Preliminary exploration of the C-3 galloyl group and the B-5' hydroxyl group enhance the biological activity of catechins in alleviating obesity induced by high-fat diet in mice.

Catechins, among the most active components in tea, effectively alleviate obesity. Catechins are primarily classified into four types based on the presence or absence of the C-3 galloyl group and the B-5' hydroxyl group. However, the impact of conformation on the anti-obesity properties of catechins remains unclear.

In Situ Constructing of Rigid-Soft Coupling Solid-Electrolyte Interphase on Silicon Electrode toward High-Performance Lithium Ion Batteries.

The application of Si anodes is hindered by some critical issues such as large volume changes of bare Si and fragile solid-electrolyte interface (SEI), resulting in low coulombic efficiency and rapid capacity decay. Herein, a multifunctional SEI film with high content of LiF is in situ constructed via the surface grafting of carbon-fluorine functionalized groups on silicon nanoparticles (SiNPs) during cycling. Mechanical study demonstrates that the incorporation of LiF with high modulus and unbroken carbon-fluorine groups with highly elastic guarantee the rigid-soft coupling SEI film on Si electrode.

Manipulating Uniform Nucleation to Achieve Dendrite-Free Zn Anodes for Aqueous Zn-Ion Batteries.

The essence of Zn dendrite formation is ultimately derived from Zn nucleation and growth during the repeated Zn plating/stripping process. Here, the nucleation process of Zn has been analyzed using ex situ scanning electron microscopy to explore the formation of the initial Zn dendrite, demonstrating that the formation of tiny protrusions (the initial state of Zn dendrites) is caused by the inhomogeneity of Zn nucleation. Based on this, the uniform Zn nucleation is promoted by the NiZn alloy coating (ZnNi) on the surface of Zn foil by electrodeposition, and the mechanism of ZnNi-promoted even nucleation is further analyzed with the assistance of density functional theory (DFT).