ABSTRACT
Electrochromic smart windows have attracted great attention due to their dynamic regulation of the solar spectrum. NiO and MnO2 are typical anodic coloration materials and widely investigated as complementary electrodes with WO3. However, NiO and MnO2 films often cannot be bleached to complete transparency, resulting in low transmittances and low optical modulations in the short-wavelength visible region. Herein, we report a porous nickel manganese layered double hydroxide (NiMn-LDH) nanosheet film directly grown on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass using a one-step hydrothermal method, which demonstrates a high transmittance of 80.1% at 550 nm (without deduction of FTO glass). Induced by the double-redox couples of Ni2+/Ni3+ and Mn3+/Mn4+ associated synergistic electrochromic effect, the as-grown NiMn-LDH film electrode exhibits a large optical modulation of 68.5% at 550 nm, and a large solar irradiation modulation of 59.0% in the visible region of 400-800 nm. After annealing at 450 °C for 2 h, the NiMn-LDH film can be transformed into Ni6MnO8 film with a reduced optical modulation of 30.0% at 550 nm. Furthermore, the NiMn-LDH film electrode delivers an areal capacitance of 30.8 mF cm-2 at a current density of 0.1 mA cm-2. These results suggest that the as-prepared NiMn-LDH film electrode is a promising candidate for both electrochromic and energy storage applications.
ABSTRACT
High-temperature negative thermal quenching (NTQ) phosphors are crucial to high-performance light-emitting devices. Herein, we report the high-temperature NTQ effect in deep-red to near-infrared (NIR) emitting copper iodide cluster-based coordination polymers as unconventional phosphors, whose NTQ operating temperature can reach as high as 500 K, the highest temperature reached by NTQ molecular-based materials.
ABSTRACT
Inorganic materials have been extensively studied for visible electrochromism in the past few decades. However, the single inorganic electrochromic (EC) material commonly exhibits a single color change, leading to a narrow spectrum of modulation, which offsets or limits the maximally energy-saving ability. Here, we present a wide-spectrum modulated EC device designed by combining the complementary EC nanocomposite of manganese dioxide (MnO2) and Prussian blue (PB) for enhanced energy savings. Porous MnO2 nanostructures serve as host frameworks for the templated growth of PB, resulting in MnO2/PB nanocomposites. The complementary optical modulation ranges of MnO2 and PB enable a widen-spectrum modulation across the solar region with the development of the MnO2/PB nanocomposite. The colored MnO2/PB device exhibited an optical modulation of 32.1% in the wide solar spectrum range of 320-1100 nm and blocked 72.0% of the solar irradiance. Furthermore, fast switching responses (2.7 s for coloration and 2.1 s for bleaching) and a high coloration efficiency (83.1 cm2·C-1) of the MnO2/PB EC device are also achieved. The high EC performance of the MnO2/PB nanocomposite device provides a new strategy for the design of high-performance energy-saving EC smart windows.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: There is a great deal of interest in traditional Chinese medicine as a treatment for chronic cerebral circulation insufficiency (CCCI). In the present study, we evaluated the efficacy and safety of Yangxue Qingnao Granules (YXQNG) as a monotherapy in patients with CCCI. METHODS: From July 2007 to May 2010, 273 patients with CCCI at nine centres in China were randomly assigned to receive either YXQNG with nimodipine placebo (n= 140, 12 g/day) or nimodipine with YXQNG placebo (n= 133, 30 mg/day) for 8 weeks. The primary end points after 8 weeks of treatment were changes from baseline in severity of headache, heavy-headed feeling, dizziness and sleep disorder. RESULTS: The mean baseline levels of headache, heavy-headed feeling, dizziness and sleep disorder were comparable between the two groups. Both therapies significantly improved these symptoms after 8 weeks of treatment (P < 0.001). Compared with nimodipine therapy, YXQNG resulted in similar reductions in these symptoms. No adverse effects were observed in the YXQNG group. CONCLUSIONS: These data demonstrate that YXQNG as a monotherapy were as effective as nimodipine monotherapy in improving the symptoms of CCCI. It is well-tolerated and may have an important place in the management of this condition. Whether a combination of these two medicines will increase therapeutic efficacy deserves further clinical investigation.