Dual Ionic Pathways in Semi-Solid Electrolyte based on Binary Metal-Organic Frameworks Enable Stable Operation of Li-Metal Batteries at Extremely High Temperatures.

The rapid development of the electronics market necessitates energy storage devices characterized by high energy density and capacity, alongside the ability to maintain stable and safe operation under harsh conditions, particularly elevated temperatures. In this study, a semi-solid-state electrolyte (SSSE) for Li-metal batteries (LMB) is synthesized by integrating metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) as host materials featuring a hierarchical pore structure. A trace amount of liquid electrolyte (LE) is entrapped within these pores through electrochemical activation.

Conductive Polyaniline-Indium Oxide Composite Films Prepared by Sequential Infiltration Synthesis for Electrochemical Energy Storage.

Composites of conductive polymers (CP) and metal oxides (MO) have attracted continued interest in the past decade for diverse application fields because the synergistic effects of CP and MO enable the realization of unusual electronic, electrochemical, catalytic, and mechanical properties of the composites. Herein, we present a novel method for the sequential infiltration synthesis of composite films of polyaniline (PANI) and indium oxide (InO ) with high electrical conductivities (4-9 S/cm). The synthesized composite films were composed of two phases of graded concentration: InO with oxygen vacancies and PANI with partially protonated molecular units.

Polymer Electrolyte/Sulfur Double-Shelled Anisotropic Reduced Graphene Oxide Lamellar Scaffold Enables Stable and High-Loading Cathode for Quasi-Solid-State Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

Lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs) can replace lithium-ion batteries by delivering a higher specific capacity. However, the areal capacity of current LSBs is low because the intrinsic limitations of sulfur make achieving a high sulfur loading difficult. Herein, the authors report vertically aligned reduced graphene oxide (rGO) with sulfur and poly(ethylene oxide)-based polymer electrolyte double-shell layers (VRG@S@PPE) as a high-loading sulfur cathode.

Synergetic Effect of Li-Ion Concentration and Triple Doping on Ionic Conductivity of LiLaZrO Solid Electrolyte.

LiLaZrO (LLZO) is a promising and safe solid electrolyte for all-solid-state batteries. To achieve high ionic conductivity of LLZO, stabilizing the cubic phase and reducing Li loss during the sintering process is essential. Therefore, reducing the sintering temperature, which increases the sintering time for high-density pellets, is necessary.

In Situ Conversion of Metal-Organic Frameworks into VO -V S Heterocatalyst Embedded Layered Porous Carbon as an "All-in-One" Host for Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

Although lithium-sulfur batteries exhibit a fivefold higher energy density than commercial lithium-ion batteries, their volume expansion and insulating nature, and intrinsic polysulfide shuttle have hindered their practical application. An alternative sulfur host is necessary to realize porous, conductive, and polar functions; however, there is a tradeoff among these three critical factors in material design. Here, the authors report a layered porous carbon (LPC) with VO /V S heterostructures using one-step carbonization-sulfidation of metal-organic framework templates as a sulfur host that meets all the criteria.

Extremely stretchable and self-healing conductor based on thermoplastic elastomer for all-three-dimensional printed triboelectric nanogenerator.

Advances in next-generation soft electronic devices rely on the development of highly deformable, healable, and printable energy generators to power these electronics. Development of deformable or wearable energy generators that can simultaneously attain extreme stretchability with superior healability remains a daunting challenge. We address this issue by developing a highly conductive, extremely stretchable, and healable composite based on thermoplastic elastomer with liquid metal and silver flakes as the stretchable conductor for triboelectric nanogenerators.

Finite element analysis of knee and ankle joint during gait based on motion analysis.

Contact pressures in the articular cartilage during gait affect injuries and the degenerative arthritis of knee and ankle joints. However, only contact forces at the knee and ankle joints during gait can be estimated by using a rigid body dynamic model. The contact pressure distribution can be obtained quantitatively for a static posture by using finite element (FE) analysis in most cases.

A Stretchable and Self-Healing Energy Storage Device Based on Mechanically and Electrically Restorative Liquid-Metal Particles and Carboxylated Polyurethane Composites.

Stretchable and self-healing (SH) energy storage devices are indispensable elements in energy-autonomous electronic skin. However, the current collectors are not self-healable nor intrinsically stretchable, they mostly rely on strain-accommodating structures that require complex processing, are often limited in stretchability, and suffer from low device packing density and fragility. Here, an SH conductor comprising nickel flakes, eutectic gallium indium particles (EGaInPs), and carboxylated polyurethane (CPU) is presented.

Coaxial Ag-base metal nanowire networks with high electrochemical stability for transparent and stretchable asymmetric supercapacitors.

Transparent and stretchable Ag-Ni and Ag-Fe core-shell nanowire networks were fabricated as a cathode and anode, respectively, for asymmetric supercapacitors. Both electrodes showed a reversible stretchability at up to 100% strain and exhibited high electrochemical stability and specific capacitances of ∼3 mF cm with 50% optical transmittance. The asymmetric device assembled with a PVA/KOH electrolyte demonstrated a high operating voltage of 1.

Enhanced Lithium Storage in Reduced Graphene Oxide-supported M-phase Vanadium(IV) Dioxide Nanoparticles.

Vanadium(IV) dioxide (VO2) has drawn attention as one of the most attractive electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), hence, much research has been conducted in various sectors in this field. However, to date, most of this research has focused on the VO2(B) polymorph, whereas electrochemical information on the use of VO2(M) in LIB electrodes is insufficient. Thus, it is worthwhile to explore the possibility of using VO2(M) for LIB electrode application, and to investigate whether its electrochemical properties can be improved.

Quantitative Evaluation of the Dispersion of Graphene Sheets With and Without Functional Groups Using Molecular Dynamics Simulations.

Nanofluids with enhanced thermal properties are candidates for thermal management in automotive systems, with scope for improving energy efficiency. In particular, many studies have reported on dispersions of nanoparticles with long-term stability in the base fluid, with qualitative evaluations of the dispersion stability via either the naked eye or optical instruments. Additives such as surfactants can be used to enhance the dispersion of nanoparticles; however, this may diminish their intrinsic thermal properties.

Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity of Ultrathin Ba5Nb4O15 Two-Dimensional Nanosheets.

Anisotropic two-dimensional (2D) nanosheets of the layered perovskite, Ba5Nb4O15, with thicknesses of 5-10 nm and lateral sizes of 300-1200 nm, were synthesized by a hydrothermal route. The influences of the 2D morphology of the material on the crystal and electronic structures, light absorption properties, and photocatalytic activity were investigated. The ultrathin nanosheets showed much-enhanced photocatalytic activity compared to both thick nanosheets (∼30 nm) and micrometer-sized particles for the evolution of H2 from water splitting under UV light illumination.

Three-dimensional hierarchical Li4Ti5O12 nanoarchitecture by a simple hydrothermal method.

The spinel Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) is a promising candidate as a superior electrode material for energy storage devices due to the extremely small volume expansion/contraction during the charge/discharge processes of a battery. There are various synthetic approaches for the nanostructured LTO electrode: sol-gel, sonochemical, solution-combustion, hydrothermal methods, and others. Herein, three-dimensional (3D) high-density heterogeneous LTO architectures are fabricated by employing the TiO2 nanorods (NRs) branched SnO2 nanowire (NW) arrays as the template.

Biomineralized multifunctional magnetite/carbon microspheres for applications in Li-ion batteries and water treatment.

Advanced functional materials incorporating well-defined multiscale architectures are a key focus for multiple nanotechnological applications. However, strategies for developing such materials, including nanostructuring, nano-/microcombination, hybridization, and so on, are still being developed. Here, we report a facile, scalable biomineralization process in which Micrococcus lylae bacteria are used as soft templates to synthesize 3D hierarchically structured magnetite (Fe3O4) microspheres for use as Li-ion battery anode materials and in water treatment applications.

High-areal-capacity lithium storage of the Kirkendall effect-driven hollow hierarchical NiS(x) nanoarchitecture.

Three-dimensional (3-D) architectures can provide significant advantages as lithium ion microbattery electrodes by lengthening the vertical dimension. In addition, the nanoscale hierarchy and hollow properties are important factors for enhancing the performance. Here, we prepared a 3-D nickel sulfide nanoarchitecture via a facile low-temperature solution route.

Transparent-conducting-oxide nanowire arrays for efficient photoelectrochemical energy conversion.

We report one dimensional (1-D) transparent-conducting-oxide arrays coated with light-absorbing semiconductors to simultaneously maximize light harvesting and charge collection in a photoelectrochemical (PEC) system. Tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) nanowire (NW) arrays are prepared on ITO thin-film substrates as the transparent-conducting-oxide, and TiO2 or CdSe/CdS/TiO2 thin layers were coated on the ITO NW arrays as the solar light-absorbing layers. The optimal PEC performance, 0.

Hierarchical assembly of TiO2-SrTiO3 heterostructures on conductive SnO2 backbone nanobelts for enhanced photoelectrochemical and photocatalytic performance.

Heterostructures can play a role in enhanced photoinduced electrochemical and catalytic reactions due to the advantageous combination of two compounds. Herein, we demonstrate the fabrication of Sb:SnO2@TiO2-SrTiO3 3D heterostructures via a simple hydrothermal method using a conductive Sb:SnO2@TiO2 nanobelt electrode as a template. XRD, FESEM, and TEM analyses confirm that a well-dispersed and crystalized SrTiO3 layer is formed on the surface of TiO2 nanorods.

Hydrated manganese(II) phosphate (Mn₃(PO₄)₂·3H₂O) as a water oxidation catalyst.

The development of a water oxidation catalyst has been a demanding challenge in realizing water splitting systems. The asymmetric geometry and flexible ligation of the biological Mn4CaO5 cluster are important properties for the function of photosystem II, and these properties can be applied to the design of new inorganic water oxidation catalysts. We identified a new crystal structure, Mn3(PO4)2·3H2O, that precipitates spontaneously in aqueous solution at room temperature and demonstrated its high catalytic performance under neutral conditions.

A ferroelectric photocatalyst for enhancing hydrogen evolution: polarized particulate suspension.

A particle-based photocatalyst with a permanent internal field prepared by a corona poling method is presented as a novel approach to enhance the hydrogen evolution reaction in a particulate-suspension system. Photocatalytic activity of K0.5Na0.

Enhanced performance of NaTaO3 using molecular co-catalyst [Mo3S4]4+ for water splitting into H2 and O2.

Photocatalytic activity of NaTaO(3) was significantly improved by using a molecular co-catalyst [Mo(3)S(4)](4+). Its hydrogen production rate is 28 times higher than pure NaTaO(3). This study presents the potential of bioinspired molecular metal clusters as efficient co-catalysts.

Fabrication of TiO2/Tin-doped indium oxide-based photoelectrode coated with overlayer materials and its photoelectrochemical behavior.

The photoelectrochemical properties of TiO2-based photoelectrodes with metal oxide overlayers (e.g., ZnO, ZrO2, MgO, and Al2O3) were investigated.

General strategy for fabricating transparent TiO2 nanotube arrays for dye-sensitized photoelectrodes: illumination geometry and transport properties.

We report on the preparation of transparent oriented titania nanotube (NT) photoelectrodes and the effect of illumination direction on light harvesting, electron transport, and recombination in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) incorporating these electrodes. High solar conversion efficiency requires that the incident light enters the cell from the photoelectrode side. However, it has been synthetically challenging to prepare transparent TiO(2) NT electrodes by directly anodizing Ti metal films on transparent conducting oxide (TCO) substrates because of the difficulties of controlling the synthetic conditions.