Nanoenergy Adv., Volume 5, Issue 2 (June 2025) – 3 articles

Borocarbonitrides (BCNs), a new class of ternary materials combining boron, carbon, and nitrogen atoms, have emerged as promising candidates in decarbonization technologies due to their unique physicochemical properties. BCNs offer an adjustable atom composition and electronic structure, thermal stability, and potentially a large specific surface area, which are attractive features for efficient interactions with carbon dioxide. These make BCNs suitable for carbon dioxide capture, storage, and catalytic conversion applications. Furthermore, BCNs have the potential to (electro)catalyze the synthesis of green fuels, such as hydrogen, as well as that of other hydrogen carriers such as ammonia. With this review, we examine the recent advances in BCN synthesis methods, characterization, and functional applications while focusing on their role in the decarbonization technologies mentioned above. We aim to highlight the potential of BCNs to drive innovation in sustainable carbon management. Additionally, in the last section of this paper, we discuss the challenges and prospects of BCNs in decarbonization and beyond. Full article

In this work, zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIF-8, ZIF-67, and ZC-ZIF) and their hybrid composites with carboxylate-functionalized carbon nanotubes (fCNTs) are synthesized through low-cost synthesis methods for enhanced physisorption-based hydrogen storage at room temperature. While both base and hybrid structures are designed to improve hydrogen uptake, the base materials exhibit the most notable performance compared to their carbon hybrid counterparts. The structural analysis confirms that all samples maintain high crystallinity and exhibit well-defined rhombic dodecahedral morphologies. The hybrid composites, due to the intercalation of fCNTs, show slightly larger particle sizes than their base materials. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy reveals strong nitrogen–metal coordination in the ZIF structures, contributing to a larger specific surface area (SSA) and optimal microporous properties. A linear fit of SSA and hydrogen uptake indicates improved hydrogen transport at low pressures due to fCNT addition. ZIF-8 achieves the highest SSA of 2023.6 m²/g and hydrogen uptake of 1.01 wt. % at 298 K and 100 bar, with 100% reversible adsorption. Additionally, ZIF-8 exhibits excellent cyclic repeatability, with only 10% capacity reduction after five adsorption/desorption cycles. Kinetic analysis reveals that hydrogen adsorption in the ZIF materials is governed by a combination of surface adsorption, intraparticle diffusion, and complex pore filling. These findings underscore the potential of ZIFs as superior materials for room-temperature hydrogen storage. Full article

Nowadays, due to improvements in living standards, more attention is reserved to all-around disease prevention and health care. In particular, research efforts have been made for developing novel methods and treatments for anti-cancer therapy. Self-powered nanogenerators have emerged in recent years as an attractive cost-effective technology to harvest energy or for biosensing applications. Bioelectronic nanogenerators can be used for inducing tissue recovery and for treating human illness through electrical stimulation. However, there is still a lack of comprehensive cognitive assessment of these devices and platforms, especially regarding which requirements must be satisfied and which working principles for energy transduction can be adopted effectively in the body. This review covers the most recent advances in bioelectronic nanogenerators for anti-cancer therapy, based on different transducing strategies (photodynamic therapy, drug delivery, electrical stimulation, atomic nanogenerators, etc.), and the potential mechanisms for tissue repair promotion are discussed. The prospective challenges are finally summarized with an indication of a future outlook. Full article