness, often suffer from lower catalytic activity compared to natural enzymes, limiting their practical applications. Herein, we report the rational design, synthesis, and comprehensive characterization of novel bimetallic palladium-iron nanoparticles supported on nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon (Fe-Pd@N-MC) as a highly efficient peroxidase-mimicking nanozyme. Structural and morphological analyses using XRD, HR-TEM, XPS, and N2 physisorption confirmed the successful formation of uniformly dispersed, superparamagnetic bimetallic nanoparticles composed of Pd0 and Fe3O4. Benefiting from the synergistic effect between Pd and Fe species, Fe-Pd@N-MC exhibited markedly enhanced peroxidase-like activity compared to its monometallic counterparts (Fe@N-MC and Pd@N-MC) toward both 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) and o-phenylenediamine (OPD). Kinetic studies revealed excellent catalytic efficiency and high substrate affinity, with Km values of 0.156 mM for TMB and 0.088 mM for OPD. Mechanistic investigations identified hydroxyl radicals (˙OH) as the dominant reactive species driving the oxidation processes. Exploiting its robust and rapid catalytic performance, Fe-Pd@N-MC was further employed to construct a sensitive and selective colorimetric platform for the detection of dopamine and ascorbic acid, achieving limits of detection of 3.44 μM and 2.87 μM, respectively. The practical applicability of this nanozyme-based sensor was demonstrated through the accurate quantification of ascorbic acid in fresh fruit juice samples, highlighting its potential for application in biosensing, food analysis and clinical diagnostics.

In this study, nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon (NMC) was synthesized using Zn-MOF-8 as a template, followed by further reaction with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) to prepare the NMC/MWCNTs nanocomposite. Characterization of the composite was performed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and electrochemical methods. The NMC/MWCNTs/GCE developed from this nanocomposite achieved highly sensitive and stable detection of IQ. On the surface of NMC/MWCNTs electrodes, the hydroxyl groups at the 3'- and 4'-positions of the C ring in the isoquercitrin (IQ) structure are oxidized to 2-quinone while losing two hydrogen atoms, demonstrating the modified electrode's outstanding catalytic oxidation performance. The GCE modified with the NMC/MWCNTs composite at a concentration of 0.6 mg mL-1 exhibited a broad linear range of 0.1-65 µM for IQ detection in PBS buffer solution at pH 6.5, with a detection limit of 0.087 µM (signal-to-noise ratio of 3). The electrochemical method for IQ detection demonstrated advantages including convenience, high sensitivity, and low cost. Furthermore, the sensor was evaluated for stability, repeatability, and interference resistance, and applied to IQ detection in real samples.

Adsorption-activation dual-site synergy in nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon nanosheets for enhanced pollutant degradation via peroxymonosulfate activation

One-dimensional carbon-based materials suffer from inherent limitations such as structural collapse and high mass transfer resistance. In this study, a novel single-micelle-based dual-templates assembly strategy of using PS-PVP-PEO single micelles as soft templates and one-dimensional SiO₂ as hard templates was adopted.Utilizing dopamine as the carbon and nitrogen source, one-dimensional mesoporous nitrogen-doped carbon nanorods (1D N-mCN) with hierarchical porous architecture were successfully prepared. Such hierarchical porous material features unique rich spherical pores with a specific surface area of 494 m² /g and uniformly distributed nitrogen doping sites. Hence, this kind of 1D hierarchical mesoporous carbon material exhibits a specific capacitance of 320 F/g at 1 A/g, a capacity retention rate of over 72% at a high rate of 10 A/g, and only a 11% capacity decay after 5000 cycles. These properties effectively address the inherent defects aformentioned (structure collapse and high mass transfer resistance) of conventional carbon-based materials, laying a solid foundation for the development of high-performance energy storage devices.

Metal-free mesoporous nitrogen-doped carbon catalysts derived from L-histidine for the selective oxidation of C(sp3)-H bonds at room temperature

Well-dispersed zero-valent iron nanoparticles within nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon: One-pot synthesis, characterization, and catalytic activity for acid red 18 treatment

Enhanced adsorption and detection of luteolin based on Fe/Zn bimetallic ZIF-derived Fe-Fe3O4 nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon in-situ grown on carbon nanofibers