Boosting thermoelectric performance of HfSe monolayer by selectivity chemical adsorption.

In this work, a strategy to boosting thermoelectric (TE) performance of 2D materials is explored. We find that, appropriate chemical adsorption of atoms can effectively increase the TE performance of HfSe monolayer. Our results show that the adsorption of Ni atom on HfSe monolayer (Ni-HfSe) can improve the optimal power factor PF and ZT at 300 K, increased by more than ∼67% and ∼340%, respectively.

Design strategies of Pt-based electrocatalysts and tolerance strategies in fuel cells: a review.

As highly efficient conversion devices, proton-exchange-membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) can directly convert chemical energy to electrical energy with high efficiencies and lower or even zero emissions compared to combustion engines. However, the practical applications of PEMFCs have been seriously hindered by the intermediates (especially CO) poisoning of anodic Pt catalysts. Hence, how to improve the CO tolerance of the needed Pt catalysts and reveal their anti-CO poisoning mechanism are the key points to developing novel anti-toxic Pt-based electrocatalysts.

Strain Tunable Thermoelectric Material: Janus ZrSSe Monolayer.

Thermoelectric (TE) performance of the Janus ZrSSe monolayer under biaxial strain is systematically explored by the first-principles approach and Boltzmann transport theory. Our results show that the Janus ZrSSe monolayer has excellent chemical, dynamical, thermal, and mechanical stabilities, which provide a reliable platform for strain tuning. The electronic structure and TE transport parameters of the Janus ZrSSe monolayer can be obviously tuned by biaxial strain.

Enabling 420 Wh kg Stable Lithium-Metal Pouch Cells by Lanthanum Doping.

Lithium (Li) metal, a promising anode for high-energy-density rechargeable batteries, typically grows along the low-surface energy (110) plane in the plating process, resulting in uncontrollable dendrite growth and unstable interface. Herein, an unexpected Li growth behavior by lanthanum (La) doping is reported: the preferred orientation turns to (200) from (110) plane, enabling 2D nuclei rather than the usual 1D nuclei upon Li deposition and thus forming a dense and dendrite-free morphology even at an ultrahigh areal capacity of 10 mAh cm . Noticeably, La doping further decreases the reactivity of Li metal toward electrolytes, thereby establishing a stable interface.

Enhanced Moisture Stability of Lithium-Rich Antiperovskites for Sustainable All-Solid-State Lithium Batteries.

Lithium-rich antiperovskites (LiRAPs) solid electrolytes have attracted extensive interest due to their advantages of structural tunability, mechanical flexibility, and low cost. However, LiRAPs are instinctively hygroscopic and suffer from decomposition in air, which not only diversifies their electrochemical performances in present reports but also hinders their application in all-solid-state lithium batteries (ASSLBs). Herein, the origin of the hygroscopicity, and also the effect of the hygroscopicity on the electrochemical performances of Li (OH )Cl are systematically investigated.

High Efficient Solar Cell Based on Heterostructure Constructed by Graphene and GaAs Quantum Wells.

Despite the fascinating optoelectronic properties of graphene, the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of graphene based solar cells remains to be lifted up. Herein, it is experimentally shown that the graphene/quantum wells/GaAs heterostructure solar cell can reach a PCE of 20.2% and an open-circuit voltage (V ) as high as 1.

Functionally Gradient Silicon/Graphite Composite Electrodes Enabling Stable Cycling and High Capacity for Lithium-Ion Batteries.

Silicon (Si) is regarded as one of the most promising anode materials for high-energy-density lithium (Li)-ion batteries (LIBs). However, Li insertion/extraction induced large volume change, which can lead to the fracture of the Si material itself and the delamination/pulverization of electrodes, is the major challenge for the practical application of Si-based anodes. Herein, a facile and scalable multilayer coating approach was proposed for the large-scale fabrication of functionally gradient Si/graphite (Si/Gr) composite electrodes to simultaneously mitigate the volume change-caused structural degradation and realize high capacity by regulating the spatial distributions of Si and Gr particles in the electrodes.

In Situ Constructing Ultrathin, Robust-Flexible Polymeric Electrolytes with Rapid Interfacial Ion Transport in Lithium Metal Batteries.

Safety of lithium metal batteries (LMBs) has been improved by using the solid-state polymer electrolytes, but the performance of LMBs is still troubled by the poor interface of solid electrolytes/electrodes, leading to insufficient interfacial Li transport. Here, a novel ultrathin, robust-flexible polymeric electrolyte is achieved by in situ polymerization of 1,3-dioxolane in soft nanofibrous skeleton at room temperature without any extra initiator or plasticizer, leading to the electrolyte with rapid interfacial ion transport. This facilitated Li transportation is demonstrated by molecular dynamics simulation.

Surface differences of oxide nanocrystals determined by geometry and exogenously coordinated water molecules.

Determining the different surfaces of oxide nanocrystals is key in developing structure-property relations. In many cases, only surface geometry is considered while ignoring the influence of surroundings, such as ubiquitous water on the surface. Here we apply O solid-state NMR spectroscopy to explore the facet differences of morphology-controlled ceria nanocrystals considering both geometry and water adsorption.

Trace Doping of Pb(OH) Species on PdPb Alloys Boost Highly Active and Stable Ethanol Oxidation.

PdPb nanocrystals have drawn considerable attention due to their excellent catalytic properties, while their practical applications have been impeded by the severe degradation of activity, which is caused by the adsorption of intermediates (especially CO) during the operation. Herein, we first present porous PdPb alloys with the incorporation of amorphous Pb(OH) species as highly active and stable electrocatalysts. Alloying Pd with Pb species is initially proposed to optimize the Pd-Pd interatomic distance and adjust the d-band center of Pd.

TiC MXene-derived LiTiO nanoplates with in-situ formed carbon quantum dots for metal-ion battery anodes.

Two-dimensional (2D) material TiC MXenes have recently been used in electrode composites for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) for their excellent electrical conductivity and accordion-like nanosheet morphology. However, TiC has low specific capacity and fast degradation rate upon cycling after inevitably coupling with surface species during synthesis. In this work, TiC is used as Ti-source for LiTiO (LTO) and C-source for carbon quantum dots (CQDs) in a one-step hydrothermal process.

Induction/Inhibition Effect on Lithium Dendrite Growth by a Binary Modification Layer on a Separator.

In lithium metal batteries (LMB), unrestricted growth of lithium dendrites will pierce the separator and cause an internal short circuit. Therefore, we designed modified separator with an InN thin layer, which could be in situ converted into a binary mixed-modified layer of Li-In alloy and LiN during the lithium plating/stripping process. Among them, Li-In alloy induces the lateral growth of lithium dendrites and prevents the separator from being pierced; LiN balances ion distribution at the lithium anode/separator interface, which is beneficial to inhibit the growth of lithium dendrites.

One Stone Two Birds: Unlocking the Synergy between Amorphous Ni(OH) and Pd Nanocrystals toward Ethanol and Formic Acid Oxidation.

Even though extensive efforts have been devoted to mixing Pd nanocrystals with Ni(OH) for the enhanced synergy, it remains a great challenge to incorporate nanosized Ni(OH) species on the Pd electrode and reveal their synergy. Herein, we present spongelike Pd nanocrystals with the modification of amorphous Ni(OH) species. The catalyst configuration is first considered by compositing Pd with Ni(OH) species to optimize the Pd-Pd interatomic distance and then constructing a strongly coupled interface between Pd nanostructures and Ni(OH) species.

Confined WS Nanosheets Tubular Nanohybrid as High-Kinetic and Durable Anode for Sodium-Based Dual Ion Batteries.

Sodium based dual-ion battery (SDIB) has been regarded as one of the promising batteries technologies thanks to its high working voltage and natural abundance of sodium source, its practical application yet faces critical issues of low capacity and sluggish kinetics of intercalation-type graphite anode. Here, a tubular nanohybrid composed of building blocks of carbon-film wrapped WS nanosheets on carbon nanotube (WS /C@CNTs) was reported. The expanded (002) interlayer and dual-carbon confined structure endowed WS nanosheets with fast charge transportation and excellent structural stability, and thus WS /C@CNTs showed highly attractive electrochemical properties for Na storage with high reversible capacity, fast kinetic, and robust durability.

Design and Synthesis of Ag-based Catalysts for Electrochemical CO Reduction: Advances and Perspectives.

Ag-based nanocrystals have emerged as an important candidate for CO reduction reaction (CO RR) owing to the increasing amount of CO in the atmosphere, which has shown a propensity to alleviate environmental problems and produce high value-added chemicals. This paper reviews the surface and interface engineering of Ag-based catalysts towards CO RR, which involve in the morphology control, composition manipulation, and support effects. Various synthesis approaches are presented to discuss their influence on the size, crystal structure and morphology of Ag-based catalysts, including pure Ag NPs, Ag-based alloys, Ag/metal oxides composites as well as Ag/carbon materials.

Controllable Droplet Sliding on a Smart Shape-Memory Slippery Surface.

Recently, slippery surfaces with controllable droplet sliding have aroused much attention in both fundamental research and realistic applications. However, for almost all existing surfaces, constant stimuli such as heat, light, magnetic field, etc., are indispensable.

Dynamic Intercalation-Conversion Site Supported Ultrathin 2D Mesoporous SnO/SnSe Hybrid as Bifunctional Polysulfide Immobilizer and Lithium Regulator for Lithium-Sulfur Chemistry.

The practical application of lithium-sulfur batteries is impeded by the polysulfide shuttling and interfacial instability of the metallic lithium anode. In this work, a twinborn ultrathin two-dimensional graphene-based mesoporous SnO/SnSe hybrid (denoted as G-mSnO/SnSe) is constructed as a polysulfide immobilizer and lithium regulator for Li-S chemistry. The as-designed G-mSnO/SnSe hybrid possesses high conductivity, strong chemical affinity (SnO), and a dynamic intercalation-conversion site (LiSnSe), inhibits shuttle behavior, provides rapid Li-intercalative transport kinetics, accelerates LiPS conversion, and decreases the decomposition energy barrier for LiS, which is evidenced by the XAS spectra, Raman, XRD, and DFT calculations.

Carbon-Based Modification Materials for Lithium-ion Battery Cathodes: Advances and Perspectives.

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have attracted great attention as an advanced power source and energy-storage device for years due to their high energy densities. With rapid growing demands for large reversible capacity, high safety, and long-period stability of LIBs, more explorations have been focused on the development of high-performance cathode materials in recent decades. Carbon-based materials are one of the most promising cathode modification materials for LIBs due to their high electrical conductivity, large surface area, and structural mechanical stability.

Electrochemical Exfoliation of Two-Dimensional Phosphorene Sheets and its Energy Application.

Recently, single or few-layer phosphorene has attracted intense attention due to its exceptional physicochemical properties. To this end, mass production of high-quality phosphorene nanosheets with specific functionalities represents a pivotal factor for the basic academic studies and practical applications. Among the current synthetic methods, electrochemical exfoliation of black phosphorous is one of the most hopeful ways for mass-production of phosphorene sheets owing to the uncomplicated apparatus, low cost as well as significant efficiency.

Cationic Covalent Organic Framework with Ultralow HOMO Energy Used as Scaffolds for 5.2 V Solid Polycarbonate Electrolytes.

Solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) have become promising candidate to replace common liquid electrolyte due to highly improved security. However, the practical use of SPEs is still restricted by their decomposition and breakage at the electrode interfacial layer especially at high voltage. Herein, a new cationic covalent organic framework (COF) is designed and synthesized as a reinforced skeleton to resist the constant oxidative decomposition of solid polycarbonate electrolyte, which can stabilize cathode electrolyte interphase layer to develop long-term cycle solid lithium metal battery.

Extracting Lamb wave vibrating modes with convolutional neural network.

In recent years, micro-acoustic devices, such as surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices, and bulk acoustic wave (BAW) devices have been widely used in the areas of Internet of Things and mobile communication. With the increasing demand of information transmission speed, working frequencies of micro-acoustic devices are becoming much higher. To meet the emerging demand, Lamb wave devices with characteristics that are fit for high working frequency come into being.

Boosting Cyclability and Rate Capability of SiO via Dopamine Polymerization-Assisted Hybrid Graphene Coating for Advanced Lithium-Ion Batteries.

SiO suffers from the 200% volume change during cycling and low electronic conductivity, resulting in poor cyclability and rate capability as a lithium-ion battery anode. Herein, we demonstrate a dopamine polymerization-guided carbon coating for SiO anodes (SiO@PDA@GNH). SiO@PDA@GNH delivers charge capacities of 1269 and 1140 mA h·g at charge rates of 0.

Single-Atom Tailored Hierarchical Transition Metal Oxide Nanocages for Efficient Lithium Storage.

Mitigating the mechanical degradation and enhancing the ionic/electronic conductivity are critical but challengeable issues toward improving electrochemical performance of conversion-type anodes in rechargeable batteries. Herein, these challenges are addressed by constructing interconnected 3D hierarchically porous structure synergistic with Nb single atom modulation within a Co O nanocage (3DH-Co O @Nb). Such a hierarchical-structure nanocage affords several fantastic merits such as rapid ion migration and enough inner space for alleviating volume variation induced by intragrain stress and optimized stability of the solid-electrolyte interface.