Exploring Lead Zirconate Titanate, the Potential Advancement as an Anode for Li-Ion Batteries.

Graphite, widely adopted as an anode for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), faces challenges such as an unsustainable supply chain and sluggish rate capabilities. This emphasizes the urgent need to explore alternative anode materials for LIBs, aiming to resolve these challenges and drive the advancement of more efficient and sustainable battery technologies. The present research investigates the potential of lead zirconate titanate (PZT: PbZr0.53Ti0.47O3) as an anode material for LIBs. Bulk PZT materials were synthesized by using a solid-state reaction, and the electrochemical performance as an anode was examined. A high initial discharge capacity of approximately 686 mAh/g was attained, maintaining a stable capacity of around 161 mAh/g after 200 cycles with diffusion-controlled intercalation as the primary charge storage mechanism in a PZT anode. These findings suggest that PZT exhibits a promising electrochemical performance, positioning it as a potential alternative anode material for LIBs.

Synthesis and Characterization of Carbon-Based Quantum Dots and Doped Derivatives for Improved Andrographolide's Hydrophilicity in Drug Delivery Platforms.

Carbon-based quantum dots (CBQDs), sulfur-doped carbon-based quantum dots (S-CBQDs), and nitrogen-doped carbon-based quantum dots (N-CBQDs) have strong potential for drug delivery platforms. They were conjugated with andrographolide, a well-known hydrophobic drug, to study the concomitant changes in hydrophilicity. The interactions between these nanomaterials and the drug were studied by characterizing the optical and structural properties of the nanoparticles before and after coupling with the drug. It was found that the interaction of the drug with these nanomaterials produced noticeable changes in their optical and structural properties. Moreover, the partition coefficient for the nanocomposites was determined by NMR. The results indicate that conjugating the drug with the nanoparticles significantly enhanced its affinity for the aqueous phase, from 2.632 to 0.1117, thereby opening the possibility of using this approach for developing an effective drug delivery platform for this hydrophobic drug.

Water treatment membranes embedded with a stable and bactericidal nanodiamond material.

Filtration has emerged as a critical technology to reduce waterborne diseases caused by poor water quality. Filtration technology presents key challenges, such as membrane selectivity, permeability and biofouling. Nanomaterials can offer solutions to these challenges by varying the membranes' mechanical and bactericidal properties. This research uses nanodiamond particles with facile surface functionality and biocompatibility properties that are added to membranes used for filtration treatments. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) were performed to study the membrane surface. FTIR spectra confirms an increase in oxygen functional groups onto the ultradispersed diamond's (UDD) surface following acid treatment. SEM images show particle deagglomeration of functionalized UDD at the membrane surface. Tensile strength tests were done to measure the UDD mechanical properties and Coliscan membrane filtration characterization was performed to determine the filter effectiveness. Polyether sulfone (PES) and polyvinylidene (PVDF) membranes expressed a change in their yield point when UDD was incorporated into the porous matrix. A significant microorganism reduction was obtained and confirmed using t-test analysis at a 95% level of confidence. UDD-embedded membranes exhibit a significant bactericidal reduction compared to commercial membranes suggesting these membranes have the potential to enhance current membrane filtration systems.

Paramagnetism in Microwave-Synthesized Metal-Free Nitrogen-Doped Graphene Quantum Dots.

Nitrogen-doped graphene quantum dots (NGQDs) have gained significant attention due to their various physical and chemical properties; however, there is a gap in the study of NGQDs' magnetic properties. This work adds to the efforts of bridging the gap by demonstrating the room temperature paramagnetism in GQDs doped with Nitrogen up to 3.26 at.%. The focus of this experimental work was to confirm the paramagnetic behavior of metal free NGQDs resulting from the pyridinic N configuration in the GQDs host. Metal-free nitrogen-doped NGQDs were synthesized using glucose and liquid ammonia as precursors by microwave-assisted synthesis. This was followed by dialysis filtration. The morphology, optical, and magnetic properties of the synthesized NGQDs were characterized carefully through atomic force microscopy (AFM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM)), UV-VIS spectroscopy, fluorescence, X-ray photon spectroscopy (XPS), and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The high-resolution TEM analysis of NGQDs showed that the NGQDs have a hexagonal crystalline structure with a lattice fringe of ~0.24 nm of (1120) graphene plane. The N1s peak using XPS was assigned to pyridinic, pyrrolic, graphitic, and oxygenated NGQDs. The magnetic study showed the room-temperature paramagnetic behavior of NGQDs with pyridinic N configuration, which was found to have a magnetization of 20.8 emu/g.

Graphene Film Growth on Silicon Carbide by Hot Filament Chemical Vapor Deposition.

The electrical properties of graphene on dielectric substrates, such as silicon carbide (SiC), have received much attention due to their interesting applications. This work presents a method to grow graphene on a 6H-SiC substrate at a pressure of 35 Torr by using the hot filament chemical vapor deposition (HFCVD) technique. The graphene deposition was conducted in an atmosphere of methane and hydrogen at a temperature of 950 °C. The graphene films were analyzed using Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Raman mapping and AFM measurements indicated that few-layer and multilayer graphene were deposited from the external carbon source depending on the growth parameter conditions. The compositional analysis confirmed the presence of graphene deposition on SiC substrates and the absence of any metal involved in the growth process.

Magnetic Control of the Manganese Photoluminescence in Fe3O4/l-Cys ZnS:Mn Nanocomposites.

We investigated the magnetic control of the Mn photoluminescence (PL) in iron oxide/l-cysteine-capped zinc sulfide (Fe3O4/l-cys ZnS:Mn) nanocomposites via temperature- and field-dependent PL intensity studies. Fe3O4/l-cys ZnS:Mn was synthesized following a wet chemical deposition route and then its physicochemical, morphological, and magnetic properties were characterized. X-ray diffraction analysis indicates the formation of a semiconducting composite material with coexisting phases with high crystalline quality and purity. Electron microscopy reveals that the surfaces of the nanoparticles are clean and smooth, sized between 15 and 30 nm, without any sheathed amorphous phase. Vibrating sample magnetometry and UV light excitation show a clear superparamagnetic behavior and an optical response of Fe3O4/l-cys ZnS:Mn, which revealed its bifunctional nature. Magnetoluminescent coupling at 1.0 T is seen in the form of PL suppression in Fe3O4/l-cys ZnS:Mn from low temperature (10 K) to room temperature, with a PL intensity drop of ∼5% at 10 K and a maximum drop of 10% at room temperature. This observation can be explained by restriction of the energy transfer to Mn orbitals through magnetic ordering and Jahn-Teller distortions. Fe3O4/l-cys ZnS:Mn shows promise as a bifunctional biocompatible compound that can be applied as a theranostic agent and a quantum computational element. A deeper understanding behind the magnetic control of the optical response in bifunctional materials brings forth new arenas in diagnostics and drug delivery.

Graphene Growth Directly on SiO2/Si by Hot Filament Chemical Vapor Deposition.

We report the first direct synthesis of graphene on SiO2/Si by hot-filament chemical vapor deposition. Graphene deposition was conducted at low pressures (35 Torr) with a mixture of methane/hydrogen and a substrate temperature of 970 °C followed by spontaneous cooling to room temperature. A thin copper-strip was deposited in the middle of the SiO2/Si substrate as catalytic material. Raman spectroscopy mapping and atomic force microscopy measurements indicate the growth of few-layers of graphene over the entire SiO2/Si substrate, far beyond the thin copper-strip, while X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy showed negligible amounts of copper next to the initially deposited strip. The scale of the graphene nanocrystal was estimated by Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy.

Enhancing Colorectal Cancer Radiation Therapy Efficacy using Silver Nanoprisms Decorated with Graphene as Radiosensitizers.

Metal nanoparticles have significant interaction cross-sections with electromagnetic waves due to their large surface area-to-volume ratio, which can be exploited in cancer radiotherapy to locally enhance the radiation dose deposition in tumors. We developed a new type of silver nanoparticle composite, PEGylated graphene quantum dot (GQD)-decorated Silver Nanoprisms (pGAgNPs), that show excellent in vitro intracellular uptake and radiosensitization in radiation-sensitive HCT116 and relatively radiation-resistant HT29 colorectal cancer cells. Furthermore, following biodistribution analysis of intravenously injected nanoparticles in nude mice bearing HCT116 tumors radiosensitization was evaluated. Treatment with nanoparticles and a single radiation dose of 10 Gy significantly reduces the growth of colorectal tumors and increases the survival time as compared to treatment with radiation only. Our findings suggest that these novel nanoparticles offer a promising paradigm for enhancing colorectal cancer radiation therapy efficacy.

Synthesis, Characterization and Fabrication of Graphene/Boron Nitride Nanosheets Heterostructure Tunneling Devices.

Various types of 2D/2D prototype devices based on graphene (G) and boron nitride nanosheets (BNNS) were fabricated to study the charge tunneling phenomenon pertinent to vertical transistors for digital and high frequency electronics. Specifically, G/BNNS/metal, G/SiO2, and G/BNNS/SiO2 heterostructures were investigated under direct current (DC-bias) conditions at room temperature. Bilayer graphene and BNNS were grown separately and transferred subsequently onto the substrates to fabricate 2D device architectures. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy confirmed the bilayer graphene structure and few layer BNNS sheets having a hexagonal B3-N3 lattice. The current vs voltage I(V) data for the G/BNNS/Metal devices show Schottky barrier characteristics with very low forward voltage drop, Fowler-Nordheim behavior, and 10-4 Ω/sq. sheet resistance. This result is ascribed to the combination of fast electron transport within graphene grains and out-of-plane tunneling in BNNS that circumvents grain boundary resistance. A theoretical model based on electron tunneling is used to qualitatively describe the behavior of the 2D G/BNNS/metal devices.

Controlling the transverse proton relaxivity of magnetic graphene oxide.

The engineering of materials with controlled magnetic properties by means other than a magnetic field is of great interest in nanotechnology. In this study, we report engineered magnetic graphene oxide (MGO) in the nanocomposite form of iron oxide nanoparticles (IO)-graphene oxide (GO) with tunable core magnetism and magnetic resonance transverse relaxivity (r2). These tunable properties are obtained by varying the IO content on GO. The MGO series exhibits r2 values analogous to those observed in conventional single core and cluster forms of IO in different size regimes-motional averaging regime (MAR), static dephasing regime (SDR), and echo-limiting regime (ELR) or slow motion regime (SMR). The maximum r2 of 162 ± 5.703 mM-1s-1 is attained for MGO with 28 weight percent (wt%) content of IO on GO and hydrodynamic diameter of 414 nm, which is associated with the SDR. These findings demonstrate the clear potential of magnetic graphene oxide for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) applications.

T1- and T2-weighted Magnetic Resonance Dual Contrast by Single Core Truncated Cubic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles with Abrupt Cellular Internalization and Immune Evasion.

Conventional T1- or T2-weighted single mode contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may produce false results. Thereby, there is a need to develop dual contrast agents, T1- and T2-weighted, for more accurate MRI imaging. The dual contrast agents should possess high magnetic resonance (MR) relaxivities, targeted tumor linking, and minimum recognition by the immune system. We have developed nitrodopamine-PEG grafted single core truncated cubic iron oxide nanoparticles (ND-PEG-tNCIOs) capable of producing marked dual contrasts in MRI with enhanced longitudinal and transverse relaxivities of 32 ± 1.29 and 791 ± 38.39 mM-1 s-1, respectively. Furthermore, the ND-PEG-tNCIOs show excellent colloidal stability in physiological buffers and higher cellular internalization in cancerous cells than in phagocytic cells, indicating the immune evasive capability of the nanoparticles. These findings indicate that tNCIOs are strong candidates for dual contrast MRI imaging, which is vital for noninvasive real-time detection of nascent cancer cells in vivo and for monitoring stem cells transplants.

Graphene Oxide/ZnS:Mn Nanocomposite Functionalized with Folic Acid as a Nontoxic and Effective Theranostic Platform for Breast Cancer Treatment.

Nanoparticle-based cancer theranostic agents generally suffer of poor dispersability in biological media, re-agglomeration over time, and toxicity concerns. To address these challenges, we developed a nanocomposite consisting of chemically-reduced graphene oxide combined with manganese-doped zinc sulfide quantum dots and functionalized with folic acid (FA-rGO/ZnS:Mn). We studied the dispersion stability, Doxorubicin (DOX) loading and release efficiency, target specificity, internalization, and biocompatibility of FA-rGO/ZnS:Mn against folate-rich breast cancer cells, and compared to its uncoated counterpart (rGO/ZnS:Mn). The results indicate that DOX is adsorbed on the graphene surface via π⁻π stacking and hydrophobic interaction, with enhanced loading (~35%) and entrapment (~60%) efficiency that are associated to the chelation of DOX and surface Zn2+ ions. DOX release is favored under acidic conditions reaching a release of up to 95% after 70 h. Membrane integrity of the cells assessed by Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release indicate that the surface passivation caused by folic acid (FA) functionalization decreases the strong hydrophobic interaction between the cell membrane wall and the edges/corners of graphene flakes. Chemotherapeutic effect assays reveal that the cancer cell viability was reduced up to ~50% at 3 µg/mL of DOX-FA-rGO/ZnS:Mn exposure, which is more pronounced than those obtained for free DOX at the same doses. Moreover, DOX-rGO/ZnS:Mn did not show any signs of toxicity. An opposite trend was observed for cells that do not overexpress the folate receptors, indicating that FA functionalization endows rGO/ZnS:Mn with an effective ability to discriminate positive folate receptor cancerous cells, enhancing its drug loading/release efficiency as a compact drug delivery system (DDS). This study paves the way for the potential use of functionalized rGO/ZnS:Mn nanocomposite as a platform for targeted cancer treatment.

Enhanced MRI T 2 Relaxivity in Contrast-Probed Anchor-Free PEGylated Iron Oxide Nanoparticles.

Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs, ~11-nm cores) were PEGylated without anchoring groups and studied as efficient MRI T 2 contrast agents (CAs). The ether group of PEG is efficiently and directly linked to the positively charged surface of SPIONs, and mediated through a dipole-cation covalent interaction. Anchor-free PEG-SPIONs exhibit a spin-spin relaxivity of 123 ± 6 mM-1s-1, which is higher than those of PEG-SPIONs anchored with intermediate biomolecules, iron oxide nanoworms, or Feridex. They do not induce a toxic response for Fe concentrations below 2.5 mM, as tested on four different cell lines with and without an external magnetic field. Magnetic resonance phantom imaging studies show that anchor-free PEG-SPIONs produce a significant contrast in the range of 0.1-0.4 [Fe] mM. Our findings reveal that the PEG molecules attached to the cores immobilize water molecules in large regions of ~85 nm, which would lead to blood half-life of a few tens of minutes. This piece of research represents a step forward in the development of next-generation CAs for nascent-stage cancer detection. Contrast-probed anchor-free PEGylated iron oxide contrast agent.

L-cysteine capped ZnS:Mn quantum dots for room-temperature detection of dopamine with high sensitivity and selectivity.

Dopamine (DA) is one of the most important catecholamine neurotransmitters of the human central nervous system, and is involved in many behavioral responses and brain functions. Below normal DA levels in biological fluids can lead to different neurodegenerative conditions. For excess DA levels, a failure in energy metabolism is indicated. In this study, a facile room-temperature phosphorescence sensor is developed to detect DA based on l-cysteine capped Mn doped ZnS quantum dots (l-cys ZnS:Mn QDs). The QDs display a prominent orange emission band peaking at ~598nm, which is strongly quenched upon addition of DA in alkaline medium. The sensor exhibits a linear working range of ~0.15-3.00µM, and a limit of detection of ~7.80nM. These results are explained in terms of a pH-dependent electron transfer process, in which the oxidized dopamine quinone functions as an efficient electron acceptor. The QDs-based sensor shows a high selectivity to DA over common interfering biomolecules (including some amino acids, ascorbic acid, chloride and glucose). The sensor has been successfully applied for the detection of DA in urine samples, yielding recoveries as high as 93%. Our findings indicate that our developed sensor exhibits high sensitivity and reproducibility to determine DA even in biological fluids where DA is at low levels, e.g., in the central nervous system, which is the usual clinical profile of a neurodegenerative disorder associated to the Parkinson's disease.

Improving cytotoxicity against cancer cells by chemo-photodynamic combined modalities using silver-graphene quantum dots nanocomposites.

The combination of chemotherapy and photodynamic therapy has emerged as a promising strategy for cancer therapy due to its synergistic effects. In this work, PEGylated silver nanoparticles decorated with graphene quantum dots (Ag-GQDs) were tested as a platform to deliver a chemotherapy drug and a photosensitizer, simultaneously, in chemo-photodynamic therapy against HeLa and DU145 cancer cells in vitro. Ag-GQDs have displayed high efficiency in delivering doxorubicin as a model chemotherapy drug to both cancer cells. The Ag-GQDs exhibited a strong antitumor activity by inducing apoptosis in cancer cells without affecting the viability of normal cells. Moreover, the Ag-GQDs exhibited a cytotoxic effect due to the generation of the reactive singlet oxygen upon 425 nm irradiation, indicating their applicability in photodynamic therapy. In comparison with chemo or photodynamic treatment alone, the combined treatment of Ag-GQDs conjugated with doxorubicin under irradiation with a 425 nm lamp significantly increased the death in DU145 and HeLa. This study suggests Ag-GQDs as a multifunctional and efficient therapeutic system for chemo-photodynamic modalities in cancer therapy.

Novel magneto-luminescent effect in LSMO/ZnS:Mn nanocomposites at near-room temperature.

We report the tuning of the internal Mn photoluminescence (PL) transition of magnetically-ordered Sr-doped lanthanum manganite (LSMO)/Mn-doped zinc sulfide (ZnS:Mn) nanocomposites (NCs) by applying a static magnetic field in the range of 0-1 T below the critical temperature of ∼225 K. To do that, we have systematically fabricated LSMO/ZnS:Mn at different concentrations (1:1, 1:3, 1:5 and 1:10 wt%) via a straightforward solid-state reaction. X-ray diffraction and Raman analyses reveal that both phases coexist with a high degree of crystallinity and purity. Electron microscopy indicates that the NCs are almost spherical with an average crystal size of ∼6 nm, and that their surfaces are clean and smooth. The bifunctional character of LSMO/ZnS:Mn was evidenced by vibrating sample magnetometry and PL spectroscopy analyses, which show a marked ferromagnetic behavior and a broad, intense Mn orange emission band at room temperature. Moreover, the LSMO/ZnS:Mn at 1:3 wt% exhibits magneto-luminescent (ML) coupling below 225 K, and reaches the largest suppression of Mn-band PL intensity (up to ∼10%) at 150 K, when a magnetic field of 1.0 T is applied. The ML effect persists at magnetic fields as low as 0.2 T at 8 K, which can be explained by evoking a magnetic-ordering-induced spin-dependent restriction of the energy transfer to Mn states. No ML effect was observed in bare ZnS:Mn nanoparticles under the same experimental parameters. Our findings suggest that this NC can be considered as a new ML compound, similar to FeCo/InGaN-GaN and LSMO/ZnO NCs, useful as q-bits for quantum computation. The results presented here bring forth new avenues to better understand the interaction between semiconductors and perovskites, and exploit their synergistic effects in magneto-optics, spintronics and nanoelectronics.

Biocompatible ZnS:Mn quantum dots for reactive oxygen generation and detection in aqueous media.

ABSTRACT: We report here the versatility of Mn-doped ZnS quantum dots (ZnS:Mn QDs) synthesized in aqueous medium for generating reactive oxygen species and for detecting cells. Our experiments provide evidence leading to the elimination of Cd-based cores in CdSe/ZnS systems by substitution of Mn-doped ZnS. Advanced electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and optical spectroscopy were applied to elucidate the formation, morphology, and dispersion of the products. We study for the first time the ability of ZnS:Mn QDs to act as immobilizing agents for Tyrosinase (Tyr) enzyme. It was found that ZnS:Mn QDs show no deactivation of Tyr enzyme, which efficiently catalyzed the hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) oxidation and its eventual reduction (-0.063 V vs. Ag/AgCl) on the biosensor surface. The biosensor showed a linear response in the range of 12 µmol/L-0.1 mmol/L at low operation potential. Our observations are explained in terms of a catalase-cycled kinetic mechanism based on the binding of H2O2 to the axial position of one of the active copper sites of the oxy-Tyr during the catalase cycle to produce deoxy-Tyr. A singlet oxygen quantum yield of 0.62 in buffer and 0.54 in water was found when ZnS:Mn QDs were employed as a photosensitizer in the presence of a chemical scavenger and a standard dye. These results are consistent with a chemical trapping energy transfer mechanism. Our results also indicate that ZnS:Mn QDs are well tolerated by HeLa Cells reaching cell viabilities as high as 88 % at 300 µg/mL of QDs for 24 h of incubation. The ability of ZnS:Mn QDs as luminescent nanoprobes for bioimaging is also discussed.

Catalytic effect of ultrananocrystalline Fe3O4 on algal bio-crude production via HTL process.

We report a comprehensive quantitative study of the production of refined bio-crudes via a controlled hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) process using Ulva fasciata macroalgae (UFMA) as biomass and ultrananocrystalline Fe3O4 (UNCFO) as catalyst. X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy were applied to elucidate the formation of the high-quality nanocatalysts. Gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) and CHNS analyses showed that the bio-crude yield and carbon/oxygen ratios increase as the amount of UNCFO increases, reaching a peak value of 32% at 1.25 wt% (a 9% increase when compared to the catalyst-free yield). The bio-crude is mainly composed of fatty acids, alcohols, ketones, phenol and benzene derivatives, and hydrocarbons. Their relative abundance changes as a function of catalyst concentration. FTIR spectroscopy and vibrating sample magnetometry revealed that the as-produced bio-crudes are free of iron species, which accumulate in the generated bio-chars. Our findings also indicate that the energy recovery values via the HTL process are sensitive to the catalyst loading, with a threshold loading of 1.25 wt%. GC-MS studies show that the UNCFO not only influences the chemical nature of the resulting bio-crudes and bio-chars, but also the amount of fixed carbons in the solid residues. The detailed molecular characterization of the bio-crudes and bio-chars catalyzed by UNCFO represents the first systematic study reported using UFMA. This study brings forth new avenues to advance the highly-pure bio-crude production employing active, heterogeneous catalyst materials that are recoverable and recyclable for continuous thermochemical reactions.

Ultrananocrystalline diamond-decorated silicon nanowire field emitters.

Silicon nanowires (SiNWs) were uniformly decorated with ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD) by a novel route using paraffin wax as the seeding source, which is more efficient in the creation of diamond nuclei than traditional methods. These one-dimensional ultrananocrystalline diamond-decorated SiNWs (UNCD/SiNWs) exhibit uniform diameters ranging from 100 to 200 nm with a bulbous catalytic tip of ∼250 nm in diameter and an UNCD grain size of ∼5 nm. UNCD/SiNW nanostructures demonstrated enhanced electron field emission (EFE) properties with a turn-on field of about 3.7 V/µm. Current densities around 2 mA/cm(2) were achieved at 25 V/µm, which is significantly enhanced as compared to bare SiNWs.

Single-crystal γ-MnS nanowires conformally coated with carbon.

We report for the first time the fabrication of single-crystal metastable manganese sulfide nanowires (γ-MnS NWs) conformally coated with graphitic carbon via chemical vapor deposition technique using a single-step route. Advanced spectroscopy and electron microscopy techniques were applied to elucidate the composition and structure of these NWs at the nanoscale, including Raman, XRD, SEM, HRTEM, EELS, EDS, and SAED. No evidence of α-MnS and ß-MnS allotropes was found. The γ-MnS/C NWs have hexagonal cross-section and high aspect ratio (∼1000) on a large scale. The mechanical properties of individual γ-MnS/C NWs were examined via in situ uniaxial compression tests in a TEM-AFM. The results show that γ-MnS/C NWs are brittle with a Young's modulus of 65 GPa. The growth mechanism proposed suggests that the bottom-up fabrication of γ-MnS/C NWs is governed by vapor-liquid-solid mechanism catalyzed by bimetallic Au-Ni nanoparticles. The electrochemical performance of γ-MnS/C NWs as an anode material in lithium-ion batteries indicates that they outperform the cycling stability of stable micro-sized α-MnS, with an initial capacity of 1036 mAh g(-1) and a reversible capacity exceeding 503 mAh g(-1) after 25 cycles. This research advances the integration of carbon materials and metal sulfide nanostructures, bringing forth new avenues for potential miniaturization strategies to fabricate 1D core/shell heterostructures with intriguing bifunctional properties that can be used as building blocks in nanodevices.