Boosting the Energy Density of Bowl-Like MnO2@Carbon Through Lithium-Intercalation in a High-Voltage Asymmetric Supercapacitor with "Water-In-Salt" Electrolyte.

Highly concentrated "'water-in-salt"' (WIS) electrolytes are promising for high-performance energy storage devices due to their wide electrochemical stability window. However, the energy storage mechanism of MnO2 in WIS electrolytes-based supercapacitors remains unclear. Herein, MnO2 nanoflowers are successfully grown on mesoporous bowl-like carbon (MBC) particles to generate MnO2/MBC composites, which not only increase electroactive sites and inhibit the pulverization of MnO2 particles during the fast charging/discharging processes, but also facilitate the electron transfer and ion diffusion within the whole electrode, resulting in significant enhancement of the electrochemical performance. An asymmetric supercapacitor, assembled with MnO2/MBC and activated carbon (AC) and using 21 m LiTFSI solution as the WIS electrolyte, delivers an ultrahigh energy density of 70.2 Wh kg-1 at 700 W kg-1, and still retains 24.8 Wh kg-1 when the power density is increased to 28 kW kg-1. The ex situ XRD, Raman, and XPS measurements reveal that a reversible reaction of MnO2 + xLi+ + xe-↔LixMnO2 takes place during charging and discharging. Therefore, the asymmetric MnO2/MBC//AC supercapacitor with LiTFSI electrolyte is actually a lithium-ion hybrid supercapacitor, which can greatly boost the energy density of the assembled device and expand the voltage window.

Seeding Atomic Silver into Internal Lattice Sites of Transition Metal Oxide for Advanced Electrocatalysis.

Transition metal oxides (TMOs) are widely studied for loading of various catalysts due to their low cost and high structure flexibility. However, the prevailing close-packed nature of most TMOs crystals has restricted the available loading sites to surface only, while their internal bulk lattice remains unactuated due to the inaccessible narrow space that blocks out most key reactants and/or particulate catalysts. Herein, using tunnel-structured MnO2, this study demonstrates how TMO's internal lattice space can be activated as extra loading sites for atomic Ag in addition to the conventional surface-only loading, via which a dual-form Ag catalyst within MnO2 skeleton is established. In this design, not only faceted Ag nanoparticles are confined onto MnO2 surface by coherent lattice-sharing, Ag atomic strings are also seeded deep into the sub-nanoscale MnO2 tunnel lattice, enriching the catalytically active sites. Tested for electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (eCO2RR), such dual-form catalyst exhibits a high Faradaic efficiency (94%), yield (67.3 mol g-1 h-1) and durability (≈48 h) for CO production, exceeding commercial Ag nanoparticles and most Ag-based electrocatalysts. Theoretical calculations further reveal the concurrent effect of such dual-form catalyst featuring facet-dependent eCO2RR for Ag nanoparticles and lattice-confined eCO2RR for Ag atomic strings, inspiring the future design of catalyst-substrate configuration.

Regulating Electron Filling and Orbital Occupancy of Anti-Bonding States of Transition Metal Nitride Heterojunction for High Areal Capacity Lithium-Sulfur Full Batteries.

The commercialization of lithium-sulfur (Li-S) battery is seriously hindered by the shuttle behavior of lithium (Li) polysulfide, slow conversion kinetics, and Li dendrite growth. Herein, a novel hierarchical p-type iron nitride and n-type vanadium nitride (p-Fe2 N/n-VN) heterostructure with optimal electronic structure, confined in vesicle-like N-doped nanofibers (p-Fe2 N/n-VN⊂PNCF), is meticulously constructed to work as "one stone two birds" dual-functional hosts for both the sulfur cathode and Li anode. As demonstrated, the d-band center of high-spin Fe atom captures more electrons from V atom to realize more π* and moderate σ* bond electron filling and orbital occupation; thus, allowing moderate adsorption intensity for polysulfides and more effective d-p orbital hybridization to improve reaction kinetics. Meanwhile, this unique structure can dynamically balance the deposition and transport of Li on the anode; thereby, more effectively inhibiting Li dendrite growth and promoting the formation of a uniform solid electrolyte interface. The as-assembled Li-S full batteries exhibit the conspicuous capacities and ultralong cycling lifespan over 2000 cycles at 5.0 C. Even at a higher S loading (20 mg cm-2 ) and lean electrolyte (2.5 µL mg-1 ), the full cells can still achieve an ultrahigh areal capacity of 16.1 mAh cm-2 after 500 cycles at 0.1 C.

A restricted dynamic surface self-reconstruction toward high-performance of direct seawater oxidation.

The development of highly efficient electrocatalysts for direct seawater splitting with bifunctionality for inhibiting anodic oxidation reconstruction and selective oxygen evolution reactions is a major challenge. Herein, we report a direct seawater oxidation electrocatalyst that achieves long-term stability for more than 1000 h at 600 mA/cm2@η600 and high selectivity (Faraday efficiency of 100%). This catalyst revolves an amorphous molybdenum oxide layer constructed on the beaded-like cobalt oxide interface by atomic layer deposition technology. As demonstrated, a new restricted dynamic surface self-reconstruction mechanism is induced by the formation a stable reconstructed Co-Mo double hydroxide phase interface layer. The device assembled into a two-electrode flow cell for direct overall seawater electrolysis maintained at 1 A/cm2@1.93 V for 500 h with Faraday efficiency higher than 95%. Hydrogen generation rate reaches 419.4 mL/cm2/h, and the power consumption (4.62 KWh/m3 H2) is lower than that of pure water (5.0 KWh/m3 H2) at industrial current density.

Two-dimensional Cu Plates with Steady Fluid Fields for High-rate Nitrate Electroreduction to Ammonia and Efficient Zn-Nitrate Batteries.

Nitrate electroreduction reaction (eNO3 -RR) to ammonia (NH3) provides a promising strategy for nitrogen utilization, while achieving high selectivity and durability at an industrial scale has remained challenging. Herein, we demonstrated that the performance of eNO3 -RR could be significantly boosted by introducing two-dimensional Cu plates as electrocatalysts and eliminating the general carrier gas to construct a steady fluid field. The developed eNO3 -RR setup provided superior NH3 Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 99 %, exceptional long-term electrolysis for 120 h at 200 mA cm-2, and a record-high yield rate of 3.14 mmol cm-2 h-1. Furthermore, the proposed strategy was successfully extended to the Zn-nitrate battery system, providing a power density of 12.09 mW cm-2 and NH3 FE of 85.4 %, outperforming the state-of-the-art eNO3 -RR catalysts. Coupled with the COMSOL multiphysics simulations and in situ infrared spectroscopy, the main contributor for the high-efficiency NH3 production could be the steady fluid field to timely rejuvenate the electrocatalyst surface during the electrocatalysis.

Color-Tunable Perovskite Nanomaterials with Intense Circularly Polarized Luminescence and Tailorable Compositions.

The ability to design halide perovskite nanocrystals (PNCs) with circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) offers exceptional potential in photonic technologies. Despite recent inspiring advances, the creation of PNCs with full-color tailorablity, outstanding CPL, and long-term stability remains a substantial challenge. Herein, a robust strategy to craft CPL-active PNCs is reported, exhibiting appealing full-color tunable wavelengths, enhanced CPL, and prolonged stability. In contrast to conventional methodologies, this strategy utilizes chiral nematic mesoporous silica (CNMS) as host to render in situ confined growth of diverse achiral PNCs. By strategically engineering photonic bandgap, adjusting loading amount of PNCs, and manipulating cations/anion compositions of PNCs, robust CPL responses with tunable wavelength and intensity are successfully obtained. The resulting PNCs-CNMS achieves stable CPL emissions with full-color tunability and impressive luminescent dissymmetric factors up to -0.17. Remarkably, silica-based hosts as a protective barrier confer exceptional resistance to humidity, photodegradation, and thermal stability, even up to 95 °C. Furthermore, the ability to achieve reversible CPL switching within PNCs-CNMS is attainable by leveraging the responsiveness of CNMS matrix or dynamic behavior of impregnated PNCs. Additionally, circularly polarized light-emitting diode devices based on PNCs-CNMS can be conveniently fabricated. This research affords a powerful platform for designing functional chiroptical materials.

Efficient sulfur atom-doped three-dimensional porous MXene-assisted sodium ion batteries.

Recently, it has been reported that MXene is a promising pseudocapacitive material for energy storage, primarily due to its intercalation mechanism. However, Ti3C2Tx MXenes face challenges, such as inadequate layer spacing and low specific capacity, which greatly hinder their potential as anode materials for sodium storage. In this study, MXene was doped with sulfur to create a three-dimensional porous structure that resulted in an increased layer spacing. The sulfur-doped porous MXene (SPM) demonstrated exceptional performance as sodium ion battery anodes, with a capacity of 335.2 mA h g-1 after 490 cycles at 2 A g-1 and a long-term cycling performance of 256.1 mA h g-1 even after 2480 cycles at 5 A g-1. It is worth noting that the porous structure formed after sulfur-doping exhibits superior sodium storage performance compared to previously reported MXene-based electrodes. This highlights the feasibility of the structural construction strategy, offering an effective solution for energy storage and conversion applications.

External Field-Responsive Ternary Non-Noble Metal Oxygen Electrocatalyst for Rechargeable Zinc-Air Batteries.

Despite the increasing effort in advancing oxygen electrocatalysts for zinc-air batteries (ZABs), the performance development gradually reaches a plateau via only ameliorating the electrocatalyst materials. Herein, a new class of external field-responsive electrocatalyst comprising Ni0.5Mn0.5Fe2O4 stably dispersed on N-doped Ketjenblack (Ni0.5Mn0.5Fe2O4/N-KB) is developed via polymer-assisted strategy for practical ZABs. Briefly, the activity indicator ΔE is significantly decreased to 0.618 V upon photothermal assistance, far exceeding most reported electrocatalysts (generally >0.680 V). As a result, the photothermal electrocatalyst possesses comprehensive merits of excellent power density (319 mW cm-2), ultralong lifespan (5163 cycles at 25 mA cm-2), and outstanding rate performance (100 mA cm-2) for liquid ZABs, and superb temperature and deformation adaptability for flexible ZABs. Such improvement is attributed to the photothermal-heating-enabled synergy of promoted electrical conductivity, reactant-molecule motion, active area, and surface reconstruction, as revealed by operando Raman and simulation. The findings open vast possibilities toward more-energy-efficient energy applications.

Honeycomb-Structured MoSe2 /rGO Composites as High-Performance Anode Materials for Sodium-Ion Batteries.

Sodium-ion batteries are a promising substitute for lithium batteries due to the abundant resources and low cost of sodium. Herein, honeycomb-shaped MoSe2 /reduced graphene oxide (rGO) composite materials are synthesized from graphene oxide (GO) and MoSe2 through a one-step solvothermal process. Experiments show that the 3D honeycomb structure provides excellent electrolyte penetration while alleviating the volume change during electrochemical cycling. An anode prepared with MoSe2 /rGO composites exhibits significantly improved sodium-ion storage properties, where a large reversible capacity of 215 mAh g-1 is obtained after 2700 cycles at the current density of 30.0 A g-1 or after 5900 cycles at 8.0 A g-1 . When such an anode is paired with Na3 V2 (PO4 )3 to form a full cell, a reversible specific capacity of 107.5 mAh g-1 can be retained after 1000 cycles at the current of 1.0 A g-1 . Transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and in situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) characterization reveal the reversible storage reaction of Na ions in the MoSe2 /rGO composites. The significantly enhanced sodium storage capacity is attributed to the unique honeycomb microstructure and the use of ether-based electrolytes. This study illustrates that combining rGO with ether-based electrolytes has tremendous potential in constructing high-performance sodium-ion batteries.

Long Cycle Life for Rechargeable Lithium Battery using Organic Small Molecule Dihydrodibenzo[c,h][2,6]naphthyridine-5,11-dione as a Cathode after Isoindigo Pigment Isomerization.

Sustainability and adaptability in structural design of the organic cathodes present promises for applications in alkali metal ion batteries. Nevertheless, a formidable challenge lies in their high solubility in organic electrolytes, particularly for small molecular materials, impeding cycling stability and high capacity. This study focuses on the design and synthesis of organic small molecules, the isomers of (E)-5,5'-difluoro-[3,3'-biindolinylidene]-2,2'-dione (EFID) and 3,9-difluoro-6,12-dihydrodibenzo [c, h][2,6]naphthyridine-5,11-dione (FBND). While EFID, characterized by a less π-conjugated structure, exhibits subpar cycling stability in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), intriguingly, another isomer, FBND, demonstrates exceptional capacity and cycling stability in LIBs. FBND delivers a remarkable capacity of 175 mAh g-1 at a current density of 0.05 A g-1 and maintains excellent cycling stability over 2000 cycles, retaining 90% of its initial capacity. Furthermore, an in-depth examination of redox reactions and storage mechanisms of FBND are conducted. The potential of FBND is also explored as an anode in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and as a cathode in sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). The FBND framework, featuring extended π-conjugated molecules with an imide structure compared to EFID, proves to be an excellent material template to develop advanced organic small molecular cathode materials for sustainable batteries.

Distinguished Roles of Nitrogen-Doped Sp2 and Sp3 Hybridized Carbon on Extraordinary Supercapacitance in Acidic Aqueous Electrolyte.

The acidic aqueous supercapacitors have been found to deliver appealing capacitive properties due to fast ion diffusion caused by the applied smallest size of hydrion. However, their practical applications are largely inhibited by the narrow electrochemical stability window of water (1.23 V). Herein, A nitrogen-enriched porous carbon materials (RNOPCs) is reported, consisting of varied nitrogen doping bonded on sp2 and sp3 carbon sites, which are capable of stimulating a wider potential window up to 1.4 V and thus resulting in a great enhancement of capacitive performance in aqueous acidic electrolytes. Together with the improved electrical conductivity and preferable hydrion diffusion, RNOPCs exhibit an ultrahigh volumetric capacitance (1084 F cm-3) in 0.5 M H2SO4. Besides, a fully packed RNOPCs-based symmetrical supercapacitor can deliver a high gravimetric and volumetric energy density of 31.8 Wh Kg-1 and 54.3 Wh L-1 respectively, approaching those of lead acid batteries (25-35 Wh Kg-1). The first-principles calculations reveal that the lone pair electrons of the doped nitrogen can be delocalized on its neighboring carbon atoms, improving charge uptakes and overpotentials. Such facile and scale-up production of carbon-based supercapacitors can bridge the gap of energy density between traditional supercapacitors and batteries in aqueous electrolytes.

Recent Progress Toward Electrocatalytic Conversion of Nitrobenzene.

Despite that extensive efforts have been dedicated to the search for advanced catalysts to boost the electrocatalytic nitrobenzene reduction reaction (eNBRR), its progress is severely hampered by the limited understanding of the relationship between catalyst structure and its catalytic performance. Herein, this review aims to bridge such a gap by first analyzing the eNBRR pathway to present the main influential factors, such as electrolyte feature, applied potential, and catalyst structure. Then, the recent advancements in catalyst design for eNBRR are comprehensively summarized, particularly about the impacts of chemical composition, morphology, and crystal facets on regulating the local microenvironment, electron and mass transport for boosting catalytic performance. Finally, the future research of eNBRR is also proposed from the perspectives of performance enhancement, expansion of product scope, in-depth understanding of the reaction mechanism, and acceleration of the industrialization process through the integration of upstream and downstream technologies.

Electrocatalytic CO2 Reduction to Ethylene: From Advanced Catalyst Design to Industrial Applications.

The value-added chemicals, monoxide, methane, ethylene, ethanol, ethane, and so on, can be efficiently generated through the electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (eCO2 RR) when equipped with suitable catalysts. Among them, ethylene is particularly important as a chemical feedstock for petrochemical manufacture. However, despite its high Faradaic efficiency achievable at relatively low current densities, the substantial enhancement of ethylene selectivity and stability at industrial current densities poses a formidable challenge. To facilitate the industrial implementation of eCO2 RR for ethylene production, it is imperative to identify key strategies and potential solutions through comprehending the recent advancements, remaining challenges, and future directions. Herein, the latest and innovative catalyst design strategies of eCO2 RR to ethylene are summarized and discussed, starting with the properties of catalysts such as morphology, crystalline, oxidation state, defect, composition, and surface engineering. The review subsequently outlines the related important state-of-the-art technologies that are essential in driving forward eCO2 RR to ethylene into practical applications, such as CO2 capture, product separation, and downstream reactions. Finally, a greenhouse model that integrates CO2 capture, conversion, storage, and utilization is proposed to present an ideal perspective direction of eCO2 RR to ethylene.

Amorphization-Induced Cation Exchange in Indium Oxide Nanosheets for CO2-to-Ethanol Conversion.

Cation exchange (CE) in metal oxides under mild conditions remains an imperative yet challenging goal to tailor their composition and enable practical applications. Herein, we first develop an amorphization-induced strategy to achieve room-temperature CE for universally synthesizing single-atom doped In2O3 nanosheets (NSs). Density functional theory (DFT) calculations elucidate that the abundant coordination-unsaturated sites present in a-In2O3 NSs are instrumental in surmounting the energy barriers of CE reactions. Empirically, a-In2O3 NSs as the host materials successfully undergo exchange with unary cations (Cu2+, Co2+, Mn2+, Ni2+), binary cations (Co2+Mn2+, Co2+Ni2+, Mn2+Ni2+), and ternary cations (Co2+Mn2+Ni2+). Impressively, high-loading single-atom doped (over 10 atom %) In2O3 NSs were obtained. Additionally, Cu/a-In2O3 NSs exhibit an excellent ethanol yield (798.7 µmol g-1 h-1) with a high selectivity of 99.5% for the CO2 photoreduction. This work offers a new approach to induce CE reactions in metal oxides under mild conditions and constructs scalable single-atom doped catalysts for critical applications.

Nitrogen Plasma Activates CoMn-Layered Double Hydroxides for Superior Electrochemical Oxygen Evolution.

Bimetallic layered double hydroxide is considered an ideal electrocatalytic material. However, due to the poor electrical conductivity of the bimetallic layered structure, obtaining highly active and stable catalysts through facile regulation strategies remains a great challenge. Herein, we use a simple corrosion strategy and nitrogen plasma technology to convert cobalt-based metal-organic frameworks into nitrogen-doped CoMn bimetallic layered double hydroxides (CoMn-LDH). Under the condition of regulating the local coordination environment of the catalytic active site and the presence of rich oxygen vacancy defects, N@CoMn-LDH/CC generates a low overpotential of 219 mV at 10 mA cm-2, which exceeds that of the commercial RuO2 catalyst. Density functional theory calculation shows that nitrogen doping improves the adsorption energy of the Mn site for oxygen evolution intermediates and reduces the reaction energy barrier of the Co site. Meanwhile, experiments and theoretical calculations verify that the mechanism of nitrogen doping regulating the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) follows the lattice oxygen oxidation mechanism, avoiding the collapse of the structure caused by catalyst reconstruction, thus improving the stability of oxygen evolution. This work provides a new simple strategy for the preparation of catalysts for a superior electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction.

Highly Enhanced Mechanical, Thermal, and Crystallization Performance of PLA/PBS Composite by Glass Fiber Coupling Agent Modification.

To improve the toughness and heat resistance of polylactic acid (PLA), polybutylene succinate (PBS) was sufficiently blended with PLA as the base matrix, and the glass fiber (GF) that was modified with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (KF-GF) was added as the reinforcement. The results demonstrated a noteworthy boost in both mechanical and heat resistance properties when employing KH-GF, in comparison to pristine GF. When the content of KH-GF reached 20%, the tensile, flexural, and IZOD impact strength of the composites were 65.53 MPa, 83.43 MPa, and 7.45 kJ/m2, respectively, which were improved by 123%, 107%, and 189% compared to the base matrix, respectively. This enhancement was primarily attributed to the stronger interfacial adhesion between KH-GF and the PLA/PBS matrix. Furthermore, the Vicat softening temperature of the composites reached 128.7 °C, which was a result of increased crystallinity. In summary, the incorporation of KH-GF into PLA/PBS composites resulted in notable enhancements in their mechanical properties, crystallinity, and thermal characteristics. The high performance KH-GF-reinforced PLA/PBS composite showed a broad application potential in the field of biodegradable packaging, biodegradable textiles, and biodegradable plastic bags.

Modifying charge transfer between rhodium and ceria for boosted hydrogen oxidation reaction in alkaline electrolyte.

Sluggish kinetics of hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) in alkaline solution has restricted the rapid development of hydrogen economy. Constructing catalyst with metal-oxide heterostructures can enhance HOR performance; however, little studies concentrate on charge transfer between them, and the corresponding effects on reactions remain unclear. Herein, we report charge-transfer-adjustable CeO2/Rh interfaces uniformly dispersed on multiwalled carbon nanotube (CNT), which exhibit excellent alkaline HOR performance. Results confirm that the charge transfer from Rh to CeO2 could be conveniently tuned via thermal treatment. Consequently, the adsorption free energies of H* in Rh sites and OH* adsorption strength in CeO2 could be adjusted, as corroborated by density functional theory study. The optimized CeO2/Rh interfaces exhibit an exchange current density and a mass-specific kinetic current of 0.53 mA cmPGM-2 and 830 A gPGM-1 at an overpotential of 50 mV, respectively, which surpasses most of the advanced noble-metal-based electrocatalysts. This work provides a new insight of harnessing charge transfer of heterostructure to enhance catalytic activities.

Controllable synthesis of hollow COFs for boosting photocatalytic hydrogen generation.

COF-LZU1 with a cubic hollow structure was fabricated through a hard template approach by using water solvable NaCl as a template. The precisely prepared COF-LZU1 hollow cube displays an enhanced H2 evolution rate (651 µmol h-1 g-1), which is approximately 1.8 times greater than that of pristine COF-LZU1 (361 µmol h-1 g-1).

Cooperative Ni(Co)-Ru-P Sites Activate Dehydrogenation for Hydrazine Oxidation Assisting Self-powered H2 Production.

Water electrolysis for H2 production is restricted by the sluggish oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Using the thermodynamically more favorable hydrazine oxidation reaction (HzOR) to replace OER has attracted ever-growing attention. Herein, we report a twisted NiCoP nanowire array immobilized with Ru single atoms (Ru1 -NiCoP) as superior bifunctional electrocatalyst toward both HzOR and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), realizing an ultralow working potential of -60 mV and overpotential of 32 mV for a current density of 10 mA cm-2 , respectively. Inspiringly, two-electrode electrolyzer based on overall hydrazine splitting (OHzS) demonstrates outstanding activity with a record-high current density of 522 mA cm-2 at cell voltage of 0.3 V. DFT calculations elucidate the cooperative Ni(Co)-Ru-P sites in Ru1 -NiCoP optimize H* adsorption, and enhance adsorption of *N2 H2 to significantly lower the energy barrier for hydrazine dehydrogenation. Moreover, a self-powered H2 production system utilizing OHzS device driven by direct hydrazine fuel cell (DHzFC) achieve a satisfactory rate of 24.0 mol h-1 m-2 .

High-Capacity Sb/Fe2S3 Sodium-Ion Battery Anodes Fabricated by a One-Step Redox Reaction, Followed by Ball Milling with Graphite.

Antimony (Sb) has been considered a promising anode for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) owing to its high theoretical capacity (660 mA h g-1) and low redox voltage (0.2-0.9 V vs Na+/Na). However, the capacity degradation caused by the volumetric variation during battery discharge/charge hinders the practical application. Herein, guided by the DFT calculation, Sb/Fe2S3 was fabricated by annealing Fe and Sb2S3 mixed powder. Next, Sb/Fe2S3 was blended with 15 wt % graphite by ball milling, yielding nano-Sb/Fe2S3 anchored on an exfoliated graphite composite (denoted as Sb/Fe2S3-15%). When applied as an anode of SIBs, Sb/Fe2S3-15% delivered reversible capacities of 565, 542, 467, 366, 285, and 236 mA h g-1 at current rates of 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 A g-1, respectively, surpassing most of the Sb-based anodes. The co-existence of highly conductive Fe2S3 and Sb minimizes the polarization of the anode. Our experiments proved that the Sb and Fe2S3 phases were reversible during discharge/charge cycling, and the exfoliated graphite can accelerate the Na+ diffusion and e- conduction. The proposed synthesis method of this work can also be applicable to synthesize various antimony/transition metal sulfide heterostructures (Sb/M1-xS), which may be applied in a series of fields.