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Pt is the most active catalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction in acidic media, but the precise nature of its active sites remains elusive. Now electrical transport spectroscopy and molecular dynamics are combined to map the hydrogen adsorption sites on Pt nanowires and reveal the much higher activity of (111)/(100) edge sites.

The electrocatalytic reduction of CO₂ involves electron/proton transfers, with hydrogenation of intermediates occurring via surface-bound hydrogen or hydrogen originating from water. Now, isotope-labelling studies have elucidated the relative contributions of both pathways on copper electrocatalysts, offering new perspectives on achieving selectivity control.

Platinum plays a crucial role in various electrocatalytic systems, but its scarcity and cost limit its practical application. Now, a single-atom tailoring strategy applied to platinum nanowires maximizes their specific and mass activities for the hydrogen evolution and methanol and ethanol oxidation reactions.

Increasing the metal loading of single-atom catalysts (SACs) typically results in aggregation, which can have a detrimental effect on catalytic performance. Now, a nitrogen-doping-assisted atomization approach is reported that transforms metal-sulfide nanoparticles into ultrahigh-density metal–nitrogen–carbon SACs.

We investigate the mechanism underlying the sulfur reduction reaction that plays a central role in high-capacity lithium sulfur batteries, highlighting the electrocatalytic approach as a promising strategy for tackling the fundamental challenges associated with these batteries.

Elaborated catalysts design can substantially enhance performance under unfavourable reaction conditions. Amorphous nickel hydroxide proton sieve used to modify local chemical environment on a platinum surface results in unprecedented performance for alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction.

Platinum is the most active catalyst for the hydrogen evolution reaction, but the specific mechanism and the influence of the alkali metal cations remain elusive in alkaline media. Now, electrical transport spectroscopy, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and ab initio molecular dynamics simulations are combined to elucidate the role of alkali metal cations for this reaction in alkaline electrolyte.

Layered double hydroxides of transition metals are known to be highly active for water oxidation, but the nature of their active sites and reaction mechanism are still elusive. Now, a monolayer NiCo hydroxide catalyst, in situ prepared on the working electrode, is reported to exhibit valence oscillation and dynamic generation of active sites during water oxidation.

The widespread adoption of fuel cells requires exhaustive screening for highly active and durable Pt-based catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction. Now a binary descriptor based on experimental parameters extracted from X-ray absorption spectroscopy is used to predict the catalytic activity and stability of a wide range of Pt-alloy catalysts.

By intercalating large ammonium molecules to exfoliate MoS₂ with preservation of the 2H-phase, highly uniform solutionprocessable 2D semiconductor nanosheets are obtained for the scalable fabrication of large-area thin-film electronics.

The fundamental kinetics of the electrocatalytic sulfur reduction reaction, a complex 16-electron conversion process in lithium–sulfur batteries, is a topic that remains largely unexplored. Here, by directly profiling the activation energies in the multi-step reaction, the authors establish how the conversion kinetics differ for each step.

Atomically dispersed metal catalysts are of increasing importance in many catalytic processes, but clear structural identification is challenging. Here, a general synthesis of metal (nickel, iron and cobalt) single-atom catalysts on nitrogen-doped graphene allows the authors to identify a common structure and furthermore correlate structure with electrocatalytic activity.