Localized High-Concentration Electrolyte for All-Carbon Rechargeable Dual-Ion Batteries with Durable Interfacial Chemistry.

Lithium-based rechargeable dual-ion batteries (DIBs) based on graphite anode-cathode combinations have received much attention due to their high resource abundance and low cost. Currently, the practical realization of the batteries is hindered by easy oxidation of the electrolyte at the cathode interface, and solvent co-intercalation at the anode-electrolyte interface. Configuration of a "solvent-in-salt" electrolyte with a high concentration of Li salt is expected to stabilize the electrolyte chemistry versus both electrodes, yet inevitably reduces the mobility of the solvated working ions and increases the cost of the electrolyte.

Anchoring Active Li Metal in Oriented Channel by In Situ Formed Nucleation Sites Enabling Durable Lithium-Metal Batteries.

Lithium metal is the ultimate anode material for pursuing the increased energy density of rechargeable batteries. However, fatal dendrites growth and huge volume change seriously hinder the practical application of lithium metal batteries (LMBs). In this work, a lithium host that preinstalled CoSe nanoparticles on vertical carbon vascular tissues (VCVT/CoSe) is designed and fabricated to resolve these issues, which provides sufficient Li plating space with a robust framework, enabling dendrite-free Li deposition.

The Role of integrating AI and VR in fostering environmental awareness and enhancing activism among college students.

Given the increasing concern about the destructive impact of sympathetic activities on the Earth, involving the next generation in environmental conservation is crucial. Therefore, this study aims to explore how artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR) can strengthen college students' environmental awareness and encourage them to make a move on environmental issues. Four hundred college students from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds participated in a six-month study, and 375 valid questionnaires were successfully collected.

Work-Function-Induced Interfacial Electron/Ion Transport in Carbon Hosts toward Dendrite-Free Lithium Metal Anodes.

Coupled electron/ion transport is a decisive feature of Li plating/stripping, wherein the compatibility of electron/ion transport rates determines the morphology of deposited Li. Local Li hotspots form due to inhomogeneous interfacial charge transfer and lead to uncontrolled Li deposition, which decreases the Li utilization rate and safety of Li metal anodes. Herein, we report a method to obtain dendrite-free Li metal anodes by driving electron pumping and accumulating and boosting Li ion diffusion by tuning the work function of a carbon host using cobalt-containing catalysts.

Multifunctional Interlayer Engineering for Silkworm Excrement-Derived Porous Carbon Enabling High-Energy Lithium Sulfur Batteries.

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries show advantage of high theoretical capacity. However, the shuttle effect of polysulfides and sluggish sulfur redox kinetics seriously reduce their service life. Inspired by the porous structural features of biomass materials, herein, a functional interlayer is fabricated by silkworm excrement-derived three-dimensional porous carbon accommodating nano sized CoS particles (SC@CoS ).

Ni/TiO heterostructures derived from phase separation for enhanced electrocatalysis of hydrogen evolution and biomass oxidative upgrading in anion exchange membrane electrolyzers.

The construction of heterostructures is an effective strategy to enhance electrocatalysis for hydrogen evolution reactions (HERs) and biomass oxidative upgrading. In this work, a Ni/TiO heterostructure prepared by a phase-separation strategy was adopted as a bifunctional electrocatalyst for HERs and biomass oxidation in alkaline media. Due to the optimized hydrogen adsorption energetics as well as the interfacial water structure and hydrogen bond connectivity in the electrical double layer, Ni/TiO exhibited high activity for HERs with an overpotential of 28 mV at 10 mA cm and good durability at 1000 mA cm for over 100 h in an anion exchange membrane (AEM) electrolyzer.

Building a Self-Adaptive Protective Layer on Ni-Rich Layered Cathodes to Enhance the Cycle Stability of Lithium-Ion Batteries.

Layered Ni-rich lithium transition metal oxides are promising battery cathodes due to their high specific capacity, but their poor cycling stability due to intergranular cracks in secondary particles restricts their practical applications. Surface engineering is an effective strategy for improving a cathode's cycling stability, but most reported surface coatings cannot adapt to the dynamic volume changes of cathodes. Herein, a self-adaptive polymer (polyrotaxane-co-poly(acrylic acid)) interfacial layer is built on LiNi Co Mn O .

Fatigue-Resistant Interfacial Layer for Safe Lithium Metal Batteries.

The plating/stripping of Li dendrites can fracture the static solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) and cause significant dynamic volume variations in the Li anode, which give rise to poor cyclability and severe safety hazards. Herein, a tough polymer with a slide-ring structure was designed as a self-adaptive interfacial layer for Li anodes. The slide-ring polymer with a dynamically crosslinked network moves freely while maintaining its toughness and fracture resistance, which allows it can to dissipate the tension induced by Li dendrites on the interphase layer.

Bioselective Synthesis of a Porous Carbon Collector for High-Performance Sodium-Metal Anodes.

Biomass-derived carbon materials prepared via pyrolysis from natural wood structures show potential for a storage application. Natural wood is composed of multiple carbon sources, including lignin, hemicellulose, and cellulose, which influence the formation and microstructure of pyrolysis carbon. However, the mechanism is not fully understood.

Ni W -W Interconnected Hybrid Prepared by Atmosphere- and Thermal-Induced Phase Separation for Efficient Electrocatalysis of Alkaline Hydrogen Evolution.

The development of efficient and stable noble-metal-free electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in alkaline media is still a challenge. Herein, a hybrid material formed by the interconnection of Ni W intermetallic compound with metallic W is demonstrated for HER. The Ni W -W hybrid is prepared by the atmosphere- and thermal-induced phase-separation strategy from a single-phase precursor (NiWO ), which gives Ni W -W hybrid abundant and tight interfaces.

An Outlook on Low-Volume-Change Lithium Metal Anodes for Long-Life Batteries.

Rechargeable Li metal batteries are one of the most attractive energy storage systems due to their high energy density. However, the hostless nature of Li, the excessive dendritic growth, and the accumulation of nonactive Li induce severe volume variation of Li anodes. The volume variation can give rise to a fracture of solid electrolyte interphase, continuous consumption of Li and electrolytes, low Coulombic efficiency, fast performance degradation, and finally short cycle life.

Amorphous Ni-Fe-Mo Suboxides Coupled with Ni Network as Porous Nanoplate Array on Nickel Foam: A Highly Efficient and Durable Bifunctional Electrode for Overall Water Splitting.

It is a great challenge to fabricate electrode with simultaneous high activity for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Herein, a high-performance bifunctional electrode formed by vertically depositing a porous nanoplate array on the surface of nickel foam is provided, where the nanoplate is made up by the interconnection of trinary Ni-Fe-Mo suboxides and Ni nanoparticles. The amorphous Ni-Fe-Mo suboxide and its in situ transformed amorphous Ni-Fe-Mo (oxy)hydroxide acts as the main active species for HER and OER, respectively.

Edible fungus slag derived nitrogen-doped hierarchical porous carbon as a high-performance adsorbent for rapid removal of organic pollutants from water.

In this work, agricultural waste edible fungus slag derived nitrogen-doped hierarchical porous carbon (EFS-NPC) was prepared by a simple carbonization and activation process. Owing to the biodegradation and infiltrability of hyphae, this EFS-NPC possessed an ultra-high specific surface area (3342 m/g), large pore volume (1.84 cm/g) and abundant micropores and mesopores.

Fungi-Enabled Synthesis of Ultrahigh-Surface-Area Porous Carbon.

The growth of white-rot fungi is related to the superior infiltrability and biodegradability of hyphae on a lignocellulosic substrate. The superior biodegradability of fungi toward plant substrates affords tailored microstructures, which benefits subsequently high efficient carbonization and chemical activation. Here, the mechanism underlying the direct growth of mushrooms toward the lignocellulosic substrate is elucidated and a fungi-enabled method for the preparation of porous carbons with ultrahigh specific surface area (3439 m g ) is developed.

Guiding Uniform Li Plating/Stripping through Lithium-Aluminum Alloying Medium for Long-Life Li Metal Batteries.

The uncontrolled growth of Li dendrites upon cycling might result in low coulombic efficiency and severe safety hazards. Herein, a lithiophilic binary lithium-aluminum alloy layer, which was generated through an in situ electrochemical process, was utilized to guide the uniform metallic Li nucleation and growth, free from the formation of dendrites. Moreover, the formed LiAl alloy layer can function as a Li reservoir to compensate the irreversible Li loss, enabling long-term stability.

Co Nanoparticles/Co, N, S Tri-doped Graphene Templated from In-Situ-Formed Co, S Co-doped g-CN as an Active Bifunctional Electrocatalyst for Overall Water Splitting.

The development of high-performance electrocatalyst with earth-abundant elements for water-splitting is a key factor to improve its cost efficiency. Herein, a noble metal-free bifunctional electrocatalyst was synthesized by a facile pyrolysis method using sucrose, urea, Co(NO) and sulfur powder as raw materials. During the fabrication process, Co, S co-doped graphitic carbon nitride (g-CN) was first produced, and then this in-situ-formed template further induced the generation of a Co, N, S tri-doped graphene coupled with Co nanoparticles (NPs) in the following pyrolysis process.

Photocatalytic CO Reduction by Carbon-Coated Indium-Oxide Nanobelts.

Indium-oxide (InO) nanobelts coated by a 5-nm-thick carbon layer provide an enhanced photocatalytic reduction of CO to CO and CH, yielding CO and CH evolution rates of 126.6 and 27.9 μmol h, respectively, with water as reductant and Pt as co-catalyst.

Facile Synthesis of Carbon-Coated Spinel LiTiO/Rutile-TiO Composites as an Improved Anode Material in Full Lithium-Ion Batteries with LiFePO@N-Doped Carbon Cathode.

The spinel LiTiO/rutile-TiO@carbon (LTO-RTO@C) composites were fabricated via a hydrothermal method combined with calcination treatment employing glucose as carbon source. The carbon coating layer and the in situ formed rutile-TiO can effectively enhance the electric conductivity and provide quick Li diffusion pathways for LiTiO. When used as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries, the rate capability and cycling stability of LTO-RTO@C composites were improved in comparison with those of pure LiTiO or LiTiO/rutile-TiO.

Suppression of Immunotherapy on Group 2 Innate Lymphoid Cells in Allergic Rhinitis.

Background: Group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) are regarded as a novel population of lineage-negative cells that induce innate Type 2 responses by producing the critical Th2-type cytokines interleukin (IL)-5 and IL-13. ILC2s as key players in the development of allergic rhinitis (AR) have been proved, however, the effect of subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) with dermatophagoides pteronyssinus extract (Der p-SCIT) on ILC2s in AR patients is not clear. This study aimed to investigate the response of ILC2s of peripheral blood in house dust mites (HDM)-sensitized Chinese patients with AR who received SCIT with Der P extract.

Investigating ego modules involved in TGFβ3-induced chondrogenesis in mesenchymal stem cells based on ego network.

Objective: This paper aimed to investigate ego modules for TGFβ3-induced chondrogenesis in mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) using ego network algorithm.

Methods: The ego network algorithm comprised three parts, extracting differential expression network (DEN) based on gene expression data and protein-protein interaction (PPI) data; exploring ego genes by reweighting DEN; and searching ego modules by ego gene expansions. Subsequently, permutation test was carried out to evaluate the statistical significance of the ego modules.

Conductive Carbon Network inside a Sulfur-Impregnated Carbon Sponge: A Bioinspired High-Performance Cathode for Li-S Battery.

A highly conductive sulfur cathode is crucial for improving the kinetic performance of a Li-S battery. The encapsulation of sulfur in porous nanocarbons is expected to benefit the Li(+) migration, yet the e(-) conduction is still to be improved due to a low graphitization degree of a conventional carbon substrate, especially that pyrolyzed from carbohydrates or polymers. Aiming at facilitating the e(-) conduction in the cathode, here we propose to use ketjen black, a highly graphitized nanocarbon building block to form a conductive network for electrons in a biomass-derived, hierarchically porous carbon sponge by a easily scaled-up approach at a low cost.

[Pollution Status and Migration of Mercury in the Sediments of Nansi Lake in Shandong Province].

The content of mercury and fractions were determined, in order to discuss the pollution situation and migration ability of mercury in inflow rivers and surface sediments of Nansi Lake. The average content of mercury in the sediments of the Nansi Lake was 0.046 mg · kg(-1), significantly higher than the environmental background values, which showed that Nansi Lake suffered from mercury pollution.

[Association between mannose-binding-lectin gene and type 2 diabetic patients in Chinese population living in the northern areas of China].

Objective: To investigate whether the mannose-binding-lectin 2 (MBL2) gene was associated with type 2 diabetes in the populations living the northern part of China.

Methods: The study involved 318 type 2 diabetic patients and 448 normoglycemic controls. The variances of rs1800450, rs1800451 and rs11003125 were determined by the Multiplex SNaPshot method.