Halide as Catholyte in Composite Cathode to Enhance Cycling Stability of All-Solid-State Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

All-solid-state lithium-sulfur batteries (ASSLSBs) using inorganic solid-state electrolytes can effectively alleviate the polysulfide shuttle effect in liquid electrolytes and improve the energy density. However, the electrochemical window of sulfide-based catholytes in composite cathodes is relatively narrow, which makes the evaluation of electrochemical performance of sulfur cathodes in ASSLSBs complicated. The decomposition of the sulfide catholytes increases the interfacial resistance, thus reducing the battery cycle life.

Enhanced Polysulfide conversion in Room-Temperature Sodium-Sulfur batteries via nanoscale TiO modified porous carbon structures.

Room-temperature sodium-sulfur (RT Na-S) batteries, known for their high-energy density, low cost and environmental friendliness, have attracted much attention. However, the development of RT Na-S batteries has encountered a number of challenges, including low conductivity and large volume changes of sulfur during the charge-discharge cycles. In this study, TiO nanoparticles modified porous carbon hosts for sulfur in RT Na-S batteries were prepared by a simple and efficient spray drying method combined with solution immersion.

Dual-Modal Memory Enabled by a Single Vertical N-Type Organic Artificial Synapse for Neuromorphic Computing.

Complementary neural network circuits combining multifunctional high-performance p-type with n-type organic artificial synapses satisfy sophisticated applications such as image cognition and prosthesis control. However, implementing the dual-modal memory features that are both volatile and nonvolatile in a synaptic transistor is challenging. Herein, for the first time, we propose a single vertical n-type organic synaptic transistor (VNOST) with a novel polymeric organic mixed ionic-electronic conductor as the core channel material to achieve dual-modal synaptic learning/memory behaviors at different operating current densities via the formation of an electric double layer and the reversible ion doping.

Multifunctional Optimization of MXene for Enhanced Comprehensive Performance of Crystal Silicon-MXene Back-Heterojunction Solar Cells.

Enhancing the cost-performance ratio is a fundamental objective for the advancement of the photovoltaic sector. In this context, the development of innovative solar cells that offer a straightforward device configuration but high performance is arguably the most crucial element. Herein, an undoped back-heterojunction crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cell is endeavored to be crafted by simply drop-casting a TiCT MXene ethanol colloidal solution onto the backside of an n-type c-Si (n-Si) wafer.

A Biomimetic Nociceptor Based on a Vertical Multigate, Multichannel Neuromorphic Transistor.

Nociceptors, crucial sensory receptors within biological systems, are essential for survival in diverse and potentially hazardous environments. Efforts to replicate nociceptors through advanced electronic devices, such as memristors and neuromorphic transistors, have achieved limited success, capturing basic nociceptive functions while more advanced characteristics like various forms of central sensitization and analgesic effect remain out of reach. Here, we introduce a vertical multigate, multichannel electrolyte-gated transistor (Vm-EGT), designed to mimic nociceptors.

One-Stone-for-Multiple-Birds Additive Strategy for Highly Efficient and Stable Carbon-Based Hole-Transport-Layer-Free CsPbIBr Solar Cells.

During fabrication and operation of perovskite solar cells (PSCs), defects commonly arise within the crystals as well as at grain boundaries. However, conventional additive strategies typically only serve to mitigate the occurrence of a single defect and fail to significantly enhance device performance. Herein, carbon-based hole-transport-layer-free CsPbIBr devices are focused on, one kind of important PSCs with more stable structure and an appropriate bandgap for a semitransparent solar cell or a top cell in a tandem configuration, and present a highly efficient one-stone-for-multiple-birds additive strategy based on lanthanide trifluoromethanesulfonates (Ln(OTF), Ln: neodymium (Nd), europium (Eu), dysprosium (Dy), thulium (Tm)).

UV-OZONE Treatment for Suppressing Surface Damages on Silicon Solar Cells.

In the preparation process of c-Si solar cells, qualified Si wafers must be processed through mechanical processing during manufacturing. Most of these processes involve mechanical processing, which inevitably results in severe mechanical damage layers and a wafer surface with large roughness. The current industry practice involves etching of the damage layer using an acid/alkali solution, and it is usually followed by deposition of additional passivation layers in the subsequent processes.

Reliable Low-Current and Multilevel Memristive Electrochemical Neuromorphic Devices with Semi-Metal Sb Filament.

Memristors are used in artificial neural networks owing to their exceptional integration capabilities and scalability. However, traditional memristors are hampered by limited resistance states and randomness, which curtails their application. The migration of metal ions critically influences the number of conductance states and the linearity of weight updates.

Vanadium Oxide Cathode Coinserted by Ni and NH for High-Performance Aqueous Zinc-Ion Batteries.

Vanadium-based oxides have garnered significant attention as cathode materials for aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) because of their high theoretical capacity and low cost. However, the limited reaction kinetics and poor long-term cycle stability hinder their widespread application. In this paper, we propose a novel approach by coinserting Ni and NH ions into VO·3HO, i.

A Mott-Schottky Heterojunction with Strong Chemisorption and Fast Conversion Effects for Room-Temperature Na-S Batteries.

The practical application of the room-temperature sodium-sulfur (RT Na-S) batteries is currently limited by low reversible capacity and serious capacity decay due to the sluggish reaction kinetics and shuttle effect. It is necessary to design a suitable sulfur host integrated with electrocatalysts to realize effective chemisorption and catalysis of sodium polysulfides (NaPSs). Herein, under the guidance of theoretical calculation, the Mott-Schottky heterojunction with a built-in electric field composed of iron (Fe) and iron disulfide (FeS) components anchored on a porous carbon matrix (Fe/FeS-PC) is designed and prepared.

Notable Performance Enhancement of CsPbIBr Solar Cells by a Dual-Function Strategy with CsPbBr Nanocrystals.

Herein, a dual-function strategy, in which CsPbIBr is treated by CsPbBr nanocrystals (NCs) via addition and surface modification to construct the "electron bridge" and gradient heterojunction, respectively, to notably improve the performance of the CsPbIBr solar cells, is proposed. The "electron bridge" formed by the CsPbBr NCs provides an extra transport channel for the photogenerated electrons in the CsPbIBr layer, thus facilitating electron transport. Meanwhile, surface modification of CsPbIBr by the CsPbBr NCs forms a gradient heterojunction between the CsPbIBr layer and the P3HT layer, enhancing hole extraction accordingly.

Metal Nanoclusters as a Superior Polysulfides Immobilizer toward Highly Stable Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

Due to their high designability, unique geometric and electronic structures, and surface coordination chemistry, atomically precise metal nanoclusters are an emerging class of functional nanomaterials at the forefront of materials research. However, the current research on metal nanoclusters is mainly fundamental, and their practical applications are still uncharted. The surface binding properties and redox activity of Au Pt(PET) (PET: phenylethanethiolate, SCH CH Ph) nanoclusters are herein harnessed as an high-efficiency electrocatalyst for the anchoring and rapid conversion of lithium polysulfides in lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs).

A high linearity and multilevel polymer-based conductive-bridging memristor for artificial synapses.

Conductive-bridging memristors based on a metal ion redox mechanism have good application potential in future neuromorphic computing nanodevices owing to their high resistance switch ratio, fast operating speed, low power consumption and small size. Conductive-bridging memristor devices rely on the redox reaction of metal ions in the dielectric layer to form metal conductive filaments to control the conductance state. However, the migration of metal ions is uncontrollable by the applied bias, resulting in the random generation of conductive filaments, and the conductance state is difficult to accurately control.

Efficient Regulation of Polysulfides by MoS /MoO Heterostructures for High-Performance Li-S Batteries.

The notorious shuttle effect and sluggish conversion of polysulfides seriously hinder the practical application of Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries. In this study, a novel architecture of MoS /MoO heterostructure uniformly distributed on carbon nanotubes (MoS /MoO @CNT) is designed and introduced into Li-S batteries via decorating commercial separator to regulate the redox reactions of polysulfides. Systematic experiments and theoretical calculations showed that the heterostructure not only provides sufficient surface affinity to capture polysulfides and acts as an active catalyst to promote the conversion of polysulfides, but also the highly conductive CNT enables rapid electron/ion migration.

Transition Metal d-band Center Tuning by Interfacial Engineering to Accelerate Polysulfides Conversion for Robust Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

Although lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs) promise high theoretical energy density and potential cost effectiveness, their applications are severely impeded by the shuttling and sluggish redox kinetics of lithium polysulfides (LiPSs). In this context, a Co S @MoS heterostructure is sophisticatedly designed as an efficient catalytic host to boost the sulfur reduction reaction/evolution reaction (SRR/SER) kinetics and suppresses the LiPSs shuttling in LSBs. The results indicate that the electronic structure is manipulated in the Co S @MoS heterostructure, where the built-in electric fields (BIEFs) within the heterointerfaces enable the sufficient adsorption sites to accelerate the ionic diffusion/charge transfer kinetics for LiPSs redox, thus enhancing the sulfur conversion.

Improved Comprehensive Photovoltaic Performance and Mechanisms by Additive Engineering of TiCT MXene into CsPbIBr.

CsPbIBr is promising in the application of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) owing to its reasonable bandgap and good thermal stability. However, the reported power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the CsPbIBr solar cells is still much lower than that of the organic-inorganic hybrid PSCs, mainly due to relatively poor CsPbIBr crystal quality. Herein, additive engineering to the photoactive layer of CsPbIBr using the TiCT MXene nanosheets is reported.

High-Performance Osmotic Power Generators Based on the 1D/2D Hybrid Nanochannel System.

Extracting clean energy by converting the salinity gradient between river and sea into energy is an effective way to reduce the global pollution and carbon emissions. Reverse electrodialysis (RED) is of great importance to realize the energy conversion assisting the ion-selective membrane. However, its higher ion resistance and lower conversion efficiency results in the undesirable power conversion performance.

A highly stable and sensitive ethanol sensor based on Ru-decorated 1D WO nanowires.

Decorating materials with noble metal catalysts is an effective method for optimizing the sensing performance of sensors based on tungsten trioxide (WO) nanowires. Ruthenium (Ru) exhibits excellent catalytic activity for oxygen adsorption/desorption and chemical reactions between gases and adsorbed oxygen. Herein, small Ru nanoparticles were uniformly distributed on the surface of one-dimensional WO nanowires.

Synergetic effects of a front ITO nanocylinder array and a back square Al array to enhance light absorption for organic solar cells.

Efficient light management is critical to obtain high performance for organic solar cells (OSCs), which aims to solve the contradiction between limited carrier extraction and light absorption for the normally employed photoactive layers generally having both short exciton diffusion lengths and low extinction coefficients. In this study, we introduce a simple and efficient light management structure consisting of a front indium tin oxide nanocylinder (ITO-NC) array and a back square Al array. Thanks to the synergetic effects of antireflection and light scattering induced by the ITO-NC array, together with the secondary scattering and localized surface plasmon resonance because of the square Al array, remarkably enhanced light absorption in a broad spectral range can be achieved.

Sheet-Like Stacking SnS/rGO Heterostructures as Ultrastable Anodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries.

SnS-based materials have attracted considerable attention in energy storage and conversion owing to their high lithium activity and theoretical capacity. However, the practical application is severely limited by the low coulombic efficiency and short cycle life due to irreversible side reactions, low conductivity, and serious pulverization in the discharge/charge process. In this study, sheet-like stacking SnS/reduced graphene oxide (rGO) heterostructures were developed using a facile solvothermal method.

Ion-Selective Covalent Organic Framework Membranes as a Catalytic Polysulfide Trap to Arrest the Redox Shuttle Effect in Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

In the wake of shaping the energy future through materials innovation, lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs) are top-of-the-line energy storage system attributed to their high theoretical energy density and specific capacity inclusive of low material costs. Despite their strengths, LSBs suffer from the cross-over of soluble polysulfide redox species to the anode, entailing fast capacity fading and inferior cycling stability. Adding to the concern, the insulating character of polysulfides lends to sluggish reaction kinetics.

Resistive Switching Memristor: On the Direct Observation of Physical Nature of Parameter Variability.

Ion-based memristive switching has attracted widespread attention from industries owing to its outstanding advantages in storage and neuromorphic computing. Major issues for achieving brain-inspired computation of highly functional memory in redox-based ion devices are relatively large variability in their operating parameters and limited cycling endurance. In some devices, volatile and nonvolatile operations often replace each other without changing operating conditions.

Sandwich-like SnS/graphene multilayers for efficient lithium/sodium storage.

2D materials have attracted extensive attention in energy storage and conversion due to their excellent electrochemical performances. Herein, we report utilization of monolayer SnS sheets within SnS/graphene multilayers for efficient lithium and sodium storage. SnS/graphene multilayers are synthesized through a solution-phase direct assembly method by electrostatic interaction between monolayer SnS and PDDA (polydimethyl diallyl ammonium chloride)-graphene nanosheets.

Improvement of the Optoelectrical Properties of a Transparent Conductive Polymer via the Introduction of ITO Nanoparticles and Its Application in Crystalline Silicon/Organic Heterojunction Solar Cells.

Compared with conventional transparent conductive indium tin oxide (ITO) films, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly (styrenesulfonic acid) (PEDOT:PSS) as a conductive polymer material has been diffusely applied in organic optoelectronic devices. However, its optoelectrical properties need to be further improved. Therefore, a simple and universal approach with introducing ITO nanoparticles (NPs) was proposed to improve the optoelectrical properties of PEDOT:PSS thin films.