Facile synthesis of Ir-based high-entropy alloy nanomaterials for efficient oxygen evolution electrocatalysis.

High-entropy alloy (HEA) nanomaterials have emerged as promising candidates as oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalyst to overcome the existing issues of the sluggish reaction kinetics and poor stability. In this study, IrRuCoCuNi HEA three-dimensional-nanoframeworks (3DNF) are prepared using a scalable approach-the spray-drying technique combined with thermal decomposition reduction (SD-TDR). The optimized catalyst, IrRuCoCuNi, demonstrates superior OER performance, with an overpotential of 264 mV at 10 mA cm and a Tafel slope of 47 mV dec, considerably surpassing the catalytic activity of commercial IrO.

Topological Defect-Regulated Porous Carbon Nanoribbon for High-Performance Potassium-Ion Batteries.

Potassium-ion batteries (PIBs) using carbonaceous anode materials have attracted a great deal of research interest. However, the large atomic size of potassium ions inevitably leads to huge volume expansion and the collapse of anodes during intercalation, which greatly hinders rate performance and cycling life. In this work, carbon nanotube-derived porous N-doped carbon nanoribbon (CNR) bundles are designed as an anode for PIBs.

Greatly Enhanced Oxygen Reduction Reaction in Anion Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell and Zn-Air Battery via Hole Inner Edge Reconstruction of 2D Pd Nanomesh.

Platinum group metals (PGM) have yet to be the most active catalysts in various sustainable energy reactions. Their high cost, however, has made maximizing the activity and minimizing the dosage become an urgent priority for the practical applications of emerging technologies. Herein, a novel 2D Pd nanomesh structure possessing hole inner reconstructed edges (HIER) with exposed high energy facets and overstretched lattice parameters is fabricated through a facile room-temperature reduction method at gram-scale yields.

In Situ Reconstructing NiFe Oxalate Toward Overall Water Splitting.

Surface reconstruction plays an essential role in electrochemical catalysis. The structures, compositions, and functionalities of the real catalytic species and sites generated by reconstruction, however, are yet to be clearly understood, for the metastable or transit state of most reconstructed structures. Herein, a series of NiFe oxalates (NiFe CO, x = 1, 0.

Synergistic Effect of Defects Passivation and Energy Level Alignment Realizing P3HT-Based High-Efficiency CsPbI Perovskite Solar Cells.

Poly (3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) is one of the most efficient hole transport layers (HTLs) in perovskite solar cells (PSCs). However, surface and boundary defects in CsPbI, and energy level mismatch between CsPbI and P3HT lead to a low power conversion efficiency (PCE) in P3HT-based CsPbI PSCs. Here, a synergistic strategy with anti-solvent (sec-pentyl alcohol, 2-PA) and passivators (LiX, X = F, Cl, Br, I) is developed to promote the photovoltaic performance of P3HT-based CsPbI PSCs.

P-NiFeO/N-Doped Carbon Nanotubes/NiFe Multi-Phase Heterojunctions for Overall Water Splitting and Urea Electrolysis.

The design and construction of highly efficient electrocatalysts for overall water splitting and urea electrolysis are significantly important for promoting energy conversion and realizing green hydrogen production. In this work, we constructed a multi-phase heterojunction through a simple hydrothermal and phosphorization process. The P-doped NiFeO (P-NiFeO) nanoparticles were uniformly anchored on the bamboo-like N-doped carbon nanotubes (NCNTs) grown via a NiFe-alloy autocatalysis.

Organic nano carbon source inducing 3D silica nanoparticles-graphene nanosheet layer on Cu current collector for high-performance anode-free lithium metal batteries.

Anode-free lithium metal batteries (AFLBs) have attracted considerable attention due to their high theoretical specific capacity and absence of Li. However, the heterogeneous Li deposition and stripping on the lithiophobic Cu collector hamper AFLBs in practice. To achieve a uniform and reversible Li deposition, a carbon-based layer on the Cu collector has attracted intense interest due to its high conductivity.

Ultranarrow Deep-Blue Luminescence of Perovskite Nanocrystals by A-Site Cation Control.

Metal-halide perovskite nanocrystals (NCs) are one of the most promising emitters for the application of display and nanolight sources. The full width at half-maximum (FWHM) of photoluminescence (PL) emission is essential for color purity, which however remains a difficulty to further reduce the FWHM of the perovskite NCs at room temperature. Here, we show the quasi-sphere perovskite NCs with narrow PL emission at a deep-blue wavelength of ∼430 nm; its PL FWHM reaches ∼11 nm at room temperature, owing to the monodispersion in size distribution as well as the symmetric quasi-sphere morphology of NCs releasing the fine structure splitting-induced inhomogeneous broadening.

SiC@NiO Core-Shell Nanowire Networks-Based Optoelectronic Synapses for Neuromorphic Computing and Visual Systems at High Temperature.

1D nanowire networks, sharing similarities of structure, information transfer, and computation with biological neural networks, have emerged as a promising platform for neuromorphic systems. Based on brain-like structures of 1D nanowire networks, neuromorphic synaptic devices can overcome the von Neumann bottleneck, achieving intelligent high-efficient sensing and computing function with high information processing rates and low power consumption. Here, high-temperature neuromorphic synaptic devices based on SiC@NiO core-shell nanowire networks optoelectronic memristors (NNOMs) are developed.

Improved Design of Slope-Shaped Hole-Blocking Layer and Electron-Blocking Layer in AlGaN-Based Near-Ultraviolet Laser Diodes.

The injection and leakage of charge carriers have a significant impact on the optoelectronic performance of GaN-based lasers. In order to improve the limitation of the laser on charge carriers, a slope-shape hole-barrier layer (HBL) and electron-barrier layer (EBL) structure are proposed for near-UV (NUV) GaN-based lasers. We used Crosslight LASTIP for the simulation and theoretical analysis of the energy bands of HBL and EBL.

The CuSCN layer between BiVO and NiFeO for facilitating photogenerated carrier transfer and water oxidation kinetics.

Modification of oxygen evolution co-catalyst (OEC) on the surface of bismuth vanadate (BiVO) can effectively improve the kinetics of water oxidation, but it is still limited by the small hole extraction driving force at the BiVO/OEC interface. Modulating the BiVO/OEC interface with a hole transfer layer (HTL) is expected to facilitate hole transport from BiVO to the OEC surface. Herein, a copper(I) thiocyanate (CuSCN) HTL is inserted between BiVO and NiFeO OEC to create BiVO/CuSCN/NiFeO photoanode, resulting in a significant enhancement of photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting performance.

Revelation of adhesive proteins affecting cellular contractility through reference-free traction force microscopy.

Over the past few decades, the critical role played by cellular contractility associated mechanotransduction in the regulation of cell functions has been revealed. In this case, numerous biomaterials have been chemically or structurally designed to manipulate cell behaviors through the regulation of cellular contractility. In particular, adhesive proteins including fibronectin, poly-L-lysine and collagen type I have been widely applied in various biomaterials to improve cell adhesion.

Copious Dislocations Defect in Amorphous/Crystalline/Amorphous Sandwiched Structure P-NiMoO Electrocatalyst toward Enhanced Hydrogen Evolution Reaction.

The design and synthesis of efficient, inexpensive, and long-term stable heterostructured electrocatalysts with high-density dislocations for hydrogen evolution reaction in alkaline media and seawater are still a great challenge. An amorphous/crystalline/amorphous sandwiched structure with abundant dislocations were synthesized through thermal phosphidation strategies. The dislocations play an important role in the hydrogen evolution reactions.

Porous N-Doped Carbon Decorated with Atomically Dispersed Independent Dual Metal Sites from Energetic Zeolite Imidazolate Frameworks as Bidirectional Catalysts for Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries have ultrahigh theoretical specific capacity and energy density, which are considered to be very promising energy storage devices. However, the slow redox kinetics of polysulfides are the main reason for the rapid capacity decay of Li-S batteries. A reasonable electrocatalyst for the Li-S battery should reduce the reaction barrier and accelerate the reaction kinetics of the bidirectional catalytic conversion of lithium polysulfides (LiPSs), thereby reducing the cumulative concentration of LiPSs in the electrolyte.

Artificial Optoelectronic Synapse Based on Violet Phosphorus Microfiber Arrays.

Memristor-based artificial synapses are regarded as the most promising candidate to develop brain-like neuromorphic network computers and overcome the bottleneck of Von-Neumann architecture. Violet phosphorus (VP) as a new allotrope of available phosphorus with outstanding electro-optical properties and stability has attracted more and more attention in the past several years. In this study, large-scale, high-yield VP microfiber vertical arrays have been successfully developed on a Sn-coated graphite paper and are used as the memristor functional layers to build reliable, low-power artificial synaptic devices.

Electronic Asymmetry Engineering of Fe-N-C Electrocatalyst via Adjacent Carbon Vacancy for Boosting Oxygen Reduction Reaction.

Single-atomic transition metal-nitrogen-carbon (M-N-C) structures are promising alternatives toward noble-metal-based catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalysis involved in sustainable energy devices. The symmetrical electronic density distribution of the M─N moieties, however, leads to unfavorable intermediate adsorption and sluggish kinetics. Herein, a Fe-N-C catalyst with electronic asymmetry induced by one nearest carbon vacancy adjacent to Fe─N is conceptually produced, which induces an optimized d-band center, lowered free energy barrier, and thus superior ORR activity with a half-wave potential (E ) of 0.

In situ lithiation modulation of LiNiCoMnO as bifunctional electrocatalysts for highly efficient overall water splitting.

LiNiCoMnO (NCM811) is a common cathode material in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), and the ever-increasing consumption of large quantities of LIBs raises critical concerns about their recycling. Herein, we propose an in-situ lithiation route to tune the structure and electrocatalytic properties of NCM811 by Li intercalation and exfoliation in LIBs. In this strategy, the morphology and microstructure of the lithiated NCM811 can be controlled by a specified discharge voltage.

Effects of Thermal-Strain-Induced Atomic Intermixing on the Interfacial and Photoluminescence Properties of InGaAs/AlGaAs Multiple Quantum Wells.

Quantum-well intermixing (QWI) technology is commonly considered as an effective methodology to tune the post-growth bandgap energy of semiconductor composites for electronic applications in diode lasers and photonic integrated devices. However, the specific influencing mechanism of the interfacial strain introduced by the dielectric-layer-modulated multiple quantum well (MQW) structures on the photoluminescence (PL) property and interfacial quality still remains unclear. Therefore, in the present study, different thicknesses of SiO-layer samples were coated and then annealed under high temperature to introduce interfacial strain and enhance atomic interdiffusion at the barrier-well interfaces.

Three-dimensional carbon network-supported black phosphorus-cobalt heterojunctions: An efficient electrocatalyst for high-rate oxygen evolution.

Black phosphorus (BP), as a burgeoning two-dimensional material, has shown good electrocatalytic activity due to its unique electronic structure and abundant active sites.However, the presence of lone pair electrons in black phosphorus leads to its poor stability and rapid degradation in an oxygen/water environment, which greatly limits its practical application. Herein, BP-Co heterojunctions were synthesized on carbon nanotube@nitrogen-doped carbon (BP-Co/CNT@NC) by the pyrolysis of ZnCo-zeolitic imidazolate frameworks and subsequent solvothermal treatment.

Stabilizing Solid-state Lithium Metal Batteries through In Situ Generated Janus-heterarchical LiF-rich SEI in Ionic Liquid Confined 3D MOF/Polymer Membranes.

Pursuing high power density lithium metal battery with high safety is essential for developing next-generation energy-storage devices, but uncontrollable electrolyte degradation and the consequence formed unstable solid-electrolyte interface (SEI) make the task really challenging. Herein, an ionic liquid (IL) confined MOF/Polymer 3D-porous membrane was constructed for boosting in situ electrochemical transformations of Janus-heterarchical LiF/Li N-rich SEI films on the nanofibers. Such a 3D-Janus SEI-incorporated into the separator offers fast Li transport routes, showing superior room-temperature ionic conductivity of 8.

Atomic-scale insights into the interfacial charge transfer in a NiO/CeO heterostructure for electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution.

To understand the underlying mechanism of the interfacial charge transfer and local chemical state variation in the nonprecious-based hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) electrocatalysts, a model system of the NiO/CeO heterostructure was chosen for investigation using a combination of the advanced electron microscopic characterization and first-principles calculations. The results directly proved that interfacial charge transfer occurs from Ni to Ce, leading to reduction in the valence state of Ce and increased formation of V. This would optimize ΔG and facilitate the hydrogen evolution process, resulting in outstanding HER performance in 1 M KOH with a low overpotential of 99 mV at the current density of 10 mA•cm and a modest Tafel slope of 78.

Covalent Bonding Enhanced Polypropylene Based T-ZIF-8 Masterbatch with Superior Photocatalytic and Antibacterial Performances.

In order to solve the problem of poor compatibility between modified-ZIF-8 nanoparticles and mask matrix polypropylene (PP) and melt-blown materials, in this work, PP based modified-ZIF-8 antibacterial masterbatch was prepared employing surface modification and torque blending method. IR, SEM, XRD, XPS, DSC results confirm that the antibacterial masterbatch maintains the chemical and crystal structure of modified-ZIF-8 and the thermal stability of PP. Photocatalytic performance indicates that the antibacterial masterbatch basically maintains the photoresponse range of modified-ZIF-8, has narrower band gap and the superior photocatalytic performance than that of modified-ZIF-8.