Wenbin Gong

Sodium (Na)‐ion batteries (SIBs) are promising energy storage devices. However, they still do not exhibit satisfactory performance metrics largely because the relatively large ionic radius of Na ⁺ results in unfavorable solvation structures. This work demonstrates that using an azacrown (i.e., 1,4,7,10,13‐pentamethyl‐1,4,7,10,13‐pentaazacyclopentadecane, PMPAC) as a co‐solvent of the electrolyte can overcome the fundamental issues associated with SIBs. PMPAC features a cavity that not only matches the ionic radius of Na ⁺ but chelates the metal ions as well. As a result, PMPAC effectively encapsulates Na ⁺ and affords a disc‐like solvation complex with a relatively small solvation radius. These characteristics bestow the PMPAC‐based electrolytes with high ion conductivity and Na ⁺ transference number, which promote battery operation by enabling Na to plate in a homogeneous manner. The PMPAC also prompts anions to locate in the inner sheath of the Na ⁺ solvation structure such that inorganic‐rich solid‐electrolyte interphase layers with high structural integrity and low charge transfer resistance are formed at the anodes. SIBs that utilize PMPAC‐based electrolytes exhibit outstanding rate capacities (38 mAh g ⁻¹ at 100 C), along with ultralow capacity decay rates (0.0024% per cycle over 20 000 cycles for a half cell and 0.0062% per cycle over 10 000 cycles for a full cell).

PbTe is recognized as one of the best intermediate-temperature thermoelectric materials; however, its commercial applications are largely restricted by the comparatively lower performance of its n-type counterpart. Here we show that Peierls-Nabarro stress is manipulated through solute-induced lattice softening, which generates high density helical dislocations, dislocation loops, and subgrain boundaries to block heat transport phonons. Concurrently, in-situ formation of Sb ₆ O ₁₃ nanoinclusions resulting from a displacement reaction between Sb and TeO ₂ further suppresses thermal transport, leading to an ultra-low lattice thermal conductivity ( κ _L ≈ 0.21 W m ⁻¹ K ⁻¹ at 773 K). Moreover, Sb doping can simultaneously enhance electronic density of states, leading to the improvement of power factor (16 μW cm ⁻¹ K ⁻² at 563 K). As a result, a remarkably high figure of merit ( ZT ≈ 2.2) is obtained at 723 K in n-type PbTe-1.5 wt%TeO ₂ -1.8 wt%Sb sample. Our findings provide an effective approach to synergistically improve the thermal and electrical properties in advanced thermoelectric materials.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are emerging as promising circulating biomarkers for liquid biopsy due to their abundant molecular information, such as proteins, nucleic acids, and metabolites. However, the metabolic profiling of EVs remains largely unexplored, much less exploiting their intrinsic metabolic features for disease diagnosis. In this study, we demonstrate that the metabolic-related inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) activity of macrophage-derived EVs serves as an effective biomarker for phenotypic profiling and further evaluating lung inflammation. By integrating a cascade amplification strategy that combines the biocatalysis of EV iNOS activity with the electrocatalysis of defective tungsten disulfide quantum dots (WS ₂ QDs), we develop an ACTIVITY (Amplified Cascade-catalysis TestIng for VesIcular meTabolic activitY) method for rapid assaying of metabolically active EVs. When applied to bronchoalveolar lavage fluid samples, this activity-based EV profiling differentiates pneumonia patients from healthy controls and further facilitates the monitoring of disease treatment, suggesting the potential of EV metabolic activity for diagnostics.

Correction for ‘MOF-derived vertically stacked Mn ₂ O ₃ @C flakes for fiber-shaped zinc-ion batteries’ by Chenglong Liu et al. , J. Mater. Chem. A , 2020, 8 , 24031–24039, https://doi.org/10.1039/D0TA09212F.

The size and surface properties of individual nanomaterials significantly influence the microstructures and the performance of their assemblies. Herein, we demonstrated that when using polymeric solutions as ball-milling media of hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN), the molecular structures of the employed polymers would have significant influences on the lateral sizes, surface charges, and attached polymer kinds and contents of the exfoliated boron nitride nanosheets (BNNSs), which in turn determine the microstructures and thermal conductivities (TCs) of the BNNS-based films. The polymers that have high binding energies and dipole-dipole interactions with h-BN are conducive to peeling off large-area BNNSs, but those having strong hydrogen bonding interactions with h-BN can attach more molecular chains on the exfoliated BNNSs and form dense and highly horizontally oriented structures in assembled BNNS films, of which the TCs are balanced by the lateral sizes, compactness, horizontal orientation, and interfacial interactions of the nanosheets. Density functional theory simulations confirmed that the exfoliation ability of the polymers is mainly determined by their binding energies with h-BN.

Polymer interphase on Zn anodes obviates dendrite growth and significant side reactions including corrosion and hydrogen evolution in aqueous zinc ion batteries (AZIBs), however has drawbacks of slow kinetics and large overpotential for Zn plating/stripping that prevent practical application especially under high‐rate conditions. Here, a multifunctional polymer interphase with fast kineticsis reported, using poly(phenazine‐alt‐pyromellitic anhydride) (PPPA) as an electrolyte additive. PPPA, with linear π‐conjugated structure and enriched polar pyridine (conjugated cyclic −C=N−) and carbonyl (C=O) groups, preferentially adsorbs on the Zn anode to form a stable solid‐electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer in situ. The PPPA SEI is efficient to block direct contact between water molecules and Zn anode, and regulate the interfacial solvation structure and Zn depostion. Importantly, the expanding π‐conjugated structure of PPPA is shown to provide abundant 2D open channels for rapid Zn ²⁺ transport, and the delocalized π electrons form a space electrostatic field to facilitate de‐solvation and diffusion of Zn ²⁺ . As a result, the Zn metal anode with PPPA/ZnSO ₄ electrolyte exhibits high Coulombic efficiency of 98.3 % at current density of 20 mA cm ⁻² , and excellent cycle lifespan for over 2000 cycles (400 h) at current density 50 mA cm ⁻² and plating/stripping capacity of 5 mAh cm ⁻² . The Zn||MnO ₂ full battery exhibited a discharge capacity of 74.4 mAh g ⁻¹ after 5000 cycles at the current density of 2000 mA g ⁻¹ , demonstrating practical feasibility. It is concluded that judicious engineering of polymer additives and interphase will benefit the development of commercial AZIBs with fast kinetics for high‐rate applications.

Transition-metal carbides have been advocated as the promising alternatives to noble-metal platinum-based catalysts in electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction over half a century. However, the effectiveness of transition-metal carbides catalyzing hydrogen evolution in high-pH electrolyte is severely compromised due to the lowered proton activity and intractable alkaline-leaching issue of transition-metal centers. Herein, on the basis of validation of molybdenum-carbide model-catalyst system by taking advantage of surface science techniques, Mo₂C micro-size spheres terminated by Al³⁺ doped MoO₂ layer exhibit a notable performance of alkaline hydrogen evolution with a near-zero onset-potential, a low overpotential (40 mV) at a typical current density of 10 mA/cm², and a small Tafel slope (45 mV/dec), as well as a long-term stability for continuous hydrogen production over 200 h. Advanced morphology and spectroscopy characterizations demonstrate that the local -Al-OH-Mo- structures within Al-MoO₂ terminations serve as strong Brønsted acid sites that accelerate the deprotonation kinetics in alkaline HER process. Our work paves an interesting termination-acidity-tailoring strategy to explore cost-effective catalysts towards water electrolysis and beyond.