@article{22965,
  abstract     = {Manganese-based aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) have emerged as promising candidates for large-scale energy storage owing to their low cost, intrinsic safety, and the abundance of constituent elements. However, their practical deployment is still restricted by severe capacity fading caused by Jahn–Teller-induced structural instability and sluggish Zn2+ transport in the cathode. Although surface coating, heteroatom doping, and structural regulation have been widely explored to improve Mn-based cathodes, these approaches may suffer from increased interfacial resistance, compositional complexity, or limited control over the intrinsic electronic structure. In this context, oxygen-vacancy engineering offers a more direct route to modulate local coordination environments and accelerate Zn2+/H+ storage kinetics. Herein, lattice-level defect engineering of a dense Mn2O3 host is achieved through a metal–organic framework-derived synthesis followed by mild secondary annealing. The introduced oxygen vacancies regulate the local electronic structure and coordination environment, thereby facilitating Zn2+ diffusion, accelerating charge-transfer kinetics, and improving electrochemical reversibility. Combined experimental and theoretical investigations further show that oxygen-vacancy engineering enhances electronic conductivity, reduces the Zn2+ migration barrier, and enables a reversible dual-ion storage mechanism involving both H+ and Zn2+. Benefiting from these effects, the Zn‖Vo-Mn2O3 battery delivers a high specific capacity of 359 mAh g−1 at 0.3 A g−1, maintains 210 mAh g−1 at 6 A g−1, and retains 74.3% of its capacity after 10 000 cycles at 12 A g−1 after only 150 s of initial preconditioning. This work highlights oxygen-vacancy engineering as an effective route to enhancing the kinetic and structural stability of Mn-based cathodes for advanced AZIBs.},
  author       = {Yu, Ao and Chang, Xingqi and Lu, Xuan and He, Ren and Yang, Linlin and Chai, Jiali and Bi, Xiaoyu and Chacón-Borrero, Jesús and Mejia-Centeno, Karol V. and Llorca, Jordi and Villalobos-Portillo, Eduardo and Liu, Qirong and Shang, Jian and Cabot, Andreu},
  issn         = {2050-7496},
  journal      = {Journal of Materials Chemistry A},
  publisher    = {Royal Society of Chemistry},
  title        = {{Lattice-level defect engineering of dense Mn2O3 hosts unlocks fast H+/Zn2+ storage and long-life aqueous zinc-ion batteries}},
  doi          = {10.1039/d6ta05844b},
  year         = {2026},
}

@article{23004,
  abstract     = {Lattice strain engineering can regulate the electronic structure of electrocatalysts, but stabilizing distorted metastable phases remains challenging. Here, we report an N,N-dimethylformamide-assisted strategy for synthesizing metastable hexagonal close-packed (HCP) Ni nanoparticles with local lattice-spacing deviations reaching approximately 5.2%. Structural and spectroscopic analyses support a dilute interstitial-carbon-stabilized HCP Ni framework dominated by expanded metallic Ni─Ni coordination rather than ordered Ni3C. Carbon-associated perturbations inhibit structural relaxation and retain the distorted HCP framework. Operando x-ray absorption and infrared spectroscopies indicate the formation of a NiOOH-like working surface coupled to an HCP-derived subsurface framework, accompanied by potential-dependent changes in the interfacial hydrogen-bonding environment and urea-derived species. Calculations using idealized metallic models show that HCP lattice strain induces a Ni d-band upshift, anisotropic Ni─Ni bonding, and localized charge redistribution, modifying adsorption-energy trends for the urea oxidation reaction. The optimized HCP-Ni delivers an apparent steady-state Tafel slope of 26.95 mV dec−1, over twice the electrochemically active surface area-normalized activity of the face-centered cubic-containing controls, and approximately 98% apparent urea conversion after 22 h. It sustains current for over 120 h in three-electrode testing and enables over 400 h of urea-assisted zinc–air battery cycling. This work demonstrates dilute interstitial-carbon stabilization as a route to strained metastable electrocatalysts.},
  author       = {Xue, Qian and Yu, Jing and Dai, Juguo and Yang, Linlin and Bi, Xiaoyu and Ren, Yuchuan and Zhang, Jia and Qi, Xuede and Wang, Yudi and Xu, Ying and Arbiol, Jordi and He, Ren and Qi, Xueqiang and Cabot, Andreu},
  issn         = {1521-3773},
  journal      = {Angewandte Chemie International Edition},
  keywords     = {electrocatalysis, HCP nickel, interstitial carbon, kinetic trapping, lattice strain engineering, urea oxidation reaction},
  publisher    = {Wiley},
  title        = {{Dilute interstitial carbon stabilization of highly strained metastable HCP Nickel for enhanced electrocatalysis}},
  doi          = {10.1002/anie.2874510},
  year         = {2026},
}