Boosting Energy Storage Performance of Glass Ceramics via Modulating Defect Formation During Crystallization.

Along with the demand for further miniaturization of high and pulsed power devices, it becomes more and more important to realize ultrahigh recoverable energy storage density (W ) with high energy storage efficiency (η) and ultrahigh discharge energy storage density (W ) accompanied by high power density (P ) in dielectrics. To date, it remains, however, a big challenge to achieve high W or W in glass ceramics compared to other dielectric energy storage materials. Herein, a strategy of defect formation modulation is applied to form "amorphous-disordered-ordered" microstructure in BaTiO -based glass ceramics so as to achieve a high W of 12.

Glass-Ceramic Capacitors with Simultaneously High Power and Energy Densities under Practical Charge-Discharge Conditions.

Developing dielectric capacitors with both a high power density and a high energy density for application in power electronics has been a long-standing challenge. Glass-ceramics offer the potential of retaining the high relative permittivity of ceramics and at the same time of exhibiting the high dielectric breakdown strength and fast charge/discharge rate of glasses, thus producing concurrently high power and energy densities in a single material. In this work, glass-ceramics are fabricated to achieve simultaneously high power and energy densities, high efficiency, and thermal stability by tuning the glass crystallization process via a suitable nucleating agent and a high oxygen partial pressure.

Fabrication of Nanopillar Crystalline ITO Thin Films with High Transmittance and IR Reflectance by RF Magnetron Sputtering.

Nanopillar crystalline indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films were deposited on soda-lime glass substrates by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering under the power levels of 100 W, 150 W, 200 W and 250 W. The preparation process of thin films is divided into two steps, firstly, sputtering a very thin and granular crystalline film at the bottom, and then sputtering a nanopillar crystalline film above the bottom film. The structure, morphology, optical and electrical properties of the nanopillar crystalline ITO thin films were investigated.

Mesoporous ZnMnO Microtubules Derived from a Biomorphic Strategy for High-Performance Lithium/Sodium Ion Batteries.

ZnMnO microtubules (ZMO-MTs) with a mesoporous structure are fabricated by a novel yet effective biomorphic approach employing cotton fiber as a biotemplate. The fabricated ZMO-MT has approximately an inner diameter of 8.5 μm and wall thickness of 1.

Biomorphic synthesis of mesoporous Co₃O₄ microtubules and their pseudocapacitive performance.

A novel meosoporous tubular Co3O4 has been fabricated by a simple and cost-effective biomorphic synthesis route, which consists of infiltration of cotton fiber with cobalt nitrate solution and postcalcination at 673 K for 1 h. Its electrochemical performance as a supercapacitor electrode material is investigated by means of cyclic voltammetry and chronopotentiometry tests. Compared with bulk Co3O4 prepared without using cotton template, biomorphic Co3O4 displays 2.

Controllable synthesis of MnS nanocrystals from a single-source precursor.

A facile single-source precursor method has been applied for the selective synthesis of MnS nanocrystals (NCs) with well-defined shapes and crystal structures such as hexapod, octahedral, hexagonal shaped α-MnS NCs, and pencil-shaped γ-MnS NCs. The effects of the composition of precursor, reaction temperature, and the heating rate on the morphologies, and crystal structures of MnS NCs were systematically studied for the first time.

Ultralarge single crystal SnS rectangular nanosheets.

Uniform ultralarge single crystal SnS rectangular nanosheets (7000 nm × 3000 nm × 20 nm) have been synthesized by thermodecomposing a single-source precursor (Sn-diethyldithiocarbamate-1,10-phenanthroline). The obtained SnS nanosheets exhibit excellent electrochemical properties which have promising applications in lithium ion batteries.

Ultrathin single crystal ZnS nanowires.

A facile synthesis of ultrathin single crystal ZnS nanowires with an average diameter of 4.4 nm in high yield (close to 100%) was firstly reported through the pyrolysis of a single-source precursor (zinc diethyldithiocarbamate). The obtained ultrathin ZnS nanowires exhibit good optical properties and hold promise for future applications in nanodevices.