Molecular Chain Rearrangement of Natural Cellulose-Based Artificial Interphase for Ultra-Stable Zn Metal Anodes.

The unstable electrolyte-anode interface, plagued by parasitic side reactions and uncontrollable dendrite growth, severely hampers the practical implementation of aqueous zinc-ion batteries. To address these challenges, we developed a regenerated cellulose-based artificial interphase with synergistically optimized structure and surface chemistry on the Zn anode (RC@Zn), using a facile molecular chain rearrangement strategy. This RC interphase features a drastically increased amorphous region and more exposed active hydroxyl groups, facilitating rapid Zn diffusion and homogeneous Zn interface distribution, thereby enabling dendrite-free Zn deposition.

Designing Cooperative Ion Transport Pathway in Ultra-Thin Solid-State Electrolytes toward Practical Lithium Metal Batteries.

Solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) are promising for high-energy-density solid-state Li metal batteries due to their decent flexibility, safety, and interfacial stability. However, their development was seriously hindered by the interfacial instability and limited conductivity, leading to inferior electrochemical performance. Herein, we proposed to design ultra-thin solid-state electrolyte with long-range cooperative ion transport pathway to effectively increase the ionic conductivity and stability.

AMPLIFY: attention-based mixup for performance improvement and label smoothing in transformer.

Mixup is an effective data augmentation method that generates new augmented samples by aggregating linear combinations of different original samples. However, if there are noises or aberrant features in the original samples, mixup may propagate them to the augmented samples, leading to over-sensitivity of the model to these outliers. To solve this problem, this paper proposes a new mixup method called AMPLIFY.

Weighted Signed Networks Reveal Interactions between US Foreign Exchange Rates.

Correlations between exchange rates are valuable for illuminating the dynamics of international trade and the financial dynamics of countries. This paper explores the changing interactions of the US foreign exchange market based on detrended cross-correlation analysis. First, we propose an objective way to choose a time scale parameter appropriate for comparing different samples by maximizing the summed magnitude of all DCCA coefficients.

STTA: enhanced text classification via selective test-time augmentation.

Test-time augmentation (TTA) is a well-established technique that involves aggregating transformed examples of test inputs during the inference stage. The goal is to enhance model performance and reduce the uncertainty of predictions. Despite its advantages of not requiring additional training or hyperparameter tuning, and being applicable to any existing model, TTA is still in its early stages in the field of NLP.

Regulation of Outer Solvation Shell Toward Superior Low-Temperature Aqueous Zinc-Ion Batteries.

Aqueous Zn-ion batteries are well regarded among a next-generation energy-storage technology due to their low cost and high safety. However, the unstable stripping/plating process leading to severe dendrite growth under high current density and low temperature impede their practical application. Herein, it is demonstrated that the addition of 2-propanol can regulate the outer solvation shell structure of Zn by replacing water molecules to establish a "eutectic solvation shell", which provides strong affinity with the Zn (101) crystalline plane and fast desolvation kinetics during the plating process, rendering homogeneous Zn deposition without dendrite formation.

"Tree-Trunk" Design for Flexible Quasi-Solid-State Electrolytes with Hierarchical Ion-Channels Enabling Ultralong-Life Lithium-Metal Batteries.

The construction of robust (quasi)-solid-state electrolyte (SSE) for flexible lithium-metal batteries is desirable but extremely challenging. Herein, a novel, flexible, and robust quasi-solid-state electrolyte (QSSE) with a "tree-trunk" design is reported for ultralong-life lithium-metal batteries (LMBs). An in-situ-grown metal-organic framework (MOF) layer covers the cellulose-based framework to form hierarchical ion-channels, enabling rapid ionic transfer kinetics and excellent durability.

Bioinspired Tough Solid-State Electrolyte for Flexible Ultralong-Life Zinc-Air Battery.

Manufacturing advanced solid-state electrolytes (SSEs) for flexible rechargeable batteries becomes increasingly important but remains grand challenge. The sophisticated structure of robust animal dermis and good water-retention of plant cell in nature grant germane inspirations for designing high-performance SSEs. Herein, tough bioinspired SSEs with intrinsic hydroxide ion (OH ) conduction are constructed by in situ formation of OH conductive ionomer network within a hollow-polymeric-microcapsule-decorated hydrogel polymer network.

2D Materials for All-Solid-State Lithium Batteries.

Although one of the most mature battery technologies, lithium-ion batteries still have many aspects that have not reached the desired requirements, such as energy density, current density, safety, environmental compatibility, and price. To solve these problems, all-solid-state lithium batteries (ASSLB) based on lithium metal anodes with high energy density and safety have been proposed and become a research hotpot in recent years. Due to the advanced electrochemical properties of 2D materials (2DM), they have been applied to mitigate some of the current problems of ASSLBs, such as high interface impedance and low electrolyte ionic conductivity.

Two-dimensional nanochannel membranes for molecular and ionic separations.

Two-dimensional (2D) nanosheets have emerged as promising functional materials owing to their atomic thickness and unique physical/chemical properties. By using 2D nanosheets as building blocks, diverse kinds of two-dimensional nanochannel membranes (2DNCMs) are being actively explored, in which mass transport occurs in the through-plane and interlayer channels of 2D nanosheets. The rational construction and physical/chemical microenvironment regulation of nanochannels are of vital significance for translating these 2D nanosheets into molecular separation membranes and ionic separation membranes.

Covalent organic framework membranes through a mixed-dimensional assembly for molecular separations.

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) hold great promise in molecular separations owing to their robust, ordered and tunable porous network structures. Currently, the pore size of COFs is usually much larger than most small molecules. Meanwhile, the weak interlamellar interaction between COF nanosheets impedes the preparation of defect-free membranes.

Channel-facilitated molecule and ion transport across polymer composite membranes.

Biological membranes possess hierarchical channels and thus exhibit ultrahigh permselectivity for molecules and ions. Intrigued by the delicate structure and transport mechanisms in biochannels, polymer composite membranes with selective transport channels are successfully fabricated for diverse energy- and environment-related applications. This tutorial review aims to present the latest progress in the design and construction of selective molecule/ion transport channels within polymer composite membranes with emphasis on the regulation of the physical and chemical microenvironments of these channels.

Graphene Oxide Membranes with Heterogeneous Nanodomains for Efficient CO Separations.

Achieving high membrane performance in terms of gas permeance and carbon dioxide selectivity is an important target in carbon capture. Aiming to manipulate the channel affinity towards CO to implement efficient separations, gas separation membranes containing CO -philic and non-CO -philic nanodomains in the interlayer channels of graphene oxide (GO) were formed by intercalating poly(ethylene glycol) diamines (PEGDA). PEGDA reacts with epoxy groups on the GO surface, constructing CO -philic nanodomains and rendering a high sorption capacity, whereas unreacted GO surfaces give non-CO -philic nanodomains, rendering low-friction diffusion.