An interwoven network of MnO2 nanowires and carbon nanotubes as the anode for bendable lithium-ion batteries.

A porous interwoven network is synthesized, consisting of ultralong MnO2 nanowires and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). Serving as the anode for a lithium-ion battery, this nanocomposite demonstrates excellent performance due to the synergistic integration of these two 1D materials. Taking advantage of the excellent flexibility and strength of this MnO2-MWCNT network, a full, bendable battery is made that offers high capacity, cycling stability, and low cost.

Gallium-doped tin oxide nano-cuboids for improved dye sensitized solar cell.

Tin dioxide (SnO2) is a potential candidate to replace conventional titanium dioxide (TiO2) in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) because of its wider bandgap and higher electron mobility. However, SnO2 suffers from low band edge that causes severe backflow of electrons towards electrolyte (charge recombination). Herein, we demonstrate that gallium (Ga) doping can increase the band edge of SnO2, and we show that DSSCs using a Ga-doped SnO2 nano-cuboids based photoanode offer improved open circuit potential (~0.74 V), fill factor (~73.7%), and power conversion efficiency (~4.05%).

2D single- or double-layered vanadium oxide nanosheet assembled 3D microflowers: controlled synthesis, growth mechanism, and applications.

A facile one-pot solvent-thermal method was developed to synthesize a unique 3D microflower structure assembled from single- or double-layered 2D nanosheets of V4O9 (F-VO). Simply by controlling the precursor concentration, yolk-shelled V4O9 (YS-VO) or bulk V4O9 (B-VO) can be produced instead. The precursor-concentration dependent growth mechanism is proposed. The exceptional catalytic/electrochemical properties and large specific surface area of F-VO promise a wide range of applications. As a proof-of-concept demonstration, we investigate its use in high-performance supercapacitors (~392 F g(-1)), and for sensitive detection of H2O2 (with a low detection limit of ~0.1 µM) and methanol (with a low detection limit of ~60 µM). Furthermore, we show that F-VO greatly outperforms its counterparts (YS-VO and B-VO) presumably owing to its unique structure and crystal plane orientation.