CoS2 /N-Doped Hollow Spheres as an Anode Material for High-Performance Sodium-Ion Batteries.

In this work, we first synthesized polyacrylic acid (PAA) spheres and then used PAA as a template to load Co(OH)2 particles onto its surface. The product of CoS2 nanoparticles dispersed in N-doped hollow spheres (N-HCS) was prepared through sulfurization treatment (CoS2 /S@N-HCS). During the sulfuration process, sulfur penetrates into the PAA, embedding into the graphite layer along with the carbonization process. It was found that during the charging and discharging process, the sulfur in the carbon layer will gradually dissolve out, thereby forming new ion diffusion channels in the carbon spheres and exposing more CoS2 active sites. The CoS2 /S@N-HCS composite exhibits a specific capacity of 729.6 mAh g-1 after 500 cycles at a current density of 1 A g-1 . The sodium-storage mechanism and reaction kinetics of the materials were further measured by in-situ electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, ex-situ X-ray diffraction, capacitance performance evaluation, and galvanostatic intermittent titration technique. The excellent cycling performance and rate capability demonstrated that the CoS2 /S@N-HCS is a potential and prospective anode material for sodium-ion batteries.

Characteristics of urban streets in relation to perceived restorativeness.

The research on the restorative capacity of various environments has been growing exponentially in recent years. However, previous researchers mainly focus on urban green spaces, natural environments or urban landscapes. The streetscapes which have a close tie with residents' daily life and may have an essential effect on people's psychological wellbeing have not attracted extensive attention from academic research, failing to provide a cohesive guideline for streetscape design. To address this gap, this paper conducted an experiment to explore the relationship between restorative quality and streetscape characteristics, in which 30 photographs representing the various streetscapes in Xuzhou in eastern China, were used as stimuli, and the restorative qualities of these photographs were measured through online surveys. The results indicated that: (1) the streetscape with higher rate of plants in the view and diverse species of plants implied a high restorative capacity; (2) less non-motor vehicles and clear traffic signs painted on the streets are the other promoters of the restorative capacity of streetscapes. These findings contribute new knowledge about the role of streetscape characteristics to enhance the restorative potential and have applications for designers and urban managers.