Electrochemical performance of CuSn alloy anode materials for lithium-ion batteries fabricated by controlled electrodeposition.

Combining electrodeposition and heat treatment is an effective method to successfully fabricate CuSn alloy materials, in which the S2 alloy electrode is electrodeposited at 1.2 A dm current density with uniform and compact morphology. The characterization results show that monoclinic η'-CuSn and hexagonal η-CuSn phases fabricated at the appropriate current density exhibit excellent electrochemical performance.

Pyro-phototronic effect enhanced broadband photodetection based on CdS nanorod arrays by magnetron sputtering.

In this work, self-powered photodetectors (PDs) based on RF magnetron sputtering-fabricated CdS nanorod arrays and polished Si substrates were prepared for the first time. By introducing the pyro-phototronic effect of wurtzite CdS, the self-powered PDs exhibit a broadband response range from UV (365 nm) to IR (1310 nm) at zero bias, even beyond the bandgap limit of the material. Both the photoresponsivity and specific detectivity are also enhanced by 23.

Intramolecular redox cyclization reaction access to cinnolines from 2-nitrobenzyl alcohol and benzylamine intermediate 2-nitrosobenzaldehyde.

A transition-metal-free intramolecular redox cyclization reaction for the synthesis of cinnolines has been developed from 2-nitrobenzyl alcohol and benzylamine. Mechanistic investigations disclosed the involvement of a key intramolecular redox reaction, followed by condensation, azo isomerization to hydrazone, cyclization, and aromatization to form the desired products. Notably, the formation of intermediate 2-nitrosobenzaldehyde and ()-2-(2-benzylidenehydrazineyl) benzaldehyde plays an important role in this transformation.

Multiband-switchability and high-absorptivity of a metamaterial perfect absorber based on a plasmonic resonant structure in the near-infrared region.

Metamaterials are widely studied in bio-photonics because of their flexible and tunable resonance wavelengths in the near-infrared region and their particular relevance to biological tissues. In this paper, we propose for the first time a perfect absorber that is switchable between triple-band and dual-band absorption. The narrowband metamaterial perfect absorber has a conventional metal-dielectric-metal structure, which consists of an array of silver disks, a silica dielectric layer and a gold substrate.

All-optical tunable slow-light based on an analogue of electromagnetically induced transparency in a hybrid metamaterial.

We demonstrate and analyze the use of metamaterials featuring an analogue of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in slow light technology. For most metamaterials, EIT-like effects suffer from intrinsic ohmic loss, and the metamaterial-based slow-light effect can only be tuned passively, which limits their application in slow light devices. We propose a hybrid metamaterial with a unit cell composed of a ring resonator formed from photoactive silicon (Si) and a rectangular bar formed from metallic silver (Ag).

The crystal structures, phase stabilities, electronic structures and bonding features of iridium borides from first-principles calculations.

We present results of an unbiased structure search for the lowest energy crystalline structures of various stoichiometric iridium borides, using first-principles calculations combined with particle swarm optimization algorithms. As a result, besides three stable phases of 2/-IrB, 2-IrB, and -IrB, three promising metastable phases, namely, 2/-IrB, 2/-IrB, and -IrB, whose energies are within 20 meV per atom above the convex hull curve, are also identified at ambient pressure. The high bulk modulus of 301 GPa, highest shear modulus of 148 GPa, and smallest Poisson's ratio of 0.

Optimization and characterization of biosurfactant produced by indigenous isolated from a low permeability reservoir for application in MEOR.

Biosurfactants are expected to be a key factor for microbial enhanced oil recovery (MEOR). In this study, we described the novel biosurfactant-producing strain YZ-2 isolated from a low permeability oil reservoir. We purified and characterized the biosurfactants produced by this YZ-2 strain thin-layer chromatography and MALDI-TOF-MS, revealing them to be fengycins.

Bispecific T cell engagers and their synergistic tumor immunotherapy with oncolytic viruses.

Tumor immunotherapy, especially T cell based therapy, is becoming the main force in clinical tumor therapies. Bispecific T cell engager (BiTE) uses the single chain variable fragments (scFv) of two antibodies to redirect T cells to kill target cells. BiTEs for hematologic tumors has been approved for clinical use, and BiTEs for solid tumors showed therapeutic effects in clinical trials.

The geometrical structure and electronic properties of trivalent Ho doped YO crystals: a first-principles study.

Trivalent rare-earth holmium ion (Ho) doped yttrium oxide (YO) has attracted great research interest owing to its unique optoelectronic properties and excellent performances in many new-type laser devices. But the crystal structures of the Ho-doped YO system (YO : Ho) are still unclear. Here, we have carried out a first-principle study on the structural evolution of the trivalent Ho doped YO by using the CALYPSO structure search method.

Increased power conversion efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells with counter electrodes based on carbon materials.

The good catalytic activity, resistance to iodine corrosion, and stability of carbon materials make them ideally suited for the fabrication of counter electrodes used in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Different carbon materials have been used to make counter electrodes, and each has its own advantages, such as good film formation or high electric conductivity. Herein, various carbon materials were mixed and employed for preparing counter electrodes in DSSCs.

A general method to fabricate MoO/C composites and porous C for asymmetric solid-state supercapacitors.

MoO is one of the most promising electrodes for high energy density supercapacitors due to its layered structure, which facilitates the insertion/removal of small ions. However, the commercial recognition of MoO-based electrodes has been hampered by their low electronic conductivity, poor structural stability and narrow working potential window. A MoO/C composite (MCs) has been synthesized by a polymerization method followed by calcination of the obtained hydrogel.