Enhanced Sulfur Transformation by Multifunctional FeS/FeS/S Composites for High-Volumetric Capacity Cathodes in Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

Lithium-sulfur batteries are currently being explored as promising advanced energy storage systems due to the high theoretical specific capacity of sulfur. However, achieving a scalable synthesis for the sulfur electrode material whilst maintaining a high volumetric energy density remains a serious challenge. Here, a continuous ball-milling route is devised for synthesizing multifunctional FeS/FeS/S composites for use as high tap density electrodes.

A Praline-Like Flexible Interlayer with Highly Mounted Polysulfide Anchors for Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

The development of lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries is dogged by the rapid capacity decay arising from polysulfide dissolution and diffusion in organic electrolytes. To solve this critical issue, a praline-like flexible interlayer consisting of high-loading titanium oxide (TiO ) nanoparticles and relatively long carbon nanofibers is fabricated. TiO nanoparticles with a size gradient occupy both the external and internal of carbon fiber and serve as anchors that allow the chemical adsorption of polysulfides through a conductive nanoarchitecture.

A universal synthetic route to carbon nanotube/transition metal oxide nano-composites for lithium ion batteries and electrochemical capacitors.

We report a simple synthetic approach to coaxially grow transition metal oxide (TMO) nanostructures on carbon nanotubes (CNT) with ready control of phase and morphology. A thin (~4 nm) sulfonated-polystyrene (SPS) pre-coating is essential for the deposition of transition metal based materials. This layer has abundant sulfonic groups (-SO) that can effectively attract Ni, Co, Zn ions through electrostatic interaction and induce them via hydrolysis, dehydration and recrystallization to form coaxial (NiO, CoO, NiCoO and ZnCoO) shells and a nanosheet-like morphology around CNT.

Uptake and toxicity studies of poly-acrylic acid functionalized silicon nanoparticles in cultured mammalian cells.

Poly-acrylic acid (PAAc) terminated silicon nanoparticles (SiNPs) have been synthesized and employed as a synchronous fluorescent signal indicator in a series of cultured mammalian cells: HHL5, HepG2 and 3T3-L1. Their biological effects on cell growth and proliferation in both human and mouse cell lines have been studied. There was no evidence of in vitro cytotoxity in the cells exposed to PAAc terminated SiNPS when assessed by cell morphology, cell proliferation and viability, and DNA damage assays.

Highly luminescent and nontoxic amine-capped nanoparticles from porous silicon: synthesis and their use in biomedical imaging.

Stable and brightly luminescent amine-terminated Si nanoparticles (SiNPs) have been synthesized from electrochemically etched porous silicon (PSi). The surface amine termination was confirmed by FTIR, NMR, and XPS studies. The mean diameter of the crystal core of 4.

Evaporation and deposition of alkyl-capped silicon nanocrystals in ultrahigh vacuum.

Nanocrystals are under active investigation because of their interesting size-dependent properties and potential applications. Silicon nanocrystals have been studied for possible uses in optoelectronics, and may be relevant to the understanding of natural processes such as lightning strikes. Gas-phase methods can be used to prepare nanocrystals, and mass spectrometric techniques have been used to analyse Au and CdSe clusters.