A 1T'-MoTe/GaN van der Waals Schottky junction for self-powered UV imaging and optical communication.

Schottky-type self-powered UV photodetectors are promising for next-generation imaging systems. Nevertheless, conventional device fabrication using high-energy metal deposition brings unintentional interface defects, leading to deteriorated device performance and inhomogeneities. Emerging two-dimensional (2D) metallic materials offer an alternative pathway to overcoming such limitations because of their naturally passivated surfaces and the ease of combining with mature bulk semiconductors van der Waals (vdW) integration.

Solution-processed thickness engineering of tellurene for field-effect transistors and polarized infrared photodetectors.

Research on elemental 2D materials has been experiencing a renaissance in the past few years. Of particular interest is tellurium (Te), which possesses many exceptional properties for nanoelectronics, photonics, and beyond. Nevertheless, the lack of a scalable approach for the thickness engineering and the local properties modulation remains a major obstacle to unleashing its full device potential.

Molecular Tailoring of an n/p-type Phenothiazine Organic Scaffold for Zinc Batteries.

The p-type or n-type redox reactions of organics are being used as the reversible electrodes to build the next-generation rechargeable batteries with sustainable and tunable characteristics. However, the n-type organics that store cations generally exhibit low potential (<0.8 V vs.

Zinc-Organic Battery with a Wide Operation-Temperature Window from -70 to 150 °C.

Aqueous zinc (Zn) batteries have been considered as promising candidates for grid-scale energy storage. However, their cycle stability is generally limited by the structure collapse of cathode materials and dendrite formation coupled with undesired hydrogen evolution on the Zn anode. Herein we propose a zinc-organic battery with a phenanthrenequinone macrocyclic trimer (PQ-MCT) cathode, a zinc-foil anode, and a non-aqueous electrolyte of a N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) solution containing Zn .

Progress of Organic Electrodes in Aqueous Electrolyte for Energy Storage and Conversion.

Aqueous batteries using inorganic compounds as electrode materials are considered a promising solution for grid-scale energy storage, while wide application is limited by the short life and/or high cost of electrodes. Organics with carbonyl groups are being investigated as the alternative to inorganic electrode materials because they offer the advantages of tunable structures, renewability, and they are environmentally benign. Furthermore, the wide internal space of such organic materials enables flexible storage of various charged ions (for example, H , Li , Na , K , Zn , Mg , and Ca , and so on).

Binding Zinc Ions by Carboxyl Groups from Adjacent Molecules toward Long-Life Aqueous Zinc-Organic Batteries.

The newly emerged aqueous Zn-organic batteries are attracting extensive attention as a promising candidate for energy storage. However, most of them suffer from the unstable and/or soluble nature of organic molecules, showing limited cycle life (≤3000 cycles) that is far away from the requirement (10 000 cycles) for grid-scale energy storage. Here, a new aqueous zinc battery is proposed by using sulfur heterocyclic quinone dibenzo[b,i]thianthrene-5,7,12,14-tetraone (DTT) as the cathode.

An organic/inorganic electrode-based hydronium-ion battery.

Hydronium-ion batteries are regarded as one of the most promising energy technologies as next-generation power sources, benefiting from their cost effectivity and sustainability merits. Herein, we propose a hydronium-ion battery which is based on an organic pyrene-4,5,9,10-tetraone anode and an inorganic MnO@graphite felt cathode in an acid electrolyte. Its operation involves a quinone/hydroquinone redox reaction on anode and a MnO/Mn conversion reaction on cathode, in parallel with the transfer of HO between two electrodes.

Organic Cathode Materials for Rechargeable Zinc Batteries: Mechanisms, Challenges, and Perspectives.

Energy and environmental issues have given rise to the development of advanced energy-storage devices worldwide. Electrochemical energy technologies, such as rechargeable batteries, are considered to be the most reliable and efficient candidates. Compared with other batteries, zinc-based batteries seem promising due to their advantages, including inherent safety, cost-effectiveness, and environmentally friendliness.

Low-cost and high safe manganese-based aqueous battery for grid energy storage and conversion.

As an effective energy storage technology, rechargeable batteries have long been considered as a promising solution for grid integration of intermittent renewables (such as solar and wind energy). However, their wide application is still limited by safety issue and high cost. Herein, a new battery chemistry is proposed to satisfy the requirements of grid energy storage.

Organic Proton-Buffer Electrode to Separate Hydrogen and Oxygen Evolution in Acid Water Electrolysis.

Hydrogen production from water via electrolysis in acid is attracting extensive attention as an attractive alternative approach to replacing fossil fuels. However, the simultaneous evolution of H and O requires a fluorine-containing proton exchange membrane to prevent the gases from mixing while using the same space to concentrate the gases, which significantly increases the cost and reduces the flexibility of this approach. Here, a battery electrode based on the highly reversible enolization reaction of pyrene-4,5,9,10-tetraone is first introduced as a solid-state proton buffer to separate the O and H evolution of acidic water electrolysis in space and time, through which the gas mixing issue can be avoided without using any membrane.

An Environmentally Friendly and Flexible Aqueous Zinc Battery Using an Organic Cathode.

Rechargeable batteries have been used to power various electric devices and store energy from renewables, but their toxic components (namely, electrode materials, electrolyte, and separator) generally cause serious environment issues when disused. Such toxicity characteristic makes them difficult to power future wearable electronic devices. Now an environmentally friendly and highly safe rechargeable battery, based on a pyrene-4,5,9,10-tetraone (PTO) cathode and zinc anode in mild aqueous electrolyte is presented.

Integrating Desalination and Energy Storage using a Saltwater-based Hybrid Sodium-ion Supercapacitor.

Ever-increasing freshwater scarcity and energy crisis problems require efficient seawater desalination and energy storage technologies; however, each target is generally considered separately. Herein, a hybrid sodium-ion supercapacitor, involving a carbon-coated nano-NaTi (PO ) -based battery anode and an activated-carbon-based capacitive cathode, is developed to combine desalination and energy storage in one device. On charge, the supercapacitor removes salt in a flowing saltwater electrolyte through Cl electrochemical adsorption at the cathode and Na intercalation at the anode.

A clean and membrane-free chlor-alkali process with decoupled Cl and H/NaOH production.

Existing chlor-alkali processes generally use asbestos, mercury or fluorine-containing ion-exchange membranes to separate the simultaneous chlorine production on the anode and hydrogen production on the cathode, and form sodium hydroxide in the electrolyte. Here, using the Na de-intercalation/intercalation of a NaMnO electrode as a redox mediator, we decouple the chlor-alkali process into two independent steps: a H production step with the NaOH formation in the electrolyte and a Cl production step. The first step involves a cathodic H evolution reaction (HO → H) and an anodic Na de-intercalation reaction (NaMnO → NaMnO), during which NaOH is produced in the electrolyte solution.

TiPO and Expanded Graphite Nanocomposite as Anode Material for Aqueous Lithium-Ion Batteries.

This paper reports a facile sol-gel synthesis method to successfully prepare the TiPO/expanded graphite (EG) nanocomposite as an advanced anode material for aqueous lithium-ion batteries. The constructed TiPO nanocomposites (50-100 nm) are in situ encapsulated in the pore and layer structure of expanded graphite with good conductivity and high specific surface area. As a consequence, the resulting TiPO/EG electrode exhibits a reversible capacity of 66 mAh g at 0.