Incorporation of High-Entropy Doped Microregions into 5 V Spinel Oxide for Ultra-Long Cycling Lifespan.

As a leading candidate for high-voltage, cobalt-free cathodes, spinel LiNiMnO (LNMO) oxide is highly attractive for next-generation lithium-ion batteries. However, the instability of cation-oxygen bonds (especially Mn-O) and the adverse two-phase transition of LNMO result in rapid crystal collapse during cycling, thus limiting its practical deployment. To address these issues, herein we exploit the differences in miscibility between dopants and the spinel matrix to embed high-entropy doped microregions (HEDRs, 5-15 nm in size) within the spinel.

Inducing preferential intercalation of Zn in MnO with abundant oxygen defects for high-performance aqueous zinc-ion batteries.

Unfavorable proton intercalation leading to the generation and shedding of side reaction products is still a major challenge for the performance of manganese-based aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs). In this study, we present a porous oxygen-deficient MnO (O-MnO) synthesized through -butyllithium reduction treatment to induce preferential Zn intercalation, thereby effectively mitigating the adverse consequences of proton intercalation for high-performance AZIBs. Remarkably, O-MnO as a cathode material for AZIBs exhibits a specific capacity of 341 mA h g at 0.

Molecular-Level Zn-Ion Transfer Pump Specifically Functioning on (002) Facets Enables Durable Zn Anodes.

The modification of metallic Zn anode contributes to solving the cycling issue of Zn-ion batteries (ZIBs) by restraining the dendrite growth and side reactions. In this regard, modulating (002) Zn is an effective way to prolong the lifespan of ZIBs with a parallel arrangement of Zn deposition. Herein, the authors propose to add trace amounts of Zn(BF ) additive in 3 M ZnSO to promote in-plane Zn deposition by forming a BF -[Zn(H O) ] -[Zn(BF ) ] transfer process and specifically functioning on (002) facets.

Charge-Gradient Hydrogels Enable Direct Zero Liquid Discharge for Hypersaline Wastewater Management.

Zero liquid discharge (ZLD), which maximizes water recovery and eliminates environmental impact, is an urgent wastewater management strategy for alleviating freshwater shortage. However, because of the high concentration of salts and broad-spectrum foulants in wastewater, a huge challenge for ZLD is lack of a robust membrane-based desalination technology that enables direct wastewater recovery without costly pretreatment processes. Here, a paradigm-shift membrane distillation (MD) strategy is presented, wherein the traditional hydrophobic porous membrane is replaced with a hydrophilic nonporous charge-gradient hydrogel (CGH) membrane that possesses hypersaline tolerance, fouling/scaling-free properties, and negligible vapor transfer resistance inside the membrane, simultaneously.

Thermosensitive crystallization-boosted liquid thermocells for low-grade heat harvesting.

Low-grade heat (below 373 kelvin) is abundant and ubiquitous but is mostly wasted because present recovery technologies are not cost-effective. The liquid-state thermocell (LTC), an inexpensive and scalable thermoelectric device, may be commercially viable for harvesting low-grade heat energy if its Carnot-relative efficiency (η) reaches ~5%, which is a challenging metric to achieve experimentally. We used a thermosensitive crystallization and dissolution process to induce a persistent concentration gradient of redox ions, a highly enhanced Seebeck coefficient (~3.