Flow-induced-crystallization: tailoring host-guest supramolecular co-assemblies at the liquid-solid interface.

Here, we report that using the method of simply contacting a sample solution droplet with a piece of tissue paper can create a solvent flow (capillary force). During this process, the dynamics and solvent removal can promote the formation and stabilization of a meta-stable linear quasi-crystal composed of -terphenyl-3,5,3',5'-tetracarboxylic acid (TPTC) molecules, which would otherwise pack into thermodynamically favored random tiling. The tailored quasi-crystal (linear) template allows atop it higher-efficiency accommodation of fullerene molecules (C) from 40.

Hydrazine Hydrate-Induced Surface Modification of CdS Electron Transport Layer Enables 10.30%-Efficient Sb(S,Se) Planar Solar Cells.

Antimony selenosulfide (Sb(S,Se)), a simple alloyed compound containing earth-abundant constituents, with a tunable bandgap and high absorption coefficient has attracted significant attention in high-efficiency photovoltaic applications. Optimizing interfacial defects and absorber layers to a high standard is essential in improving the efficiency of Sb(S,Se) solar cells. In particular, the electron transport layer (ETL) greatly affects the final device performance of the superstrate structure.

A hybrid composite of HVO and graphene for aqueous lithium-ion batteries with enhanced electrochemical performance.

Aqueous rechargeable lithium-ion batteries (ARLBs) are regarded as a competitive challenger for large-scale energy storage systems because of their high safety, modest cost, and green nature. A kind of modified composite material composed of HVO nanorods and graphene sheets (HVO/G) has been effectively made by a one-step hydrothermal method and following calcination at 523 K. XRD, SEM, TEM, and TG are used to determine the phase structures and morphologies of the composite materials.

Understanding of physicochemical properties and antioxidant activity of ovalbumin-sodium alginate composite nanoparticle-encapsulated kaempferol/tannin acid.

In this research, ovalbumin (OVA) and sodium alginate (SA) were used as the materials to prepare an OVA-SA composite carrier, which protected and encapsulated the hydrophobic kaempferol (KAE) and the hydrophilic tannic acid (TA) (OVA-SA, OVA-TA-SA, OVA-KAE-SA, and OVA-TA-KAE-SA). Results showed that the observation of small diffraction peaks in carriers proved the successful encapsulation of KAE/TA. The protein conformation of the composite nanoparticles changed.

Relationship between molecular properties and degradation mechanisms of organic solar cells based on bis-adducts of phenyl-C butyric acid methyl ester.

Environmental stability remains a major challenge for the commercialisation of organic solar cells and degradation pathways remain poorly understood. Designing materials for improved device stability requires an understanding of the relationship between the properties of the donor or acceptor molecule and different degradation mechanisms. Here we study the correlations between various molecular parameters of the fullerene derivative bis-PCBM and the degradation rate of polymer:bis-PCBM organic solar cells, based on the same carbazole--benzothiadiazole polymer, in aerobic and anaerobic conditions.

A cell membrane-targeting AIE photosensitizer as a necroptosis inducer for boosting cancer theranostics.

The exploration of cellular organelle-specific anchoring photosensitizers with both prominent fluorescence imaging behavior and extraordinary reactive oxygen species (ROS) production capability is highly in demand but remains a severe challenge for effective cancer theranostics involving photodynamic therapy (PDT). In this contribution, we developed a cell membrane-targeting and NIR-emission photosensitizer having an aggregation-induced emission (AIE) tendency. The AIE photosensitizer, namely TBMPEI, is capable of lighting up and ablating cancer cells by means of a necroptosis procedure enabling cell membrane rupture and DNA degradation upon light irradiation, endowing TBMPEI with impressive performance for both and fluorescence imaging-guided PDT.

Experimental and molecular dynamics study into the surfactant effect upon coal wettability.

In order to improve the wettability and permeability of coal seams, the water injection efficiency of coal seams has to be boosted, the amount of dust generation has to be reduced, and coal and gas outburst must be prevented, and a surfactant is used to modulate the coal surface wettability. In this work, taking coal samples from Pingdingshan mine in Henan as the research object, their surface chemistry was initially scrutinized and then coal surface engineering surfactants was inspected by a contact angle test. The coal wettability was ameliorated with surfactants, particularly using the 1 wt% non-ionic surfactant Triton X-100, which elicited a 47% lower contact angle than the raw coal.

A novel MnO-CrN nanocomposite based non-enzymatic hydrogen peroxide sensor.

A MnO-CrN composite was obtained the ammonolysis of the low-cost nitride precursors Cr(NO)·9HO and Mn(NO)·4HO at 800 °C for 8 h using a sol-gel method. The specific surface area of the synthesized powder was measured BET analysis and it was found to be 262 m g. Regarding its application, the electrochemical sensing performance toward hydrogen peroxide (HO) was studied applying cyclic voltammetry (CV) and amperometry (-) analysis.

A multi-color persistent luminescent phosphor β-NaYF:RE (RE = Sm, Tb, Dy, Pr) for dynamic anti-counterfeiting.

Conventional luminescent materials generally exhibit uni-color and transient emission under UV excitation, which makes them mediocre in the field of anti-counterfeiting. The high-level anti-counterfeiting techniques are always becoming more complicated and in need of multi-color and persistent luminescent materials. Herein, we report a series of β-NaYF:RE (RE = Sm, Tb, Dy, Pr) persistent luminescent phosphors with multi-color emitting and ultra-long persistent luminescence under the irradiation of X-rays.

Study on SO and Cl sensor application of 2D PbSe based on first principles calculations.

In this paper, we use 2D PbSe to design a gas sensor to monitor the presence of SO and Cl. We use first principles to verify the feasibility of this material, such as atomic structure, band gap, differential charge density and Bader charge. The results show that 2D PbSe can distinctly adsorb SO and Cl.

Modeling the air pollutant concentration near a cement plant co-processing wastes.

In this study, for the first time, we conducted full life-cycle studies on pollutants in a cement plant co-processing hazardous waste (HW) the combined use of thermodynamic equilibrium calculations and the American Meteorological Society/Environmental Protection Regulatory Model. Results showed that the potential toxic elements (PTEs) can be classified into three categories: (1) non-volatized elements, Co; (2) semi-volatized elements, Cr and Ni; and (3) volatized elements, Cd, Pb and As. Besides, the spatial distributions of pollutants were strongly influenced by the prevalent wind direction and the size of the particulate matter they were absorbed on.

An aggregation-induced emission platform for efficient Golgi apparatus and endoplasmic reticulum specific imaging.

As two important subcellular organelles in eukaryotic cells, the Golgi apparatus (GA) and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) have recently captivated much interest due to their considerable importance in many biofunctions and role as critical biomarkers for various diseases. The development of efficient GA- and ER-specific probes is of great significance, but remains an appealing yet significantly challenging task. Herein, we reported for the first time the construction of an aggregation-induced emission (AIE) platform for GA and ER fluorescent probes, termed as AIE-GA and AIE-ER, by facile synthesis and simple functionalization.

High-Performance Ammonium Cobalt Phosphate Nanosheet Electrocatalyst for Alkaline Saline Water Oxidation.

The development of highly efficient electrocatalysts toward the oxygen evolution reaction is imperative for advancing water splitting technology to generate clean hydrogen energy. Herein, a two dimensional (2D) nanosheet ammonium cobalt phosphate hydrate (NHCoPO·HO) catalyst based on the earth-abundant non-noble metal is reported. When used for the challenging alkaline saline water electrolysis, the NHCoPO·HO catalyst with the optimal thickness of 30 nm achieves current densities of 10 and 100 mA cm at the record low overpotentials of 252 and 268 mV, respectively, while maintaining remarkable stability during the alkaline saline water oxidation at room temperature.

Phase-Change-Memory Process at the Limit: A Proposal for Utilizing Monolayer SbTe.

One central task of developing nonvolatile phase change memory (PCM) is to improve its scalability for high-density data integration. In this work, by first-principles molecular dynamics, to date the thinnest PCM material possible (0.8 nm), namely, a monolayer SbTe, is proposed.

Medium Entropy-Enabled High Performance Cubic GeTe Thermoelectrics.

The configurational entropy is an emerging descriptor in the functional materials genome. In thermoelectric materials, the configurational entropy helps tune the delicate trade-off between carrier mobility and lattice thermal conductivity, as well as the structural phase transition, if any. Taking GeTe as an example, low-entropy GeTe generally have high carrier mobility and distinguished > 2, but the rhombohedral-cubic phase transition restricts the applications.

Non-concentrated aqueous electrolytes with organic solvent additives for stable zinc batteries.

Rechargeable aqueous zinc batteries (RAZBs) are promising for large-scale energy storage because of their superiority in addressing cost and safety concerns. However, their practical realization is hampered by issues including dendrite growth, poor reversibility and low coulombic efficiency (CE) of Zn anodes due to parasitic reactions. Here, we report a non-concentrated aqueous electrolyte composed of 2 m zinc trifluoromethanesulfonate (Zn(OTf)) and the organic dimethyl carbonate (DMC) additive to stabilize the Zn electrochemistry.

Unusual light-driven amplification through unexpected regioselective photogeneration of five-membered azaheterocyclic AIEgen.

Developing versatile synthetic methodologies with merits of simplicity, efficiency, and environment friendliness for five-membered heterocycles is of incredible importance to pharmaceutical and material science, as well as a huge challenge to synthetic chemistry. Herein, an unexpected regioselective photoreaction to construct a fused five-membered azaheterocycle with an aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristic is developed under mild conditions. The formation of the five-membered ring is both thermodynamically and kinetically favored, as justified by theoretical calculation and experimental evidence.

Extraordinary electrochemical stability and extended polaron delocalization of ladder-type polyaniline-analogous polymers.

Electrochemical stability and delocalization of states critically impact the functions and practical applications of electronically active polymers. Incorporation of a ladder-type constitution into these polymers represents a promising strategy to enhance the aforementioned properties from a fundamental structural perspective. A series of ladder-type polyaniline-analogous polymers are designed as models to test this hypothesis and are synthesized through a facile and scalable route.

A Highly Strained Phase in PbZrTiO Films with Enhanced Ferroelectric Properties.

Although epitaxial strain imparted by lattice mismatch between a film and the underlying substrate has led to distinct structures and emergent functionalities, the discrete lattice parameters of limited substrates, combined with strain relaxations driven by film thickness, result in severe obstructions to subtly regulate electro-elastic coupling properties in perovskite ferroelectric films. Here a practical and universal method to achieve highly strained phases with large tetragonal distortions in Pb-based ferroelectric films through synergetic effects of moderately (≈1.0%) misfit strains and laser fluences during pulsed laser deposition process is demonstrated.

Optimizing Living Material Delivery During the COVID-19 Outbreak.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic has spread worldwide, posing a great threat to human beings. The stay-home quarantine is an effective way to reduce physical contacts and the associated COVID-19 transmission risk, which requires the support of efficient living materials (such as meats, vegetables, grain, and oil) delivery. Notably, the presence of potential infected individuals increases the COVID-19 transmission risk during the delivery.

Electrochemically dealloyed nanoporous FeNiCoPC metallic glass for efficient and stable electrocatalytic hydrogen and oxygen generation.

The anion exchange membrane (AEM) in fuel cells requires new, stable, and improved electrocatalysts for large scale commercial production of hydrogen fuel for efficient energy conversion. FeNiCoPC, a novel metallic glass ribbon, was prepared by arc melting and melt spinning method. The metallic glass was evaluated as an efficient electrocatalyst in water-splitting reactions, namely hydrogen evolution reaction under acidic and alkaline conditions.

Aqueous Rechargeable Metal-Ion Batteries Working at Subzero Temperatures.

Aqueous rechargeable metal-ion batteries (ARMBs) represent one of the current research frontiers due to their low cost, high safety, and other unique features. Evolving to a practically useful device, the ARMBs must be adaptable to various ambient, especially the cold weather. While much effort has been made on organic electrolyte batteries operating at low temperatures, the study on low-temperature ARMBs is still in its infancy.

Advances in Solar-Driven Hygroscopic Water Harvesting.

Water scarcity is one of the greatest global challenges at this time. Significant efforts have been made to harvest water from the air, due to widely available water sources present in the atmosphere. Particularly, solar-driven hygroscopic water harvesting based on the adsorption-desorption process has gained tremendous attention because of the abundance of solar energy in combination with substantial improvements in conversion efficiency enabled by advanced sorbents, improved photothermal materials, interfacial heating system designs, and thermal management in recent years.

2D Materials and Heterostructures at Extreme Pressure.

2D materials possess wide-tuning properties ranging from semiconducting and metallization to superconducting, etc., which are determined by their structure, empowering them to be appealing in optoelectronic and photovoltaic applications. Pressure is an effective and clean tool that allows modifications of the electronic structure, crystal structure, morphologies, and compositions of 2D materials through van der Waals (vdW) interaction engineering.

Zero-Dimensional MXene-Based Optical Devices for Ultrafast and Ultranarrow Photonics Applications.

In recent years, MXene has become a hotspot because of its good conductivity, strong broadband absorption, and tunable band gap. In this contribution, 0D MXene TiCT quantum dots are synthesized by a liquid exfoliation method and a wideband nonlinear optical response from 800 to 1550 nm is studied, which have a larger nonlinear absorption coefficient of -(11.24 ± 0.