Converting temperature fluctuations into clean energy with novel nanoparticles and heating strategy

17-Jan-2023 - Pyroelectriccatalysis (pyro-catalysis) can convert environmental temperature fluctuations into clean chemical energy, like hydrogen. However, compared with the more common catalysis strategy, such as photocatalysis, pyro-catalysis is inefficient due to slow temperature changes in the ambient ...

Chemists boost eco-friendly battery performance using catalysts with unconventional phase nanostructures

“This study reveals the great potential of phase engineering of catalysts in metal-gas electrochemistry”

17-Oct-2022 - The metal-carbon dioxide battery is a promising and environmentally friendly technology, but its energy efficiency is limited. Recently, a research team co-led by chemists from City University of Hong Kong (CityU) discovered an innovative way to overcome this problem by introducing an ...

Rising star in the energy world

Developing high-performance MXene electrodes for next-generation powerful battery

23-Nov-2021 - Two-dimensional MXene has been a rising star in the energy world as theycan store energy fast. But their unstable voltage output limits their applications. A collaborative research team led by scientists from City University of Hong Kong (CityU) has recently developed battery-like ...

Innovative design of titanium alloy with supreme properties by 3D printing

New pathway to design alloys with unprecedented structures and properties for various structural applications

27-Oct-2021 - A research led by scientists from City University of Hong Kong (CityU) has successfully developed a super-strong, highly ductile and super-light titanium-based alloy using additive manufacturing, commonly known as 3D printing. Their findings open up a new pathway to design alloys with ...

Wet-chemical synthesis of two-dimensional metal electrocatalysts

07-Sep-2021 - With the increasingly serious global energy crisis caused by the excessive consumption of fossil fuels, developing clean, efficient, and sustainable energy conversion technologies is highly desirable. Electrocatalysis is one of the most promising methods to produce clean energy. However, the wide ...

Novel photocatalyst effectively turns carbon dioxide into methane fuel with light

Nature-inspired photocatalysis

04-Feb-2021 - Carbon dioxide (CO2) is one of the major greenhouse gases causing global warming. If carbon dioxide could be converted into energy, it would be killing two birds with one stone in addressing the environmental issues. A joint research team led by City University of Hong Kong (CityU) has developed ...

Anions Matter

Zinc-ion hybrid capacitors with ideal anions in the electrolyte show extra-long performance

18-Nov-2020 - Metal-ion hybrid capacitors combine the properties of capacitors and batteries. One electrode uses the capacitive mechanism, the other the battery-type redox processes. Scientists have now scrutinized the role of anions in the electrolyte. The results, which have been published in the journal ...

The world's first-ever 4D printing for ceramics

20-Aug-2018 - A research team at City University of Hong Kong (CityU) has achieved a ground-breaking advancement in materials research by successfully developing the world's first-ever 4D printing for ceramics, which are mechanically robust and can have complex shapes. This could turn a new page in the ...

A smart safe rechargeable zinc ion battery based on sol-gel transition electrolytes

23-Jul-2018 - The thermal runaway issue has been a long-standing obstacle impeding the development of high energy density and high power delivery batteries. These batteries would generate a lot of heat in ultrafast charge/discharge process or hazardous conditions, such as overcharging and short-circuit. To ...

A droplet's pancake bounce

New discovery about how surface gradients influence droplet behavior may enable novel surfaces

06-Aug-2015 - Studies of the impact a droplet makes on solid surfaces hark back more than a century. And until now, it was generally believed that a droplet's impact on a solid surface could always be separated into two phases: spreading and retracting. But it's much more complex than that, as a team of ...