Measuring Attractive Interaction between a Self-Electrophoretic Micromotor and a Wall.

Chemically driven micromotors exhibit a pronounced affinity for nearby surfaces, yet the quantification of this motor-wall interaction strength remains unexplored in experiments. Here, we apply an external force to a self-electrophoretic micromotor which slides along a wall and measures the force necessary to disengage the motor from the wall. Our experiments unveil that the required disengaging force increases with the strength of chemical driving, often surpassing both the motor's effective gravity and its propulsive thrust.

Ultrafast Synthesis of Oxygen Vacancy-Rich MgFeSiO Cathode to Boost Diffusion Kinetics for Rechargeable Magnesium-Ion Batteries.

Rechargeable magnesium ion batteries (RMBs) have drawn extensive attention due to their high theoretical volumetric capacity and low safety hazards. However, divalent Mg ions suffer sluggish mobility in cathodes owing to the high charge density and slow insertion/extraction kinetics. Herein, it is shown that an ultrafast nonequilibrium high-temperature shock (HTS) method with a high heating/quenching rate can instantly introduce oxygen vacancies into the olivine-structured MgFeSiO cathode (MgFeSiO-HTS) in seconds.

Achieving Superior Thermoelectric Performance in Methoxy-Functionalized MXenes: The Role of Organic Functionalization.

Thermoelectric technology enables the direct and reversible conversion of heat into electrical energy without air pollution. Herein, the stability, electronic structure, and thermoelectric properties of methoxy-functionalized MC(OMe) (M = Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Y, Zr, Nb, Mo, Hf, Ta, and W) were systematically investigated using first-principles calculations and semiclassical Boltzmann transport theory. All MXenes, except those with M = Cr, Mo, and W, can be synthesized by substituting Cl- and Br-functionalized MXenes with deprotonated methanol, with stability governed by the M-O bond strength.

Source Material Design for Realizing >50% Indium-Saving Transparent Electrode toward Sustainable Development of Silicon Heterojunction Solar Cells.

Indium (In) reduction is a hot topic in transparent conductive oxide (TCO) research. So far, most strategies have been focused on reducing the layer thickness of In-based TCO films and exploring TCOs. However, no promising industrial solution has been obtained yet.

High-performance triboelectric nanogenerator employing a swing-induced counter-rotating motion mechanism and a dual potential energy storage and release strategy for wave energy harvesting.

The triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) has been proved to be a very promising marine energy harvesting technology. Herein, we have developed a high-performance triboelectric nanogenerator (SD-TENG) with low friction, high durability, swing-induced counter-rotating motion mechanism (SICRMM) and dual potential energy storage and release strategy (DPESRS). The unique counter-rotating motion mechanism enabled SD-TENG to convert the external linear and swing motion energy into rotation motion energy of the inner and outer cylinders, and then converted it into a controllable power output.

Lipophilicity Modulation of Fluorescent Probes for Imaging of Cellular Microvesicle Dynamics.

Real-time monitoring of dynamic microvesicles (MVs), vesicles associated with living cells, is of great significance in deeply understanding their origin, transport, and function. However, specific labeling MVs poses a challenge due to the lack of unique biomarkers that differentiate them from other cellular compartments. Here, we present a strategy to selectively label MVs by evaluating a series of lipid layer-sensitive cationic indolium-coumarin fluorescent probes (designated as IC-C, with ranging from 1 to 18) that feature varying aliphatic side chains (CH).

Designing Hybrid Plasmonic Superlattices with Spatially Confined Responsive Heterostructural Units.

Plasmonic superlattices enable the precise manipulation of electromagnetic fields at the nanoscale. However, the optical properties of static lattices are dictated by their geometry and cannot be reconfigured. Here, we present a surface-interface engineered plasmonic superlattice with confined polyelectrolyte-functionalized metal-organic framework (MOF) hybrid layers to tune plasmon resonance for ultrafast chemical sensing.

Rational design of stable carbon nitride monolayer membranes for highly controllable CO capture and separation from CH and CH.

CO capture and separation from natural and fuel gas are important industrial issues that refer to the control of CO emissions and the purification of target gases. Here, a novel non-planar g-CN monolayer that could be synthesized the supramolecular self-assembly strategy was identified using DFT calculations. The cohesive energy, phonon spectrum, BOMD, and mechanical stability criteria confirm the stability of the g-CN monolayer.

CuO-Superlattices Induced Oxygen Vacancy for Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance.

Metallic oxide can induce localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) through creating vacancies, which effectively achieve high carrier concentrations and offer advantages such as versatility and tunability. However, vacancies are typically created by altering the stoichiometric ratio of elements through doping, and it is challenging to achieve LSPR enhancement in the visible spectral range. Here, we have assembled CuO-superlattices to induce a high concentration of oxygen vacancies, resulting in LSPR within the visible spectrum.

Understanding the Dynamic Evolution of Active Sites among Single Atoms, Clusters, and Nanoparticles.

Catalysis remains a cornerstone of chemical research, with the active sites of catalysts being crucial for their functionality. Identifying active sites, particularly during the reaction process, is crucial for elucidating the relationship between a catalyst's structure and its catalytic property. However, the dynamic evolution of active sites within heterogeneous metal catalysts presents a substantial challenge for accurately pinpointing the real active sites.

Designing Carbon-Foam Composites via Molten-State Reduction for Multifunctional Electromagnetic Interference Shielding.

Advanced electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials are in great demand because of the severe electromagnetic population problem caused by the explosive growth of advanced electronics. Besides superior EMI shielding properties, the mechanical strength of the shielding materials is also critical for some specific application scenarios (e.g.

Highly Efficient Monolithic Perovskite/TOPCon Silicon Tandem Solar Cells Enabled by "Halide Locking".

Perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells (TSCs) are promising candidates for commercialization due to their outstanding power conversion efficiencies (PCEs). However, controlling the crystallization process and alleviating the phases/composition inhomogeneity represent a considerable challenge for perovskite layers grown on rough silicon substrates, ultimately limiting the efficiency and stability of TSC. Here, this study reports a "halide locking" strategy that simultaneously modulates the nucleation and crystal growth process of wide bandgap perovskites by introducing a multifunctional ammonium salt, thioacetylacetamide hydrochloride (TAACl), to bind with all types of cations and anions in the mixed halide perovskite precursor.

Optimal Method to Realize Quantitative Detection of 1D and 2D Nanoassemblies Based on AIE-Active Bolaamphiphilic Molecules.

Controllable transformation between the bolaamphiphilic molecule assemblies with different morphological nanostructures represents an exciting new direction for materials. However, there are still significant challenges for the quantitative detection and real-time monitoring of a controllable nanoself-assembly process due to insufficient measuring methods. Herein, we propose a new and effective fluorescence technology for realizing quantitative detection of a controllable conversion process of one-dimensional (1D)/two-dimensional (2D) nanoassemblies by introducing AIEgens as the fluorescence signal part.

Bioinspired Synthesis of High-Strength Bulk CO Mineralized Ceramics at Room Temperature.

Traditional high-temperature fabrication methods for ceramics suffer from significant energy consumption and limit the development of advanced ceramics incorporating temperature-sensitive materials. While bioinspired mineralization provides an effective strategy to realize the room-temperature preparation of ceramics, scaling up production remains a challenge. Herein, we demonstrate a room-temperature procedure for the fabrication of large-scale ceramics by using the carbonation reaction of sodium alginate (SA)-doped γ-dicalcium silicate (γ-CS) compacts.

Influence law of air flow and water immersion duration on the risk of secondary oxidation spontaneous combustion of coal.

To further elucidate the variations of secondary oxidation spontaneous combustion risk of lignite under different air flows and immersion time. Secondary oxidation experiments of short-term water-immersed coal and long-term water-immersed coal were conducted under four air flows. The results show that, the presence of a temperature inflection point during primary oxidation process, when coal temperature exceeds it, both the oxygen consumption rate and heat release intensity of long-term water-immersed coal are lower, furthermore, decrease in air flow leads to reduction in the temperature inflection point.

Electro-chemo-mechanics of anode-free solid-state batteries.

Anode-free solid-state batteries contain no active material at the negative electrode in the as-manufactured state, yielding high energy densities for use in long-range electric vehicles. The mechanisms governing charge-discharge cycling of anode-free batteries are largely controlled by electro-chemo-mechanical phenomena at solid-solid interfaces, and there are important mechanistic differences when compared with conventional lithium-excess batteries. This Perspective provides an overview of the factors governing lithium nucleation, growth, stripping and cycling in anode-free solid-state batteries, including mechanical deformation of lithium, the chemical and mechanical properties of the current collector, microstructural effects, and stripping dynamics.

Three-dimensional photoluminescence imaging of threading dislocations in GaN by sub-band optical excitation.

GaN is rapidly gaining attention for implementation in power electronics but is still impacted by its high density of threading dislocations (TDs), which have been shown to facilitate current leakage through devices limiting their performance and reliability. Here, we discuss a novel implementation of photoluminescence (PL) imaging to study TDs in regions within vertically structured p-i-n GaN (PIN) diodes consisting of metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) epitaxial layers grown on ammonothermal GaN (am-GaN) substrates. PL imaging with a sub-bandgap excitation energy (3.

High-entropy alloys catalyzing polymeric transformation of water pollutants with remarkably improved electron utilization efficiency.

High-entropy alloy nanoparticles (HEA-NPs) exhibit favorable properties in catalytic processes, as their multi-metallic sites ensure both high intrinsic activity and atomic efficiency. However, controlled synthesis of uniform multi-metallic ensembles at the atomic level remains challenging. This study successfully loads HEA-NPs onto a nitrogen-doped carbon carrier (HEAs) and pioneers the application in peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation to drive Fenton-like oxidation.

Electrolyte design for reversible zinc metal chemistry.

Metal anodes hold significant promise for next-generation energy storage, yet achieving highly reversible plating/stripping remains challenging due to dendrite formation and side reactions. Here we present a tailored electrolyte design to surpass 99.9% Coulombic efficiency (CE) in zinc metal anodes by co-engineering salts and solvents to address two critical factors: plating morphology and the anode-electrolyte interface.

Room-temperature creation and conversion of individual skyrmion bags in magnetic multilayered disks.

Skyrmion bags, with arbitrary topological charge Q, have recently attracted much interest, since such high-Q topological systems could open a way for topological magnetism research and are promising for spintronic applications with high flexibility for information encoding. Investigation on room-temperature skyrmion bags in magnetic multilayered structures is essential for applications and remains unexplored so far. Here, we demonstrate room-temperature creation and manipulation of individual skyrmion bags in magnetic multilayered disks.

All-solid-state batteries designed for operation under extreme cold conditions.

A pressing need for enhancing lithium-ion battery (LIB) performance exists, particularly in ensuring reliable operation under extreme cold conditions. All-solid-state batteries (ASSBs) offer a promising solution to the challenges posed by conventional LIBs with liquid electrolytes in low-temperature environments. In this study, leveraging the benefits of amorphous solid-state electrolytes (SSEs) xLiN-TaCl (1 ≤ 3x ≤ 2), we develop ASSBs capable of functioning effectively under extreme cold conditions.

Oriented wide-bandgap perovskites for monolithic silicon-based tandems with over 1000 hours operational stability.

The instability of hybrid wide-bandgap (WBG) perovskite materials (with bandgap larger than 1.68 eV) still stands out as a major constraint for the commercialization of perovskite/silicon tandem photovoltaics, yet its correlation with the facet properties of WBG perovskites has not been revealed. Herein, we combine experiments and theoretical calculations to comprehensively understand the facet-dependent instability of WBG perovskites.

Optimizing surface active sites via burying single atom into subsurface lattice for boosted methanol electrooxidation.

The precise fabrication and regulation of the stable catalysts with desired performance still challengeable for single atom catalysts. Here, the Ru single atoms with different coordination environment in NiFeN lattice are synthesized and studied as a typical case over alkaline methanol electrooxidation. The NiFeN with buried Ru atoms in subsurface lattice (NiFeN-Ru) exhibits high selectivity and Faradaic efficiency of methanol to formate conversion.

A multifunctional quasi-solid-state polymer electrolyte with highly selective ion highways for practical zinc ion batteries.

The uncontrolled dendrite growth and detrimental parasitic reactions of Zn anodes currently impede the large-scale implementation of aqueous zinc ion batteries. Here, we design a versatile quasi-solid-state polymer electrolyte with highly selective ion transport channels via molecular crosslinking of sodium polyacrylate, lithium magnesium silicate and cellulose nanofiber. The abundant negatively charged ionic channels modulate Zn desolvation process and facilitate ion transport.

Spin polarization induced by atomic strain of MBene promotes the ·O production for groundwater disinfection.

Superbugs in groundwater are posing severe health risks through waterborne pathways. An emerging approach for green disinfection lies at photocatalysis, which levers the locally generated superoxide radical (·O) for neutralization. However, the spin-forbidden feature of O hinders the photocatalytic generation of active ·O, and thus greatly limited the disinfection efficiency, especially for real groundwater with a low dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration.