Photo-supercapacitors based on nanoscaled ZnO.

In this study, zinc oxide (ZnO) powders in two different morphologies, nanowire (NW) and nanoflower (NF), have been synthesized by the hydrothermal method. The eligibility of the pristine ZnO nanopowders as a photo-active material has been revealed by designing P-SC devices via the facile drop-casting method on both glass and plastic substrates in large-area applications. The impact of physical properties and especially defect structures on photo-supercapacitor (P-SC) performance have been explored. Although the dark Coulombic efficiency (CE%) of both NW and NF-based P-SC were very close to each other, the CE% of NW P-SC increased 3 times, while the CE% of NF P-SC increased 1.7 times under the UV-light. This is because the charge carriers produced under light excitation, extend the discharge time, and as confirmed by electron paramagnetic resonance, photoluminescence, and transmission electron microscopy analyses, the performance of P-SCs made from NF powders was relatively low compared to those produced from NW due to the high core defects in NF powders. The energy density of 78.1 mWh kg-1 obtained for NF-based P-SCs is very promising, and the capacitance retention value of almost 100% for 3000 cycles showed that the P-SCs produced from these materials were entirely stable. Compared to the literature, the P-SCs we propose in this study are essential for new generation energy storage systems, thanks to their ease of design, adaptability to mass production for large-area applications, and their ability to store more energy under illumination.

Dual-Ionomer-Based Device: Acetylcholine Transport and Nonenzymatic Sensing.

The malfunctioning in the release of acetylcholine (ACh+), leading to consequential damages in the neural system, has become an impulsion for the development of numerous progressive transport and detection gadgets. However, several challenges, such as laterality and complexity of transport devices, low precision of amperometric detection systems, and sumptuous, multistaged enzymatic quantification methods, have not yet been overcome. Herein, ionomers, because of their selective ion transporting nature, are chosen as suitable candidates for being implemented into both targeted ACh+ delivery and sensing systems. Based on these two approaches, for the very first time in the literature, the disulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone) membrane is concurrently (i) used in the mimicry of transduction of the electrical-to-ionic signal in a neural network as "Acetylcholine Pen" (ACh+ Pen) and (ii) operated as a highly sensitive, conductivity-based ACh+ quantifier. Our dual device, being able to operate under an actual action potential of 55 mVbias, shows a strong potential of future applicability in real-time ionic delivery-and-sensing systems.