Electrochemical lithium extraction from hectorite ore.

Electrochemical technologies add a unique dimension for ore refinement, representing tunable methods that can integrate with renewable energy sources and existing downstream process flows. However, the development of electrochemical extraction technologies has been impeded by the technological maturity of hydro- and pyro-metallurgy, as well as the electrical insulating properties of many metal oxide ores. The fabrication and use of carbon/insulating material composite electrodes has been a longstanding method to enable electrochemical activation.

Layer-by-layer Assembly of Nanosheets with Matching Size and Shape for More Stable Membrane Structure than Nanosheet-Polymer Assembly.

Layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly of oppositely charged materials has been widely used as an approach to make two-dimensional (2D) nanosheet-based membranes, which often involves 2D nanosheets being alternately deposited with polymer-based polyelectrolytes to obtain an electrostabilized nanosheet-polymer structure. In this study, we hypothesized that using 2D nanosheets with matching physical properties as both polyanions and polycations may result in a more ordered nanostructure with better stability than a nanosheet-polymer structure. To compare the differences between nanosheet-nanosheet vs nanosheet-polymer structures, we assembled negatively charged molybdenum disulfide nanosheets (MoS) with either positively charged graphene oxide (PrGO) nanosheets or positively charged polymer (PDDA).

Inkjet-printed SnO as an effective electron transport layer for planar perovskite solar cells and the effect of Cu doping.

Inkjet printing is a more sustainable and scalable fabrication method than spin coating for producing perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Although spin-coated SnO has been intensively studied as an effective electron transport layer (ETL) for PSCs, inkjet-printed SnO ETLs have not been widely reported. Here, we fabricated inkjet-printed, solution-processed SnO ETLs for planar PSCs.

Black goes green: single-step solvent exchange for sol-gel synthesis of carbon spherogels as high-performance supercapacitor electrodes.

Nanoporous carbon materials with customized structural features enable sustainable and electrochemical applications through improved performance and efficiency. Carbon spherogels (highly porous carbon aerogel materials consisting of an assembly of hollow carbon nanosphere units with uniform diameters) are desirable candidates as they combine exceptional electrical conductivity, bespoke shell porosity, tunability of the shell thickness, and a high surface area. Herein, we introduce a novel and more environmentally friendly sol-gel synthesis of resorcinol-formaldehyde (RF) templated by polystyrene spheres, forming carbon spherogels in an organic solvent.

Challenging thermodynamics: combining immiscible elements in a single-phase nano-ceramic.

The Hume-Rothery rules governing solid-state miscibility limit the compositional space for new inorganic material discovery. Here, we report a non-equilibrium, one-step, and scalable flame synthesis method to overcome thermodynamic limits and incorporate immiscible elements into single phase ceramic nanoshells. Starting from prototype examples including (NiMg)O, (NiAl)O, and (NiZr)O, we then extend this method to a broad range of Ni-containing ceramic solid solutions, and finally to general binary combinations of elements.

High-Performance Lithium-Ion Batteries with High Stability Derived from Titanium-Oxide- and Sulfur-Loaded Carbon Spherogels.

This study presents a novel approach to developing high-performance lithium-ion battery electrodes by loading titania-carbon hybrid spherogels with sulfur. The resulting hybrid materials combine high charge storage capacity, electrical conductivity, and core-shell morphology, enabling the development of next-generation battery electrodes. We obtained homogeneous carbon spheres caging crystalline titania particles and sulfur using a template-assisted sol-gel route and carefully treated the titania-loaded carbon spherogels with hydrogen sulfide.

Reactive high-spin iron(IV)-oxo sites through dioxygen activation in a metal-organic framework.

In nature, nonheme iron enzymes use dioxygen to generate high-spin iron(IV)=O species for a variety of oxygenation reactions. Although synthetic chemists have long sought to mimic this reactivity, the enzyme-like activation of O to form high-spin iron(IV) = O species remains an unrealized goal. Here, we report a metal-organic framework featuring iron(II) sites with a local structure similar to that in α-ketoglutarate-dependent dioxygenases.

Ternary NiMo-Bi liquid alloy catalyst for efficient hydrogen production from methane pyrolysis.

Methane pyrolysis (MP) is a potential technology for CO-free hydrogen production that generates only solid carbon by-products. However, developing a highly efficient catalyst for stable methane pyrolysis at a moderate temperature has been challenging. We present a new and highly efficient catalyst created by modifying a Ni-Bi liquid alloy with the addition of Mo to produce a ternary NiMo-Bi liquid alloy catalyst (LAC).

Toward MBenes Battery Electrode Materials: Layered Molybdenum Borides for Li-Ion Batteries.

Lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries (LIBs and SIBs) are crucial in our shift toward sustainable technologies. In this work, the potential of layered boride materials (MoAlB and Mo AlB ) as novel, high-performance electrode materials for LIBs and SIBs, is explored. It is discovered that Mo AlB shows a higher specific capacity than MoAlB when used as an electrode material for LIBs, with a specific capacity of 593 mAh g achieved after 500 cycles at 200 mA g .

Tuning Bulk Redox and Altering Interfacial Reactivity in Highly Fluorinated Cation-Disordered Rocksalt Cathodes.

Lithium-excess, cation-disordered rocksalt (DRX) materials have been subject to intense scrutiny and development in recent years as potential cathode materials for Li-ion batteries. Despite their compositional flexibility and high initial capacity, they suffer from poorly understood parasitic degradation reactions at the cathode-electrolyte interface. These interfacial degradation reactions deteriorate both the DRX material and electrolyte, ultimately leading to capacity fade and voltage hysteresis during cycling.

Water-based 2-dimensional anatase TiO inks for printed diodes and transistors.

2-Dimensional (2D) materials are attracting strong interest in printed electronics because of their unique properties and easy processability, enabling the fabrication of devices with low cost and mass scalable methods such as inkjet printing. For the fabrication of fully printed devices, it is of fundamental importance to develop a printable dielectric ink, providing good insulation and the ability to withstand large electric fields. Hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) is typically used as a dielectric in printed devices.

The Emerging Layered Hydroxide Plates with Record Thickness for Enhanced High-Mass-Loading Energy Storage.

The past decade has witnessed the development of layered-hydroxide-based self-supporting electrodes, but the low active mass ratio impedes its all-around energy-storage applications. Herein, the intrinsic limit of layered hydroxides is broken by engineering F-substituted β-Ni(OH) (Ni-F-OH) plates with a sub-micrometer thickness (over 700 nm), producing a superhigh mass loading of 29.8 mg cm on the carbon substrate.

Designing Heteroatom-Codoped Iron Metal-Organic Framework for Promotional Photoreduction of Carbon Dioxide to Ethylene.

Rational engineering active sites and vantage defects of catalysts are promising but grand challenging task to enhance photoreduction CO to high value-added C2 products. In this study, we designed an N,S-codoped Fe-based MIL-88B catalyst with well-defined bipyramidal hexagonal prism morphology via a facile and effective process, which was synthesized by addition of appropriate 1,2-benzisothiazolin-3-one (BIT) and acetic acid to the reaction solution. Under simulated solar irradiation, the designed catalyst exhibits high C H evolution yield of 17.

Morphological Ordering of the Organic Layer for High-Performance Hybrid Thermoelectrics.

Inorganic-organic hybrids, such as Te-PEDOT:PSS core/shell nanowires, have emerged as a class of promising thermoelectric materials with combined attributes of mechanical flexibility and low cost. However, the poorly understood structure-property relationship calls for further investigation for performance enhancement. Here, through precise treatments of focused electron beam irradiation and thermal annealing on individual Te-PEDOT:PSS nanowires, new, nonchemical mechanisms are introduced to specifically engineer the organic phase, and the measured results provide an unprecedented piece of evidence, confirming the dominant role of organic shell in charge transport.

Hydrogen Storage in Partially Exfoliated Magnesium Diboride Multilayers.

Metal boride nanostructures have shown significant promise for hydrogen storage applications. However, the synthesis of nanoscale metal boride particles is challenging because of their high surface energy, strong inter- and intraplanar bonding, and difficult-to-control surface termination. Here, it is demonstrated that mechanochemical exfoliation of magnesium diboride in zirconia produces 3-4 nm ultrathin MgB nanosheets (multilayers) in high yield.

Tuning Phonon Energies in Lanthanide-doped Potassium Lead Halide Nanocrystals for Enhanced Nonlinearity and Upconversion.

Optical applications of lanthanide-doped nanoparticles require materials with low phonon energies to minimize nonradiative relaxation and promote nonlinear processes like upconversion. Heavy halide hosts offer low phonon energies but are challenging to synthesize as nanocrystals. Here, we demonstrate the size-controlled synthesis of low-phonon-energy KPb X (X=Cl, Br) nanoparticles and the ability to tune nanocrystal phonon energies as low as 128 cm .

Anisotropic Thermal Conductivity of Inkjet-Printed 2D Crystal Films: Role of the Microstructure and Interfaces.

Two-dimensional (2D) materials are uniquely suited for highly anisotropic thermal transport, which is important in thermoelectrics, thermal barrier coatings, and heat spreaders. Solution-processed 2D materials are attractive for simple, low-cost, and large-scale fabrication of devices on, virtually, any substrate. However, to date, there are only few reports with contrasting results on the thermal conductivity of graphene films, while thermal transport has been hardly measured for other types of solution-processed 2D material films.

A General Route to Flame Aerosol Synthesis and In Situ Functionalization of Mesoporous Silica.

Mesoporous silica is a versatile material for energy, environmental, and medical applications. Here, for the first time, we report a flame aerosol synthesis method for a class of mesoporous silica with hollow structure and specific surface area exceeding 1000 m  g . We show its superior performance in water purification, as a drug carrier, and in thermal insulation.