Low-Temperature Molten Salt Electrochemical CO Upcycling for Advanced Energy Materials.

One strategy for addressing the climate crisis caused by CO emissions is to efficiently convert CO to advanced materials suited for green and clean energy technology applications. Porous carbon is widely used as an advanced energy storage material because of its enhanced energy storage capabilities as an anode. Herein, we report electrochemical CO upcycling to solid carbon with a controlled microstructure and porosity in a ternary molten carbonate melt at 450 °C.

Surface-modified and oven-dried microfibrillated cellulose reinforced biocomposites: Cellulose network enabled high performance.

Microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) is widely used as a reinforcement filler for biocomposites due to its unique properties. However, the challenge of drying MFC and the incompatibility between nanocellulose and polymer matrix still limits the mechanical performance of MFC-reinforced biocomposites. In this study, we used a water-based transesterification reaction to functionalize MFC and explored the capability of oven-dried MFC as a reinforcement filler for polylactic acid (PLA).

Hierarchical TiO:CuO Nanostructures for Gas/Vapor Sensing and CO Sequestration.

We investigate the effect of high-surface-area self-assembled TiO:CuO nanostructures for CO and relative humidity gravimetric detection using polyethylenimine (PEI), 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium (EMIM), and polyacrylamide (PAAm). Introduction of hierarchical TiO:CuO nanostructures on the surface of quartz crystal microbalance sensors is found to significantly improve sensitivity to CO and to HO vapor. The response of EMIM to CO increases fivefold for 100 nm-thick TiO:CuO as compared to gold.

Vacuum-Assisted Low-Temperature Synthesis of Reduced Graphene Oxide Thin-Film Electrodes for High-Performance Transparent and Flexible All-Solid-State Supercapacitors.

Simple and easily integrated design of flexible and transparent electrode materials affixed to polymer-based substrates hold great promise to have a revolutionary impact on the functionality and performance of energy storage devices for many future consumer electronics. Among these applications are touch sensors, roll-up displays, photovoltaic cells, health monitors, wireless sensors, and wearable communication devices. Here, we report an environmentally friendly, simple, and versatile approach to produce optically transparent and mechanically flexible all-solid-state supercapacitor devices.

The surface chemistry of sapphire-c: A literature review and a study on various factors influencing its IEP.

A wide range of isoelectric points (IEPs) has been reported in the literature for sapphire-c (α-alumina), also referred to as basal plane, (001) or (0001), single crystals. Interestingly, the available data suggest that the variation of IEPs is comparable to the range of IEPs encountered for particles, although single crystals should be much better defined in terms of surface structure. One explanation for the range of IEPs might be the obvious danger of contaminating the small surface areas of single crystal samples while exposing them to comparatively large solution reservoirs.

Low-Thermal-Budget Photonic Processing of Highly Conductive Cu Interconnects Based on CuO Nanoinks: Potential for Flexible Printed Electronics.

In the developing field of printed electronics, nanoparticle based inks such as CuO show great promise as a low-cost alternative to other metal-based counterparts (e.g., silver).

Controllable Growth of Perovskite Films by Room-Temperature Air Exposure for Efficient Planar Heterojunction Photovoltaic Cells.

A two-step solution processing approach has been established to grow void-free perovskite films for low-cost high-performance planar heterojunction photovoltaic devices. A high-temperature thermal annealing treatment was applied to drive the diffusion of CH3NH3I precursor molecules into a compact PbI2 layer to form perovskite films. However, thermal annealing for extended periods led to degraded device performance owing to the defects generated by decomposition of perovskite into PbI2.

Superhydrophobic materials and coatings: a review.

Over the past few years, the scientific community, as well as the world's coatings industry has seen the introduction of oxide/polymer-based superhydrophobic surfaces and coatings with exceptional water repellency. Online videos have caught the public's imagination by showing people walking through mud puddles without getting their tennis shoes wet or muddy, and water literally flying off coated surfaces. This article attempts to explain the basics of this behavior and to discuss and explain the latest superhydrophobic technological breakthroughs.

Plasmonic three-dimensional transparent conductor based on Al-doped zinc oxide-coated nanostructured glass using atomic layer deposition.

Transparent nanostructured glass coatings, fabricated on glass substrates, with a unique three-dimensional (3D) architecture were utilized as the foundation for designing plasmonic 3D transparent conductors. Transformation of the nonconducting 3D structure to a conducting porous surface network was accomplished through atomic layer deposition of aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO). After AZO growth, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were deposited by electron-beam evaporation to enhance light trapping and decrease the overall sheet resistance.

Superhydrophobic ceramic coatings enabled by phase-separated nanostructured composite TiO2-Cu2O thin films.

By exploiting phase-separation in oxide materials, we present a simple and potentially low-cost approach to create exceptional superhydrophobicity in thin-film based coatings. By selecting the TiO2-Cu2O system and depositing through magnetron sputtering onto single crystal and metal templates, we demonstrate growth of nanostructured, chemically phase-segregated composite films. These coatings, after appropriate chemical surface modification, demonstrate a robust, non-wetting Cassie-Baxter state and yield an exceptional superhydrophobic performance, with water droplet contact angles reaching to ~172° and sliding angles <1°.

Optically transparent, mechanically durable, nanostructured superhydrophobic surfaces enabled by spinodally phase-separated glass thin films.

We describe the formation and properties of atomically bonded, optical quality, nanostructured thin glass film coatings on glass plates, utilizing phase separation by spinodal decomposition in a sodium borosilicate glass system. Following deposition via magnetron sputtering, thermal processing and differential etching, these coatings are structurally superhydrophilic (i.e.

Nonfunctionalized polydimethyl siloxane superhydrophobic surfaces based on hydrophobic-hydrophilic interactions.

Superhydrophobic surfaces based on polydimethyl siloxane (PDMS) were fabricated using a 50:50 PDMS-poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) blend. PDMS was mixed with PEG, and incomplete phase separation yielded a hierarchic structure. The phase-separated mixture was annealed at a temperature close to the crystallization temperature of the PEG.