DataVXACS Applied Materials & InterfacesPaper
journal article·2026-02-11

Spatially and Dimensionally Programmed Amorphous Cu Electrocatalysts Using DNA Framework Templates

Le Li, Huiyu Miao, Xinyi Li, Mengyan Lei, Xinxin Zhu, Qian Li, Xiaolei Zuo, Chunhai Fan, Mingqiang Li, Xiangyuan Ouyang

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces· Volume 18· Issue 5
Publisher page
Source abstract

Abstract

The precise control of active site spatial structure is a central challenge in high-performance catalyst development and is particularly formidable in long-range disordered amorphous materials where inherent disorder prevents any deliberate engineering. Herein, we develop a DNA framework templated approach to program the fine structure of amorphous Cu nanomaterials, enabling tailorable electrocatalytic performance. Various Cu nanosheets were fabricated with effective modulation of electrocatalytic activity through control of the spatial arrangement of metal-binding sequences. We observed that Cu nanomaterials synthesized with different dimensionalities through the modulation of DNA nanostructures exhibit distinct electrocatalytic performance. Using the single-atom structural characteristics of Cu nanosheets, we performed density functional theory calculations to reveal that two-dimensional Cu nanomaterials possess the smallest energy gap and optimal glucose adsorption characteristics, which exhibit superior catalytic activity (3.65-fold and 2.70-fold) to other lower-dimensional counterparts. This work establishes a general methodology that uses prescriptive DNA blueprints to achieve programmable control over material structure and functionality, thereby providing a novel paradigm for crafting amorphous electrocatalysts and informing precision design in fields ranging from energy to biosensing.
Source: openalex_inverted_index · Quality: baseline

Research context

NanomaterialsCatalysis & surfaces

OpenAlex topics: Advanced biosensing and bioanalysis techniques · Nanomaterials for catalytic reactions · Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Xi’an Key Laboratory of Functional Supramolecular Structure and Materials, Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Natural Functional Molecule of Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry & Materials Science

Northwest University

State Key Laboratory of Synergistic Chem-Bio Synthesis, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, New Cornerstone Science Laboratory, Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules, Zhang Jiang Institute for Advanced Study and National Center for Translational Medicine

Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Institute of Molecular Medicine, Shanghai Key Laboratory for Nucleic Acids Chemistry and Nanomedicine, Renji Hospital, School of Medicine

State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics

Hunan University

Funding

State Key Laboratory of Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics · Science and Technology Innovation Plan Of Shanghai Science and Technology Commission · Xi?an Key Laboratory of Functional Supramolecular Structure and Materials · Basic Science Research Program for Youths · National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program) · Shaanxi Institute of Basic Science Research · National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC)

References (41)

Show source-provided references
1. 10.1038/s41563-025-02273-z10.1038/s41563-025-02273-z ↗
2. 10.1038/s41929-021-00715-w10.1038/s41929-021-00715-w ↗
3. 10.1021/jacs.3c0568810.1021/jacs.3c05688 ↗
4. 10.1002/anie.20211416010.1002/anie.202114160 ↗
5. 10.1038/s41467-022-31971-410.1038/s41467-022-31971-4 ↗
6. 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2022.08.18410.1016/j.ijhydene.2022.08.184 ↗
7. 10.1021/acs.chemrev.3c0022910.1021/acs.chemrev.3c00229 ↗
8. 10.1038/s41570-022-00373-x10.1038/s41570-022-00373-x ↗
9. 10.1021/acs.chemrev.1c0088410.1021/acs.chemrev.1c00884 ↗
10. 10.3390/polym1520417610.3390/polym15204176 ↗
11. 10.1039/D3CS00669G10.1039/D3CS00669G ↗
12. 10.1039/D2CS00845A10.1039/D2CS00845A ↗
13. 10.1016/j.cis.2020.10220510.1016/j.cis.2020.102205 ↗
14. 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2024.10.08310.1016/j.ijhydene.2024.10.083 ↗
15. 10.1021/acsami.3c0051110.1021/acsami.3c00511 ↗
16. 10.1016/j.ccr.2023.21563510.1016/j.ccr.2023.215635 ↗
17. 10.1021/jacs.2c1200910.1021/jacs.2c12009 ↗
18. 10.1002/anie.20090725610.1002/anie.200907256 ↗
19. 10.1007/s00604-021-04967-y10.1007/s00604-021-04967-y ↗
20. 10.1002/anie.20211419010.1002/anie.202114190 ↗
21. 10.1039/C7TA01976A10.1039/C7TA01976A ↗
22. 10.1149/2.0871810jes10.1149/2.0871810jes ↗
23. 10.1039/C8CS00011E10.1039/C8CS00011E ↗
24. 10.1016/j.apcatb.2015.01.04610.1016/j.apcatb.2015.01.046 ↗
25. 10.1021/acs.analchem.3c0075810.1021/acs.analchem.3c00758 ↗
26. 10.1016/j.jinorgbio.2005.02.02010.1016/j.jinorgbio.2005.02.020 ↗
27. 10.1093/nar/21.17.409310.1093/nar/21.17.4093 ↗
28. 10.1080/07391102.2019.159776810.1080/07391102.2019.1597768 ↗
29. 10.1021/acs.jpca.6b0424310.1021/acs.jpca.6b04243 ↗
30. 10.1021/jp063669m10.1021/jp063669m ↗
31. 10.1007/s40820-022-00857-x10.1007/s40820-022-00857-x ↗
32. 10.1038/s41578-022-00530-010.1038/s41578-022-00530-0 ↗
33. 10.1002/adma.20190636810.1002/adma.201906368 ↗
34. 10.1002/adfm.20120138510.1002/adfm.201201385 ↗
35. 10.1007/s11696-022-02063-w10.1007/s11696-022-02063-w ↗
36. 10.1038/s41467-023-37333-y10.1038/s41467-023-37333-y ↗
37. 10.1126/science.115872210.1126/science.1158722 ↗
38. 10.1103/PhysRevB.62.492710.1103/PhysRevB.62.4927 ↗
39. 10.1021/jp502568510.1021/jp5025685 ↗
40. 10.1021/acscatal.2c0593110.1021/acscatal.2c05931 ↗
41. 10.1016/j.nanoen.2024.11021710.1016/j.nanoen.2024.110217 ↗