Journal articles and book contributions

The Electrodeposition Division, which was founded in 1922 as the second ECS division, celebrated their centennial anniversary at the 242nd ECS Fall meeting in Atlanta. For the occasion, the division organized several sessions with invited contributions to honor the achievements of 100 years of electrodeposition, but also to take a closer look at the present trendsetters and give a perspective on future challenges and opportunities in this thriving field. Our then newly established Electrodeposition Early Career Forum (ECF, founded in Spring 2022) organized a full day symposium with contributions from outstanding early-career researchers involved in cutting-edge research across a broad range of areas of active electrodeposition research. It turned out to be a fantastic day with invigorating talks full of ideas. The ELDP division decided to share some of the excitement with the ECS community and asked our ECF members to suggest topics and participate in the articles for this summer edition of Interface dedicated to Electrochemical and Electroless deposition. Dr. Kent Zheng, assistant professor at the University of Texas and Dr. Martin Leimbach, postdoc at TU Ilmenau, Germany, took up the challenge. Together with us, humble guest editors, four articles have been selected centred around three important topics: (1) electrodeposition for manufacturing and sustainability, edited by Prof. Luca Magagnin; (2) electrodeposition for energy applications, edited by Prof. Natasa Vasiljevic; and (3) new electrodeposition approaches extending the material library, edited by Prof. Philippe Vereecken.

The development of efficient strategies to tune the CO2RR selectivity of Cu-based catalytic interfaces, especially on specific domains, such as Cu (200) facets with high activity toward competitive hydrogenation evolution reaction (HER), remains a challenging task. In this work, Cu-based catalytic layers with thiocyanate (-SCN), cyanide (-CN), or ethylenediamine (-NH2R) coordination linkages are prepared on Cu nanocolumns arrays (Cu NCAs) with predominant (200) exposed facets. The coordination of these ligands induces more Cu+ species and inhibits the adsorption of H∗ on the Cu (200) facet, leading to enhanced CO2RR performance and substantially suppressing the competitive HER. The faradaic efficiency (FE) of Cu–SCN, Cu–CN, and Cu–NH2R NWAs for producing HCOOH, C2H4, and C1 mixture products (HCOOH and CO) reach to 66.5%, 21.1%, and 57.1%, respectively. In situ spectroscopic studies reveal Cu–SCN, Cu–CN, and Cu–NH2R exhibit more reasonable adsorption energy toward ∗OCHO, ∗CO, and ∗COOH intermediates, promoting the HCOOH, C2H4, and C1 mixture generation, respectively. This study might provide a new perspective for the development of high-performance Cu-based CO2RR catalytic electrodes based on the combination of various commercial free-standing Cu substrates and organic/inorganic ligands.

This study assessed the feasibility of using a plasma-modified Ni foam as an anode to improve the electrochemical performance of double-chamber microbial fuel cells (MFCs). Scanning electron microscopy results showed that Ni foam exhibited an open cellular structure and rough surface morphology, providing a large contact area between bacteria and anodes in the MFCs. N2 plasma modification did not influence the surface morphology of the Ni foam, whereas the hydrophobic surfaces of the Ni foam became highly hydrophilic. X-ray photoelectron spectrometer results revealed that Ni-N and NH3 functional groups, formed on the surface of the Ni foam during the N2 plasma modification, were responsible for its highly hydrophilic surface. Electrochemical measurements demonstrated that the highest power density of the MFC configured with an unmodified Ni foam anode electrode (166.9 mW m−2) was much higher than those of the MFCs configured with dense Ni rod (5.1 mW m−2) or graphite rod (29.5 mW m−2) anodes because Ni foam combined the advantages of an open cellular structure and good electrical conductivity. The highest power density of MFC configured with Ni foam was further improved to 247.1 mW m−2 after 60 min N2 plasma treatment owing to the high hydrophilicity of the N2 plasma-modified Ni foam electrodes, which facilitated bacteria adhesion and biofilm formation.

Al/Ni reactive multilayer systems (RMS) with a bilayer thickness of Λ = 50 nm and total thickness th = 5 μm on a SiO2 substrate exhibit a self-propagating reaction after ignition. A common method to initiate the self-propagating reaction is by electric spark ignition. Herein, RMS are ignited by a mechanical impact using various materials with indeterminate geometries to investigate the basic mechanisms. SiO2, glass, PMMA, and resin-bonded SiC particles are used as impacting material with different geometrical impact areas. The used materials are placed on top of the RMS and a mechanical impulse is applied. The ignition behavior of the RMS is subsequently evaluated and classified. Additionally, the impacted RMS are examined by microscopy to reveal the damage pattern. By correlating particle size ⟨Dparticle⟩ and spacing ⟨dhole⟩ of the penetrating materials, an ignition threshold can be established. Moreover, the results demonstrate that the energy input threshold can be reduced through a strategic distribution of particles within the impacting and penetrating geometry. This provides valuable insights into the mechanical ignition fundamental and supports future applications of mechanical ignition of RMS.

2D metal phosphorous trichalcogenides (MPCh3) have attracted considerable attention in sustainable energy storage and conversion due to their distinct physical and chemical characteristics, such as adjustable energy bandgap, significant specific surface area, and abundant active sites. However, research on 2D MPCh3 primarily focuses on electrocatalysis, and understanding its energy conversion and storage mechanisms remains incomplete. This review comprehensively summarizes recent advancements in energy storage and conversion using 2D MPCh3-based materials of various structures. It begins with a discussion of the distinctive properties and preparation techniques of 2D MPCh3, followed by a focus on the rational design and development of these materials for diverse energy-related applications, including rechargeable batteries, supercapacitors, electrocatalysis, photocatalysis, and desalination. Finally, it outlines the key challenges and prospects for future research on 2D MPCh3 materials.