Lithium–Ion Batteries

In article number 2105172, Jiaping Wang and co-workers propose lattice-reversible binary intermetallic compounds with zinc blende structure as a promising anode material for high-performance flexible lithium–ion batteries. The micron-sized indium antimonide/carbon nanotube electrodes with low volume expansion demonstrate outstanding cycle stability, rate performance, and flexibility.

Metal–Air Batteries

In article number 2105594, Miao Yu, Jie Zhang, and co-workers report the development of iron phthalocyanine (FePc) anchored onto N,S–doped hollow carbon spheres (HNSCs) to form FePc@HNSC. The charge distribution and d–band center of Fe atoms can be efficiently optimized. The material is applied as an efficient oxygen reduction electrocatalyst for aluminum–air batteries.

Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

In article number 2103866, Weiyong Yuan, Chang Ming Li, and co-workers report the synthesis of high-density macropores-oriented CoP-impregnated 3-D N-doped carbon-sheets nanostructure via self-assembly, demonstrating superior hydrogen evolution reaction catalytic performance even compared to commercial Pt/C, and thus great potential for industry-scale hydrogen production.

Edge Reconstruction

An unprecedented U-edge reconstruction with the lowest energy is revealed to occur easily in the bilayer phosphorene. Such U-edge reconstruction exhibits unexpectedly ultrafast electronic and thermal transport, nearly without edgeless scattering. More information can be found in article number 2105130 by Junfeng Gao, Gang Zhang, and co-workers.

This review provides a comparative and balanced discussion on various perspectives of graphene quantum dots (GQDs). First, the most exciting properties, synthesis and modification strategies, analytical characterizations, and applications of GQDs are presented. Then, the current challenges and future prospects of these emerging carbon-based nanomaterials are highlighted.

Phase-transfer exchange (PTE) method has been widely employed for colloidal quantum dot (CQD) ink preparation. However, there is no review about PTE method that has been reported until now. In this review, the development of lead chalcogenide CQD ink is summarized, the key factors for high-quality ink preparation are highlighted, and several potential directions for future research are proposed.

The rational design of precursory metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) is a new approach to improve the non-Faradaic and Faradaic characteristics of electrode materials and increase the energy efficiency and reduce costs of capacitive deionization (CDI). The key compositional and structural considerations for the pyrolyzed MOF approach and their correlations with CDI performance are comprehensively discussed in this article.

Lattice-reversible binary intermetallic compounds (e.g., indium antimonide (InSb)) are proposed as a promising anode material for high-performance flexible lithium-ion batteries. InSb possesses the advantages of high conductivity and capacity, low volumetric expansion, and lattice-reversibility, and the inherent whisker growth issue can be inhibited by carbon-coating. The micron-sized bInSb@C@CNT electrodes demonstrate outstanding capacity, cycle stability, rate performance, and high flexibility.

This paper reports a hybrid electrocatalyst consisting of monolayer FePc and hollow N,S-doped carbon spheres (HNSCs). The charge distribution and d-band center of the Fe atom can be efficiently optimized via the introduction of N,S-doped carbon substrate. Thus, the FePc@HNSC catalyst exhibits outstanding oxygen reduction reaction activity. Moreover, the aluminum–air battery using FePc@HNSC also demonstrates superior battery performance.

A high-density macropores-oriented CoP-impregnated 3D hierarchical porous N-doped carbon-sheets nanostructure is synthesized via a facile, economical, and universal in situ self-assembly strategy, showing hydrogen evolution reaction catalytic activity superior to those of the most reported non-noble-metal-based catalysts with excellent stability, thus holding great promise for industry-scale hydrogen production from water splitting.

An unprecedented U-edge [ZZ(U)] reconstruction with the lowest energy is predicted to occur easily in the bilayer phosphorene. The U-edge reconstruction unexpectedly exhibits nearly edgeless characters for both electronic and thermal transport.

A highly scalable lithium (Li)-wicking strategy is reported for ultrafast fabrication of mechanically flexible and electrochemically stable Li metal anodes. Through the rational design of the interface and structure of the wicking host, the mean speed of Li-wicking reaches 10 m² min⁻¹, which is 1000 to 100000 fold faster than the reported electrochemical deposition or thermal infusion methods and meets the industrial fabrication speed.

Two carbon textures, in-planar-fused carbon and physically piled carbon, are integrated into carbon nitride via one-pot co-pyrolysis and polymerization of lotus root starch and dicyanamide. The band structure engineering, reaction energy barrier regulation, and dual electron-transfer pathways are synergistically used to boost the photocatalytic nitrogen-fixing performance on the as-developed diphasic carbon-decorated photocatalyst.

Asymmetric N,S-coordinated single-atom Fe with extra axial fifth OH coordination (Fe−N₃S₁OH) embedded in N,S codoped porous carbon nanospheres (Fe−N/S−C) are fabricated. Experimental observations and theoretical calculations demonstrate that benefiting from sufficient active sites exposure, fast ions/mass transportation, and optimized Fe 3d orbitals, the as-prepared FeN/SC exhibits superior oxygen reduction reaction performance.

The interstitially tetrahedral O–V–S site in the vdW gap of V-doped 2D SnS₂ establishes the origin of the charge transfer mechanism between metal ion V⁴⁺ 3d and ligand O^2- 2p/S^2- 3p states and the decrease in the band gap by studying synchrotron-based techniques and first-principles density functional theory.

TiO₂ nanotubes with surface Ti³⁺-oxygen vacancy defects are obtained by a suitable annealing treatment. Subsequently, a simple immersion of the tubes in a Pt solution in dark for 24 h leads to surface trapping and stabilizing of Pt single atoms (SAs). Remarkably and most importantly, an optimized SA density and an outstanding photocatalytic H₂ evolution performance can be achieved with a Pt precursor solution at a concentration as low as 0.01 mm.

By performing direct-contact sodiation experiments and multiscale simulations that combined classical molecular dynamics and first-principle calculations on the Na-Sn system, it is found that Na diffusion into crystalline Sn induces tensile stresses near the propagating interface, promoting the nucleation of high-density dislocations. These dislocations facilitate the preferential transport of Na and accelerate the diffusion of these ions into crystalline Sn at ultrafast rates via dislocation-pipe diffusion.

The proposed laser-assisted microscaffold (MSs) fabrication can effectively produce thousands of identical MSs, leading to the development of injectable electrospun nanofibers. The efficient cell attachment on the MSs surface creates agglomerations of cell-populated MSs, while MSs suspended in hyaluronic acid can be efficiently injected through a 26G needle by applying an ejecting force suitable for manual injection.

A spatiotemporal imaging method is developed to quantify endosomal acidification of viruses in host cells using a fluorescence resonance energy transfer based ratiometric pH sensor, and it is demonstrated that influenza viruses undergo a two-step endosomal acidification process during their infection.

A new heteroleptic bisphthalocyaninate with one ligand bearing eight thioacetate terminated “tentacles” and one tetra-crown substituted ligand is synthesized. Self-assembled monolayer based on this complex is formed on gold. Supramolecular crown-ether–potassium interaction is then used to append tetra-crown-phthalocyanine adlayer that provides another available redox-state in the nanoscale system, totaling four, which can all be read-out optically.

NiFe-layered double hydroxide (LDH) array on NF is formed spontaneously and rapidly under room temperature. Its reasonable formation mechanism is prudently established. NiFe-LDH array on NF has remarkable oxygen evolution reaction activity and stability in alkaline electrolyte. Its water splitting performance well meets the requirements of industrial hydrogen production.

A promising anode material consisting of bimetallic thiophosphate Zn_xCo_1−xPS₃ and CoS₂ with 2D/3D heterostructure is prepared. The hetero-Zn alloying can produce an enhanced asymmetric E-field to accelerate electron transfer and adjust the interlayer distance to create small volume changed MPS₃ electrodes. Additionally, metallic CoS₂ deposited on semiconductor Zn_xCo_1−xPS₃ can form a strong E-field, favoring the transportation of electrons.

A lithiophilic carbon channel on separator is designed to regulate lithium deposition behavior. As a result, dendrite-free deposition can be achieved and lithium nucleation overpotential can be greatly reduced. High performance of extra-long cycle life over 2600 h in Li|Li cell and average Coulombic efficiency (CE) of 98.5% in Li|Cu cell with modified separator is realized.

Nitrogen-doped carbon polyhedron@carbon nanosheet (NCP@CNS) hybrids with consecutive conductive networks are synthesized through a competitive carbonization-etching strategy using zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 as both the carbon and nitrogen sources. Benefiting from the well-matched micro/mesoporosity, consecutive electronic networks, and high nitrogen doping, the NCP@CNS hybrids as supercapacitor electrodes possess high specific capacitance, excellent rate performance, and good cycling stability.

Using nature-derived loofah sponge as the ion conductive scaffold, this work fabricated compressible, ion conductive, and dimensionally stable ion-selective membranes. The reverse electrodialysis employing the modified cation and anion exchange membranes resulted in a maximum power density of 18.3 mW m⁻² at the gradient of artificial seawater and river water. When ten units of loofah-based ion-selective membranes are stacked in series, a voltage of 1.55 V is achieved.

With the Ru-doping in CoNi-LDH, the air-plasma treatment was tend to introduce appropriate O and N filling that can effectively regulate the electronic structure. What's more, the plasma treatment also increases the superwettability of the samples which facilitate the H₂ spillover process. The synergistically regulation of the intrinsic electronic structure and interface wettability of CoNi-LDH can boost the HER process.

Silver peroxide nanoparticles (Ag₂O₂ NPs) supply H₂O₂, O₂, and Ag⁺ ions with excellent photothermal conversion efficiency and ROS production under near-infrared light and ultrasound irradiation. The combined antibacterial sonodynamic and photothermal therapy boosts antibacterial and antibiofilm activity in vitro and in vivo.

A multifunctional mesoporous silica nanoparticle (MSN)-based platform for the target-specific, spatiotemporal, ratiometric, and safe co-delivery of gemcitabine (Gem) and cisplatin (cisPt) is developed. This platform efficiently suppresses tumor growth and eliminates the off-target toxicities of this highly toxic chemotherapy combination in a syngeneic and clinically relevant genetically engineered pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) mouse model.

An acidity/near-infrared-II light dual-responsive theranostic platform is established for promoted cooperative CDT/PTT/TDT and immunogenicity elicitation with high tumor specificity. The multifunctional hybrid nanocomplex (Bi₂Se₃/AIPH@MnCaP) is developed by in situ mineralizing Mn-doped CaP onto the surface of AIPH-encapsulated mesoporous nano-Bi₂Se₃.

The hydrogels prepared by photopolymerization can get rid of the inseparable monotonic relationship between deformation rate and degree of traditional self-shaping hydrogels to deform in a novel 2D-to-4D mode. Through controlling the UV irradiation direction and time to precisely program the local gradients of self-shaping hydrogels, various unprecedented ultra-complex 2D-to-4D shape transformations can be achieved on demand.

Both space constraint and adhesion induction effects induce similar polarized morphology for the adhesive cells. Here, distinct molecular mechanisms are revealed. The adhesion induction leads to focal adhesion formation and activates the RhoA/ROCK pathway to promote the myosin-based intracellular force. Meanwhile, the space constraint activates the pseudopodia via Rac and CDC42 signaling in an intracellular force-independent manner.

Here, biosynthetic adhesive materials composed of chiral nematic cellulose nanocrystal–polyelectrolyte–rare-earth metal complexes are reported. The adhesives demonstrate synergistically amplified strong and dynamic photoluminescence with highly asymmetric and switchable circular polarization. Additionally, it displays universal high adhesion on both hydrophilic and hydrophobic substrates, which can find its effective application to security optical coding.

Cu₅FeS_4−xSe_x (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.4) icosahedral nanoparticles, containing high-density twin boundaries, have been synthesized by a colloidal method. The peak power factor and zT value of Cu₅FeS_3.6Se_0.4 reach 0.84 mW m⁻¹ K⁻² and 0.75 at 726 K, respectively. Our twin boundary-containing Cu₅FeS₄ also obtains a high Vickers hardness of 182.

Herein, a multifunctional thermal interface material is fabricated through the double self-assembly technique to fulfil advanced thermal management applications concerning electromagnetic interference (EMI). According to the building of oriented multilayered microstructure and interfacial enhancement via nano-coating, the composite maintains optimized coordination of the EMI shielding (shielding efficiency over 99.9999%) and thermal conductivity (in-plane TC of 233.67 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹).

Face masks based on multi-scale nanoarchitectured nanofiber/carbon nanotube fibrous networks are developed with excellent comprehensive performance including excellent filtration performance for PM_0.3 (>99.994% PM_0.3 removal and <0.05% atmosphere pressure), charming capacity of self-sterilization (>99.986% in 5 min under 1 sun and >99.9999% in 2 min in sunless scenes), and recyclability for the protection of public health and the environment.

Harvesting water motions energy to trigger piezo-activation of peroxymonosulfate by protrudent Fe atomic sites immobilized on MoS₂ for wastewater treatment is reported under natural water fluid. The investigation provides a pathway for single atomic-mediated self-powered piezo-activation of Fenton-like reactions by harnessing ambient energy from the water flow of simulated water drainage to purify wastewater.

Besides the bioorthogonal labeling and prodrugs activation, the reaction between tetrazine and trans-cyclooctene can disrupt π–π stacking and induce the disassembly of a series of enzyme-instructed supramolecular assemblies in vitro and inside living cells. Such a bioorthogonal disassembly strategy actively removes assemblies in the biological milieu to alleviate nano-toxicities, which may be applicable for treating aberrant protein assemblies.