Enabling High Reversibility of Zn anode via Interfacial Engineering Induced by Amino acid Electrolyte Additive.

Despite possessing substantial benefits of enhanced safety and cost-effectiveness, the aqueous zinc ion batteries (AZIBs) still suffers with the critical challenges induced by inherent instability of Zn metal in aqueous electrolytes. Zn dendrites, surface passivation, and corrosion are some of the key challenges governed by water-driven side reactions in Zn anodes. Herein, a highly reversible Zn anode is demonstrated via interfacial engineering of Zn/electrolyte driven by amino acid D-Phenylalanine (DPA) additions. The preferential adsorption of DPA and the development of compact SEI on the Zn anode suppressed the side reactions, leading to controlled and uniform Zn deposition. As a result, DPA added aqueous electrolyte stabilized Zn anode under severe test environments of 20.0 mA cm-2 and 10.0 mAh cm-2 along with an average plating/stripping Coulombic efficiency of 99.37%. Under multiple testing conditions, the DPA-incorporated electrolyte outperforms the control group electrolyte, revealing the critical additive impact on Zn anode stability. This study advances interfacial engineering through versatile electrolyte additive(s) toward development of stable Zn anode, which may lead to its practical implementation in aqueous rechargeable zinc batteries.

Rigid-flexible coupling network solid polymer electrolytes for all-solid-state lithium metal batteries.

Poor mechanical strength at working temperature and low ionic conductivity seriously hinder the application of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)-based solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) in high performance all-solid-state lithium metal batteries (LMBs). Here, we design and prepare a series of rigid-flexible coupling network SPEs (RFN-SPEs) with soft poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) chains and rigid crosslinkers containing the benzene structure. Compared with soft crosslinkers, rigid crosslinkers provide the same amount of active crosslinking points with smaller molecular weight, and meanwhile enhance the mechanical strength of the network. Therefore, based on the rigid crosslinkers, RFN-SPEs exhibit synchronously improved ionic conductivity and mechanical strength. With these RFN-SPEs, symmetrical cells can be cycled for over 2100 h at 0.5 mA cm-2. Meanwhile, stable cycling and high-rate capability could be achieved for LMBs, revealing that SPEs with the rigid-flexible coupling network are promising electrolyte systems for all-solid-state LMBs.

Zn-In Alloying Powder Solvent Free Electrode Toward High-Load Ampere-Hour Aqueous Zn-Mn Secondary Batteries.

Aqueous Zn-ion batteries (ZIBs) are promising candidates for large-scale energy storage due to high safety, abundant reserves, low-cost, and high energy density. However, the reversibility of the metallic Zn anode in the mild electrolyte is still unsatisfactory, due to the Zn dendrite growth, hydrogen evolution, and corrosion passivation. Herein, a Zn-In alloying powder solvent free electrode is proposed to replace the Zn foil in ZIBs. The novel Zn anodes are constructed by a solvent-free manufacturing process with carbons, forming a 3D Zn deposition network and providing uniformly electric field distribution. The In on the Zn powder surface can increase the overpotential for hydrogen evolution and further improve the morphology of Zn deposition against dendrite growth. The Zn solvent-free electrodes enable the Zn-MnO2 batteries with high cathode loading mass of 10-20 mg cm-2 to achieve >380 stable cycles. Furthermore, the assembled soft package batteries of 2.4 Ah (52 Wh kg-2 ) is evaluated and the capacity retention is maintained at 80% after 200 cycles at a high areal capacity of 5 mAh cm-2 without gas evolution. This work offers a workable strategy to develop a durable Zn anode for the eventually commercial applications of aqueous Zn-Mn secondary batteries.

Rotation and separation of chiral active particles in a ring-shaped channel.

Transport of chiral active particles is numerically investigated in a two-dimensional ring-shaped channel. The ring-shaped channel is transversal asymmetric and can induce the directed transport (rotation) of chiral active particles. For the particles with small chirality, they slide along the outer boundary of the channel. For the particles with large chirality, the particles move along some small local circular orbits and can also exhibit directed rotation. Moreover, the rotation effect can be strongly enhanced by modifying the inner boundary geometry. Based on the study of particle rotation, we further study the separation of active particles with different chiralities. It is found that the particles with different chiralities may be distributed in different regions of the ring-shaped channel. Interestingly, these particles can be completely separated by shifting the channel's inner boundary or adding a blocking plate in the channel. Our results may be useful for understanding relevant experimental phenomena and provide a scheme for the separation of binary mixtures.

Absolute negative mobility of active polymer chains in steady laminar flows.

We investigate the transport of active polymer chains in steady laminar flows in the presence of thermal noise and an external constant force. In the model, the polymer chain is worm-like and is propelled by active forces along its tangent vectors. Compared with inertial Brownian particles, active polymer chains in steady laminar flows exhibit richer movement patterns due to their specific spatial structures. The simulation results show that the velocity-force relation is strongly dependent on the system parameters such as the chain length, bending rigidity, active force and so on. The polymer chain may move in some preferential movement directions and exhibits absolute negative mobility within appropriate parameter regimes, i.e., the polymer chain can move in a direction opposite to the external constant force. In particular, we can observe giant negative mobility in a broad range of parameter regimes.

Polyphenylene Sulfide-Based Solid-State Separator for Limited Li Metal Battery.

The urgent need for high energy batteries is pushing the battery studies toward the Li metal and solid-state direction, and the most central question is finding proper solid-state electrolyte (SSE). So far, the recently studied electrolytes have obvious advantages and fatal weaknesses, resulting in indecisive plans for industrial production. In this work, a thin and dense lithiated polyphenylene sulfide-based solid state separator (PPS-SSS) prepared by a solvent-free process in pilot stage is proposed. Moreover, the PPS surface is functionalized to immobilize the anions, increasing the Li+ transference number to 0.8-0.9, and widening the electrochemical potential window (EPW > 5.1 V). At 25 °C, the PPS-SSS exhibits high intrinsic Li+ diffusion coefficient and ionic conductivity (>10-4 S cm-1 ), and Li+ transport rectifying effect, resulting in homogenous Li-plating on Cu at 2 mA cm-2 density. Based on the limited Li-plated Cu anode or anode-free Cu, high loadings cathode and high voltage, the Li-metal batteries (LMBs) with polyethylene (PE) protected PPS-SSSs deliver high energy and power densities (>1000 Wh L-1 and 900 W L-1 ) with >200 cycling life and high safety, exceeding those of state-of-the-art Li-ion batteries. The results promote the Li metal battery toward practicality.

The Efficacy of Long-Term Chinese Herbal Medicine Use on Lung Cancer Survival Time: A Retrospective Two-Center Cohort Study with Propensity Score Matching.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the efficacy of long-term use of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) on survival time of lung cancer. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study on lung cancer patients. A propensity score matching (PSM) was performed to balance the covariates. Progression-free survival (PFS) was the primary endpoint and overall survival (OS) was the secondary endpoint. Patients who received CHM therapy from the initial date of diagnosis of lung cancer were included in the CHM group. Patients who were not treated with CHM during the same interval were categorized in the control group. A Cox regression model was used to explore the prognostic factors related to lung cancer. Hazard ratios of different subgroups were also analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 1134 patients were included in our study: 761 patients were in the CHM group and 373 patients were in the control group. After PSM, the mPFS and mOS in the CHM group were 70.4 months and 129.1 months, respectively, while the mPFS and mOS in the control group were 23.8 months and 99.7 months, respectively. The results of survival analysis on each stage demonstrated that patients may benefit from the long-term CHM treatment especially for patients with early stage. One-year to ten-year progression-free survival rates in the CHM group were higher than those in the control group (p < 0.001). COX multivariate regression analysis indicated that CHM treatment, female, low age at diagnosis, early tumor stage, and surgery were independent protective factors against recurrence and metastasis of lung cancer. Subgroup analysis showed that CHM treatment could reduce the risk of recurrence and metastasis in each subgroup (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Long-term CHM treatment with the Fuzheng Quxie Formula, which can be flexibly applied in the course of lung cancer treatment, not only has a positive influence on the progression-free survival time of lung cancer patients, but also reduces the risk of recurrence and metastasis of lung cancer.

Particle separation induced by triangle obstacles in a straight channel.

Efficient separation of particles has ever-growing importance in both fundamental research and nanotechnological applications. However, such particles usually suffer from some fluctuations from external surroundings and outside intervention from unknown directions. Here, we numerically investigate the transport of Brownian particles in a straight channel with regular arrays of equilateral triangle obstacles. The particles can be rectified by the triangle obstacles under the action of an oscillating (square wave) force. At the given amplitude and frequency of the oscillating force, the transport is sensitively dependent on the force direction and particle size. In the cases of longitudinal and transversal oscillating force, the particles with different sizes exhibit different transport behaviors. Interestingly, under a constant force in the longitudinal direction, the phenomenon of particle separation is observed, where the particles with different radii will move in different directions. Furthermore, we also study the transport of Brownian particles driven by a tilt oscillating force. By choosing proper force directions, we can observe the gating phenomenon and transport reversal. Under different driving conditions, we can separate particles of different sizes and make them move in opposite directions.

Spontaneous rectification and absolute negative mobility of inertial Brownian particles induced by Gaussian potentials in steady laminar flows.

We study the transport of inertial Brownian particles in steady laminar flows in the presence of two-dimensional Gaussian potentials. Through extensive numerical simulations, it is found that the transport is sensitively dependent on the external constant force and the Gaussian potential. Within tailored parameter regimes, the system exhibits a rich variety of transport behaviors. There exists the phenomenon of spontaneous rectification (SR), where the directed transport of particles can occur in the absence of any external driving forces. It is found that SR of the particles can be manipulated by the spatial position of the Gaussian potential. Moreover, when the potential lies at the center of the cellular flow, the system exhibits absolute negative mobility (ANM), i.e., the particles can move in a direction opposite to the constant force. More importantly, the phenomenon of ANM induced by Gaussian potentials is robust in a wide range of system parameters and can be further strengthened with the optimized parameters, which may pave the way to the implementation of related experiments.

Great Enhancement of Carbon Energy Storage through Narrow Pores and Hydrogen-Containing Functional Groups for Aqueous Zn-Ion Hybrid Supercapacitor.

The proton transfer mechanism on the carbon cathode surface has been considered as an effective way to boost the electrochemical performance of Zn-ion hybrid supercapacitors (SCs) with both ionic liquid and organic electrolytes. However, cheaper, potentially safer, and more environmental friendly supercapacitor can be achieved by using aqueous electrolyte. Herein, we introduce the proton transfer mechanism into a Zn-ion hybrid supercapacitor with the ZnSO4 aqueous electrolyte and functionalized activated carbon cathode materials (FACs). We reveal both experimentally and theoretically an enhanced performance by controlling the micropores structure and hydrogen-containing functional groups (-OH and -NH functions) of the activated carbon materials. The Zn-ion SCs with FACs exhibit a high capacitance of 435 F g-1 and good stability with 89% capacity retention over 10,000 cycles. Moreover, the proton transfer effect can be further enhanced by introducing extra hydrogen ions in the electrolyte with low pH value. The highest capacitance of 544 F g-1 is obtained at pH = 3. The proton transfer process tends to take place preferentially on the hydroxyl-groups based on the density functional theory (DFT) calculation. The results would help to develop carbon materials for cheaper and safer Zn-ion hybrid SCs with higher energy.

Transport of active particles induced by wedge-shaped barriers in straight channels with hard and soft walls.

The transport of active particles in straight channels is numerically investigated. The periodic wedge-shaped barriers can produce the asymmetry of the system and induce the directed transport of the active particles. The direction of the transport is determined by the apex angle of the wedge-shaped barriers. By confining the particles in channels with hard and soft walls, the transport exhibits similar behaviors. The average velocity is a peaked function of the translational diffusion, while it decreases monotonously with the increase of the rotational diffusion. Moreover, the simulation results show that the transport is sensitive to the parameters of the confined structures, such as the pore width, the intensity of potential, and the channel period.

Forced transport of self-propelled particles in a two-dimensional separate channel.

Transport of self-propelled particles in a two-dimensional (2D) separate channel is investigated in the presence of the combined forces. By applying an ac force, the particles will be trapped by the separate walls. A dc force produces the asymmetry of the system and induces the longitudinal directed transport. Due to the competition between self-propulsion and the combined external forces, the transport is sensitive to the self-propelled speed and the particle radius, thus one can separate the particles based on these properties.

[Quantum Chemistry Calculation of Ponceau 4R Molecule Structure and Research on the Fluorescence Mechanism].

The molecule structures of Ponceau 4R in ground state and the excited state were optimized by employing the Gaussian 09W program package. In addition, the electronic structure and frontier orbital of the ground state, the emission wavelength of the excited state was also investigated. And then, the Edinburgh FLS920P fluorescence spectrometer was applied to the measurement of the fluorescence spectra of cochineal solution, and the emission spectra was obtained. The calculated emission wavelength had a good coincidence with the experiment data, which indicates that the optimized structures mentioned above are reasonable. The structures comparison between the ground state and the excited state was also performed to analyze the mechanism of fluorescence spectrum. It can be concluded that the molecule structure of excited state is nearly planar, so Ponceau 4R is thought to have strong fluorescent characteristics, the emission fluorescence is the result of transition from orbit 139 to orbit 137.

Diffusion and mobility of anisotropic particles in tilted periodic structures.

We numerically investigated the transport of anisotropic particles in tilted periodic structures. The diffusion and mobility of the particles demonstrate distinct behaviors dependence on the shape of the particles. In two-dimensional (2D) periodic potentials, we find that the mobility is influenced a little by the anisotropy of the particle, while the diffusion increases monotonically with the increasing of the particle anisotropy for large enough biased force. However, due to the sensitivity of the channels for the particle anisotropy, the transport in smooth channels is obviously different from that in energy potentials. The mobility decreases monotonically with the increasing of the particle anisotropy, while the diffusion can be a non-monotonic function of the particle anisotropy with a peak under appropriate biased force.

Single and multiple doping effects on charge transport in zigzag silicene nanoribbons.

A non-equilibrium Green's function technique combined with density functional theory is used to study the spin-dependent electronic band structure and transport properties of zigzag silicene nanoribbons (ZSiNRs) doped with aluminum (Al) or phosphorus (P) atoms. The presence of a single Al or P atom induces quasibound states in ZSiNRs that can be observed as new dips in the electron conductance. The Al atom acts as an acceptor whereas the P atom acts as a donor if it is placed at the center of the ribbon. This behavior is reversed if the dopant is placed on the edges. Accordingly, an acceptor-donor transition is observed in ZSiNRs upon changing the dopant's position. Similar results are obtained if two silicon atoms are replaced by two impurities (Al or P atoms) but the conductance is generally modified due to the impurity-impurity interaction. If the doping breaks the twofold rotational symmetry about the central line, the transport becomes spin-dependent.

Transport of active ellipsoidal particles in ratchet potentials.

Rectified transport of active ellipsoidal particles is numerically investigated in a two-dimensional asymmetric potential. The out-of-equilibrium condition for the active particle is an intrinsic property, which can break thermodynamical equilibrium and induce the directed transport. It is found that the perfect sphere particle can facilitate the rectification, while the needlelike particle destroys the directed transport. There exist optimized values of the parameters (the self-propelled velocity, the torque acting on the body) at which the average velocity takes its maximal value. For the ellipsoidal particle with not large asymmetric parameter, the average velocity decreases with increasing the rotational diffusion rate, while for the needlelike particle (very large asymmetric parameter), the average velocity is a peaked function of the rotational diffusion rate. By introducing a finite load, particles with different shapes (or different self-propelled velocities) will move to the opposite directions, which is able to separate particles of different shapes (or different self-propelled velocities).

Transport of finite size particles in confined narrow channels: diffusion, coherence, and particle separation.

Transport of the finite size spherical Brownian particles is investigated in confined narrow channels with varying cross-section width. Applying the Fick-Jacobs approximation, we obtain the expressions of the particle current, the effective diffusion coefficient, and the coherence level of Brownian transport (the Péclet number). For the case of the biased constant force, the dependencies of the nonlinear mobility, the effective diffusion coefficient, and the Péclet number on the particle size exhibit striking behaviors. The Péclet number decreases with increasing the radius of the particle which shows that the big sizes of the particles reduce the coherence level of Brownian transport. There exists an optimized value of the radius at which the effective diffusion coefficient is maximal. For the case of the asymmetric unbiased force, due to the competition between the spatial asymmetry and the temporal asymmetry, the transport directions of the particles depend very sensitively on the size of the particle. Particles larger than a given threshold radius move to the left, whereas particles smaller than that move to the right. Therefore, one can separate particles of different radii and make them move towards opposite directions.

CrSi(2) hexagonal nanowebs.

Single-crystalline CrSi(2) nanostructures with a unique hexagonal nanoweb morphology have been successfully synthesized for the first time. These nanowebs span 150-200 nm and are composed of <112̅0> nanowire segments with a thickness of 10-30 nm. It is proposed that surface charges on the {101̅0} sidewalls and the minimization of electrostatic energy induce the nanoweb formation. Calculations of the electrostatic energies were used to predict the transitions between different modes of bending, which agreed well with the experimental observations.

[Animal model of rat-to-mouse xenogeneic bone marrow transplantation with graft-versus-host disease].

To observe the graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) in rat-to-mouse model of bone marrow transplantation to build a GVHD model, BALB/c mice were conditioned with 8.5 Gy lethal total body irradiation and divided into two groups. One group of mice was infused with 4 x 10(7) bone marrow cells (BMC) from SD rats. The other group of mice was infused with 4 x 10(7) bone marrow cell and 2 x 10(7) spleen cells from SD rats. GVHD in mice of two groups were observed for 60 days. The results showed that mice in the group infused with only BMC mostly (80%) survived more than 60 days, but in the other group infused with mixed BMC and spleen cells, all mice died within 14 days and showed GVHD with pathologic evidence. In conclusion, to induce GVHD in rat-to-mouse bone marrow transplantation needs additional rat spleen cells.