MXene-Based Nanocomposites for Piezoelectric and Triboelectric Energy Harvesting Applications.

Due to its superior advantages in terms of electronegativity, metallic conductivity, mechanical flexibility, customizable surface chemistry, etc., 2D MXenes for nanogenerators have demonstrated significant progress. In order to push scientific design strategies for the practical application of nanogenerators from the viewpoints of the basic aspect and recent advancements, this systematic review covers the most recent developments of MXenes for nanogenerators in its first section. In the second section, the importance of renewable energy and an introduction to nanogenerators, major classifications, and their working principles are discussed. At the end of this section, various materials used for energy harvesting and frequent combos of MXene with other active materials are described in detail together with the essential framework of nanogenerators. In the third, fourth, and fifth sections, the materials used for nanogenerators, MXene synthesis along with its properties, and MXene nanocomposites with polymeric materials are discussed in detail with the recent progress and challenges for their use in nanogenerator applications. In the sixth section, a thorough discussion of the design strategies and internal improvement mechanisms of MXenes and the composite materials for nanogenerators with 3D printing technologies are presented. Finally, we summarize the key points discussed throughout this review and discuss some thoughts on potential approaches for nanocomposite materials based on MXenes that could be used in nanogenerators for better performance.

MXene/Ferrite Magnetic Nanocomposites for Electrochemical Supercapacitor Applications.

MXene has been identified as a new emerging material for various applications including energy storage, electronics, and bio-related due to its wider physicochemical characteristics. Further the formation of hybrid composites of MXene with other materials makes them interesting to utilize in multifunctional applications. The selection of magnetic nanomaterials for the formation of nanocomposite with MXene would be interesting for the utilization of magnetic characteristics along with MXene. However, the selection of the magnetic nanomaterials is important, as the magnetic characteristics of the ferrites vary with the stoichiometric composition of metal ions, particle shape and size. The selection of the electrolyte is also important for electrochemical energy storage applications, as the electrolyte could influence the electrochemical performance. Further, the external magnetic field also could influence the electrochemical performance. This review briefly discusses the synthesis method of MXene, and ferrite magnetic nanoparticles and their composite formation. We also discussed the recent progress made on the MXene/ferrite nanocomposite for potential applications in electrochemical supercapacitor applications. The possibility of magnetic field-assisted supercapacitor applications with electrolyte and electrode materials are discussed.

Finger front propagation in smectic-A Fréedericksz transition.

Systems with multistability are characterized by exhibiting complex nonlinear waves between equilibria. Experimentally, near the smectic-A to chiral nematic transition in a liquid crystal mixture cell with planar anchoring, we observe finger fronts emerge in the smectic-A phase when applying an electric field, a reorientation transition. Finger fronts propagate in the direction orthogonal to the anchoring. Colorimetry characterization allows us to describe the molecular reorientation transition and front dynamics. We reveal that the reorientation transition is of the first-order type and determine their critical points. The front speed is determined as a function of the applied voltage. Theoretically, based on a prototype model of liquid crystal transitions, we qualitatively describe the experimental observations. We have analytically determined the bifurcation diagram and the propagation speeds of finger fronts, finding a fair agreement with the experimental observations.

Hydrogen storage in purified multi-walled carbon nanotubes: gas hydrogenation cycles effect on the adsorption kinetics and their performance.

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are an alternative for storage with low cost, eco-friendly, and good performance for both process adsorption and desorption. Herein, a purification procedure of MWCNTs was successfully described and studied by using XRD, TEM, Raman spectroscopy and by means of N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms using the BET method. The H2 storage properties at room temperature of the purified carbon nanotubes exposed to gas under pressures between 0.39 and 13.33 kPa was investigated by using the quartz crystal microbalance technique. It was found that the H2 adsorption capacity is strongly dependent on the morphological and structural characteristics of the carbon nanotubes and their specific surface area. The best sample with specific surface area of 729.4 ± 3 m2 g-1 shows a maximum adsorption capacity of 3.46 wt% at 12.79 kPa of H2 exposure pressure. The adsorption kinetics (t95%) from the different purified MWCNTs was also investigated as a function of the H2 exposure pressure as well as the performance of these MWCNTs on the reversibility of the H2 loading/unloading process when underwent to successive cycles of gas exposure.

Correction: A new family of fullerene derivatives: fullerene-curcumin conjugates for biological and photovoltaic applications.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1039/C8RA08334G.].

A new family of fullerene derivatives: Fullerene-curcumin conjugates for biological and photovoltaic applications.

The synthesis and characterization of a family of [60]fullerocurcuminoids obtained via Bingel reactions is reported. The new C60 derivatives include curcumin and curcuminoids with a variety of end groups. Preliminary biological experiments show the potential activity of the compound containing a curcumin addend, which exhibits moderate anti-HIV-1 and radical scavenger properties, but no anti-cancer activity. In addition, the new fullerocurcuminoids exhibit HOMO/LUMO energy levels that are reasonably matched with those of perovskites and when they were tested in perovskite solar cells (PSCs) as the electron transporting material (ETM), photoconversion efficiencies ranging from 14.04%-14.95% were obtained, whereas a value of 16.23% was obtained for [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PC61BM) based devices.

Bis(2,6-diamino-1H-purin-3-ium) di-µ-croconato-κ3O,O':O'';κ3O:O',O''-bis[tetraaqua(croconato-κ2O,O')neodymium(III)].

The structure of the ionic title compound, (C(5)H(7)N(6))(2)[Nd(2)(C(5)O(5))(4)(H(2)O)(8)], consists of anionic dimers built around an inversion centre and is made up of an Nd(III) cation, two croconate (croco) dianions and four water molecules (plus their inversion images), with two noncoordinated symmetry-related 2,6-diamino-1H-purin-3-ium (Hdap(+)) cations providing charge balance. Each Nd(III) atom is bound to nine O atoms from four water and three croco units. The coordination polyhedron has the form of a rather regular monocapped square antiprism. The croconate anions are regular and the Hdap(+) cation presents a unique, thus far unreported, protonation state. The abundance of hydrogen-bonding donors and acceptors gives rise to a complex packing scheme consisting of dimers interlinked along the three crystallographic directions and defining anionic `cages' where the unbound Hdap(+) cations lodge, linking to the mainframe via (N-H)(Hdap)···O(water/croco) and (O-H)(water)···N(Hdap) interactions.