Hierarchical Porous Molybdenum Carbide Based Nanomaterials for Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Production.

The electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) for the preparation of hydrogen fuel is a very promising technology to solve the shortage of hydrogen storage. However, in practical applications, HER catalysts with excellent performance and moderate price are very rare. Molybdenum carbide (MoC) has attracted extensive attention due to its electronic structure and natural abundance.

Macroscopic two-dimensional monolayer films of gold nanoparticles: fabrication strategies, surface engineering and functional applications.

In the last few decades, two-dimensional monolayer films of gold nanoparticles (2D MFGS) have attracted increasing attention in various fields, due to their superior attributes of macroscopic size and accessible fabrication, controllable electromagnetic enhancement, distinctive optical harvesting and electron transport capabilities. This review will focus on the recent progress of 2D monolayer films of gold nanoparticles in construction approaches, surface engineering strategies and functional applications in the optical and electric fields. The research challenges and prospective directions of 2D MFGS are also discussed.

Overview of Polyvinyl Alcohol Nanocomposite Hydrogels for Electro-Skin, Actuator, Supercapacitor and Fuel Cell.

The properties of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) nanocomposite hydrogels influenced by nanoparticles are reviewed. Various kinds of nanoparticles with excellent mechanical and electrical properties have been introduced into PVA hydrogel to produce stretchable and conductive PVA nanocomposite hydrogel. Understanding the mechanism between the matrix of PVA hydrogel and nanoparticles is therefore critical for the development of PVA nanocomposite hydrogels.

A High-Capacity Ammonium Vanadate Cathode for Zinc-Ion Battery.

Given the advantages of being abundant in resources, environmental benign and highly safe, rechargeable zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) enter the global spotlight for their potential utilization in large-scale energy storage. Despite their preliminary success, zinc-ion storage that is able to deliver capacity > 400 mAh g remains a great challenge. Here, we demonstrate the viability of NHVO (NVO) as high-capacity cathode that breaks through the bottleneck of ZIBs in limited capacity.

Enteromorpha prolifera polysaccharide based coagulant aid for humic acids removal and ultrafiltration membrane fouling control.

Polyacrylamide (PAM) has been used as a coagulant aid in water treatment process for past decades, but it has caused great damages to human nervous system. Developing new coagulant aid with high biological safety is urgently demanded. This study provides a natural biomacromolecule coagulant aid with good biosecurity-Enteromorpha prolifera polysaccharide (Ep).

Boosting Multiple Interfaces by Co-Doped Graphene Quantum Dots for High Efficiency and Durability Perovskite Solar Cells.

Organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite solar cells (PSCs), as the most rapidly developing next-generation thin-film photovoltaic technology, have attracted extensive research interest, yet their efficiency, scalability, and durability remain challenging. α-FeO could be used as an electron transporting layer (ETL) of planar PSCs, which exhibits a much higher humidity and UV light-stability compared to TiO-based planar PSCs. However, the photovoltaic conversion efficiency (PCE) of the FeO-based device was still below 15% because of poor interface contact between α-FeO and perovskite and poor crystal quality of perovskites.

Ionic Liquid Assisted Electrospinning of Porous LiFe Mn PO /CNFs as Free-Standing Cathodes with a Pseudocapacitive Contribution for High-Performance Lithium-Ion Batteries.

In pursuit of high-performance cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries with high energy and power densities, porous LiFe Mn PO /CNF free-standing electrodes have been successfully prepared through a facile ionic liquid (IL) assisted electrospinning method. Owing to the hierarchical porosity and N-doped carbon layer derived from the ionic liquid, the resulting electrodes exhibited superior electrochemical performances with an improvement of conductivity and pseudocapacitive contribution, delivering a discharge capability of 162.7, 133.

Macroscopic Au@PANI Core/Shell Nanoparticle Superlattice Monolayer Film with Dual-Responsive Plasmonic Switches.

The self-assembled gold nanoparticle (NP) superlattice displays unusual but distinctive features such as high mechanical and free-standing performance, electrical conductivity, and plasmonic properties, which are widely employed in various applications especially in biological diagnostics and optoelectronic devices. For a two-dimensional (2D) superlattice monolayer film composed of a given metal nanostructure, it is rather challenging to tune either its plasmonic properties or its optical properties in a reversible way, and it has not been reported. It is therefore of significant value to construct a free-standing 2D superlattice monolayer film of gold nanoparticles with an intelligent response and desired functions.

Hyperaccumulation Route to Ca-Rich Hard Carbon Materials with Cation Self-Incorporation and Interlayer Spacing Optimization for High-Performance Sodium-Ion Batteries.

The hard carbon (HC) has been emerging as one of the most promising anode materials for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). Incorporation of cations into the HC lattice proved to be effective to regulate their -interlayer spacing with a modified SIB performance. However, the complexity and high cost of current synthetic processes limited its large-scale application in SIBs.

Ultrathin 2D Metal-Organic Framework Nanosheets In situ Interpenetrated by Functional CNTs for Hybrid Energy Storage Device.

Unlabelled: The ultrathin nickel metal–organic framework (MOF) nanosheets in situ interpenetrated by functional carboxylated carbon nanotubes (C-CNTs) were successfully constructed. The incorporated C-CNTs effectively adjust the layer thickness of Ni-MOF nanosheets. The integrated hybrid MOF nanosheets delivered the boosted electrochemical performances and exhibited superior specific capacity of 680 C g at 1 A g.

Antiferromagnetic Inverse Spinel Oxide LiCoVO with Spin-Polarized Channels for Water Oxidation.

Exploring highly efficient catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is essential for water electrolysis. Cost-effective transition-metal oxides with reasonable activity are raising attention. Recently, OER reactants' and products' differing spin configurations have been thought to cause slow reaction kinetics.

Laccase immobilized polyaniline/magnetic graphene composite electrode for detecting hydroquinone.

Magnetic graphene nanocomposites were prepared by hydrothermal synthesis, and aniline polymerization was initiated by magnetic graphene. These polyaniline/magnetic graphene (PANI/MG) composites were used to immobilize laccase to construct biosensors. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and infrared spectroscopy (IR) were used to characterize these composites.

A High-Temperature Na-Ion Battery: Boosting the Rate Capability and Cycle Life by Structure Engineering.

High-temperature sodium ion batteries (SIBs) have drawn significant heed recently for large-scale energy storage. Yet, conventional SIBs are in the depths of inferior charge/discharge efficiency and cyclability at elevated temperatures. Rational structure design is highly desirable.

N self-doped ZnO derived from microwave hydrothermal synthesized zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 toward enhanced photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue.

The precursor particles were successfully prepared by a facile microwave hydrothermal method. Compared with solvothermal and precipitation method, microwave hydrothermal method can greatly shorten the reaction time and increase the product yields. Nitrogen (N) doped zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles were derived via one-step controllable pyrolysis of zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (Zif-8) precursors under 550 °C.

Advances in Template Prepared Nano-Oxides and their Applications: Polluted Water Treatment, Energy, Sensing and Biomedical Drug Delivery.

The nano-oxide materials with special structures prepared by template methods have a good dispersion, regular structures and high specific surface areas. Therefore, in some areas, improved properties are observed than conventional bulk oxide materials. For example, in the treatment of dye wastewater, the treatment efficiency of adsorbents and catalytic materials prepared by template method was about 30 % or even higher than that of conventional samples.

Antifouling and antibacterial behaviors of capsaicin-based pH responsive smart coatings in marine environments.

Antifouling biocides releasing restricts the longevity of antifouling coatings. Compared with the anchoring state, the releasing behavior of agents is much faster on the voyage, while the biofouling process is tougher. In this work, a series of capsaicin-based pH-triggered polyethylene glycol/capsaicin@chitosan (PEG/CAP@CS), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/CAP@CS and alginate (ALG)/CAP@CS multilayer films are prepared with controlling antimicrobial properties in marine environments.

Nanowrinkled Carbon Aerogels Embedded with FeN Sites as Effective Oxygen Electrodes for Rechargeable Zinc-Air Battery.

Rational design of single-metal atom sites in carbon substrates by a flexible strategy is highly desired for the preparation of high-performance catalysts for metal-air batteries. In this study, biomass hydrogel reactors are utilized as structural templates to prepare carbon aerogels embedded with single iron atoms by controlled pyrolysis. The tortuous and interlaced hydrogel chains lead to the formation of abundant nanowrinkles in the porous carbon aerogels, and single iron atoms are dispersed and stabilized within the defective carbon skeletons.

Cryopolymerization enables anisotropic polyaniline hybrid hydrogels with superelasticity and highly deformation-tolerant electrochemical energy storage.

The development of energy storage devices that can endure large and complex deformations is central to emerging wearable electronics. Hydrogels made from conducting polymers give rise to a promising integration of high conductivity and versatility in processing. However, the emergence of conducting polymer hydrogels with a desirable network structure cannot be readily achieved using conventional polymerization methods.

Optimizing the Void Size of Yolk-Shell Bi@Void@C Nanospheres for High-Power-Density Sodium-Ion Batteries.

Bismuth (Bi) has been demonstrated as a promising anode for Na-ion batteries (NIBs) because it has high gravimetry (386 mA h g) and volumetric capacity (3800 mA h cm). However, Bi suffers from large volume expansion during sodiation, leading to poor electrochemical performance. The construction of a nanostructure with sufficient void space to accommodate the volume change has been proven effective for achieving prolonged cycling stability.

Topotactic Transformation Synthesis of 2D Ultrathin GeS Nanosheets toward High-Rate and High-Energy-Density Sodium-Ion Half/Full Batteries.

Currently, development of metal sulfide anodes for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) with high capacity, fast charging/discharging, and good cycling performance continues to present a great challenge. Hence, a topochemical conversion strategy is reported to fabricate 2D ultrathin GeS nanosheets (thickness: ∼1.2 nm) as the potential anodes for sodium storage.

Design and Synthesis of a Reduced Graphene Oxide/Patronite Composite with Enhanced Lithium-Ion Storage Performance.

The construction of graphene-based composites is a novel electrode material design strategy and has become a promising field in new energy material research. However, the rational design principle is still poorly understood, and the synthetic technology urgently needs to be expanded. Here, a novel strategy for the synthesis of a reduced graphene oxide (rGO)/VS nanoparticle (NP) composite is reported using an ionic liquid (IL)-assisted hydrothermal method.

A Dual-Functional Conductive Framework Embedded with TiN-VN Heterostructures for Highly Efficient Polysulfide and Lithium Regulation toward Stable Li-S Full Batteries.

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries are strongly considered as next-generation energy storage systems because of their high energy density. However, the shuttling of lithium polysulfides (LiPS), sluggish reaction kinetics, and uncontrollable Li-dendrite growth severely degrade the electrochemical performance of Li-S batteries. Herein, a dual-functional flexible free-standing carbon nanofiber conductive framework in situ embedded with TiN-VN heterostructures (TiN-VN@CNFs) as an advanced host simultaneously for both the sulfur cathode (S/TiN-VN@CNFs) and the lithium anode (Li/TiN-VN@CNFs) is designed.

High-Performance Wearable Strain Sensor Based on Graphene/Cotton Fabric with High Durability and Low Detection Limit.

Electronic textiles featuring a controllable strain sensing capability and comfortable wearability have attracted huge interests with the rapid development of wearable strain sensor systems. It is still a great challenge to simultaneously achieve a strain sensor with low cost, biocompatibility, large-area compatibility, and excellent sensing performances. Here, two kinds of cotton fabric-based strain sensors (CFSSs) with different conductive network structures are prepared, i.

Asymmetrical Molecular Decoration of Gold Nanorods for Engineering of Shape-Controlled AuNR@Ag Core-Shell Nanostructures.

Gold-silver (Au@Ag) core-shell nanostructures have a stronger surface plasma response, wider absorption and scattering in the UV-vis-NIR region, and distinctive optical properties, which are widely explored in biosensors, information processing, photothermal therapy, and catalysis. Core-shell nanostructures are usually formed by the deposition of the second metal atoms onto the first core metal particles via the chemical wet method. The conventional approaches for the manipulation of the shape usually were done by homogeneous growth or etching of isotropic nanoparticles.

Magnetic nanocellulose-magnetite aerogel for easy oil adsorption.

Hypothesis: Cellulose aerogels are a new category of high-efficiency adsorbents for treating oil spills and water pollution. However, the hydrophilic properties and recyclability of aerogels after adsorption hamper developments and applications. Combining both hydrophobic and magnetic properties are expected to improve their adsorption capacity and functionality.