Designed Synthesis and Assembly of Inorganic Nanomaterials
for Energy and Soft-Electronics Applications

Taeghwan Hyeon^1,2

¹ Center for Nanoparticle Research, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), ² School of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea. thyeon@snu.ac.kr

Recently we have focused on the architecture engineering of inorganic nanomaterials for their applications to fuel cell electrocatalysis, lithium ion battery, and photocatalysis. We present a synthesis of highly durable and active electrocatalysts based on ordered fct-PtFe nanoparticles for oxygen reduction reaction electrocatalysts for fuel cells.¹ We report on the design and synthesis of highly active and stable Co-N₄(O) moiety incorporated in nitrogen-doped graphene (Co₁-NG(O)) that exhibits a record-high kinetic current density and mass activity with unprecedented stability (>110 h) for electrochemical hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) production.² We report on the design and synthesis of highly active TiO₂ photocatalysts incorporated with site-specific single copper atoms (Cu/TiO₂) that exhibit reversible and cooperative photoactivation process, and enhancement of photocatalytic hydrogen generation activity.³ We synthesized multigrain nanocrystals consisting of Co₃O₄ nanocube cores and Mn₃O₄ shells.⁴ At the sharp edges of the Co₃O₄ nanocubes, we observed that tilt boundaries of the Mn₃O₄ grains exist in the form of disclinations, and we obtained a correlation between the defects and the resulting electrocatalytic behavior for the oxygen reduction reaction. We reported on the design and synthesis of highly stable, photoluminescent, and catalytically active suprastructures of (CdSe)₁₃ nanoclusters.⁵ We introduced electromechanical cardioplasty using an epicardial mesh made of electrically conductive and elastic Ag/Au nanowire-rubber composite material to resemble the innate cardiac tissue and confer cardiac conduction system function.⁶ We fabricated highly conductive and elastic nanomembrane for skin electronics.⁷ s

1. “Highly durable & active PtFe nanocatalyst for electrochemical oxygen reduction reaction,” J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2015, 137, 15478; “Direct Synthesis of Intermetallic Pt-Alloy Nanoparticles Highly-Loaded on Carbon Supports for Efficient Electrocatalysis,” J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2020, 142, 14190.
2.“Atomic-level tuning of Co-N-C catalyst for high-performance electrochemical H₂O₂ production,” Nature Mater. 2020, 19, 436.

3. “Reversible and cooperative photoactivation of single-atom Cu/TiO₂ photocatalysts,” Nature Mater. 2019, 18, 620.

4. “Design and Synthesis of Multigrain Nanocrystals via Geometric Misfit Strain,” Nature 2020, 359, 577.

5. “Highly luminescent and catalytically active suprastructures of magic-sized semiconductor nanoclusters,” Nature Mater. 2021, 20, 650.

6. “Electromechanical cardioplasty using a wrapped elasto-conductive epicardial mesh,” Science Transl. Med. 2016, 8, 344ra86; “Highly conductive, stretchable, and biocompatible Ag-Au core-sheath nanowire composite for wearable and implantable bioelectronics,” Nature Nanotech. 2018, 13, 1048.

7. ^“Highly conductive and elastic nanomembrane for skin electronics[ML1] ,” Science 2021, 373, 1022.