Nano-Sized Niobium Tungsten Oxide Anode for Advanced Fast-Charge Lithium-Ion Batteries.

The further demand for electric vehicles and smart grids prompts that the comprehensive function of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) has been improved greatly. However, due to sluggish Li+ diffusion rate, thermal runway and volume expansion, the commercial graphite as an important part of LIBs is not suitable for fast-charging. Herein, nano-sized Nb14 W3 O44 blocks are effectively synthesized as a fast-charge anode material. The nano-sized structure provides shorter Li+ diffusion pathway in the solid phase than micro-sized materials by several orders of magnitude, corresponding to accelerating the Li+ diffusion rate, which is beneficial for fast-charge characteristics. Consequently, Nb14 W3 O44 displays excellent long-term cycling life (135 mAh g-1 over 1000 cycles at 10 C) and rate capability at ultra-high current density (≈103.9 mAh g-1 , 100 C) in half-cells. In situ X-ray diffraction and Raman combined with scanning electron microscopy clearly confirms the stability of crystal and microstructure. Furthermore, the fabricated Nb14 W3 O44 ||LiFePO4 full cells exhibit a remarkable power density and demonstrate a reversible specific capacity. The pouch cell delivers long cycling life (the capacity retention is as high as 96.6% at 10 C after 5000 cycles) and high-safety performance. Therefore, nano-sized Nb14 W3 O44 could be recognized as a promising fast-charge anode toward next-generation practical LIBs.

A solution-processed octahedral nano-blocks structure CaIn2S4film for UV/vis photodetection.

A novel CaIn2S4with three-dimensional octahedral nano-blocks (ONBs) are successfully synthesized on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrate by a simple hydrothermal method. The CaIn2S4ONBs are uniform grown and scattered on the whole FTO substrate with high regular and symmetric morphology as well as average diagonal length of about 600 nm. Based on the as-synthesized CaIn2S4ONBs, a photodetector (PD) is fabricated. Satisfyingly, it is found that the CaIn2S4ONBs PD achieves a broad-band response ranging from ultraviolet (UV) to visible ( vis) light at zero bias voltage. It is also significant that the CaIn2S4ONBs PD enables a fast response, in which the rise time and decay time are less than 0.15 and 0.2 s, respectively. Furthermore, the morphological evolution of the CaIn2S4ONBs and plausible UV/vis detection mechanism of the CaIn2S4ONBs PD are discussed.

Blown-Bubble Assembly and in Situ Fabrication of Sausage-like Graphene Nanotubes Containing Copper Nanoblocks.

We use a blown-bubble method to assemble Cu nanowires and in situ fabricate graphene-based one-dimensional heterostructures, including versatile sausage-like configurations consisting of multilayer graphene nanotubes (GNTs) filled by single or periodically arranged Cu nanoblocks (CuNBs). This is done by first assembling Cu nanowires among a polymer-based blown-bubble film (BBF) and then growing graphene onto the nanowire substrate using the polymer matrix as a solid carbon source by chemical-vapor deposition. The formation of sausage-like GNT@CuNB nanostructures is due to the partial melting and breaking of embedded Cu nanowires during graphene growth, which is uniquely related to our BBF process. We show that the GNT skin significantly slows the oxidation process of CuNBs compared with that of bare Cu nanowires, and the presence of stuffed CuNBs also reduces the linear resistance along the GNTs. The large-scale assembled graphene-based heterostructures achieved by our BBF method may have potential applications in heterojunction electronic devices and high-stability transparent conductive electrodes.

High-Efficiency All-Dielectric Metasurfaces for Ultracompact Beam Manipulation in Transmission Mode.

Metasurfaces are two-dimensional structures enabling complete control on light amplitude, phase, and polarization. Unlike plasmonic metasurfaces, silicon structures facilitate high transmission, low losses, and compatibility with existing semiconductor technologies. We experimentally demonstrate two examples of high-efficiency polarization-sensitive dielectric metasurfaces with 2π phase control in transmission mode (45% transmission efficiency for the vortex converter and 36% transmission efficiency for the beam steering device) at telecommunication wavelengths. Silicon metasurfaces are poised to enable a versatile platform for the realization of all-optical circuitry on a chip.

Facile and scalable synthesis of Ni3S2/Fe3O4 nanoblocks as an efficient and stable electrocatalyst for oxygen evolution reaction.

This study employed a one-step hydrothermal process to synthesize Ni3S2/Fe3O4 nanoblocks in situ on nickel foam (NF). The resulting Ni3S2/Fe3O4/NF catalyst demonstrates exceptional electrocatalytic activity for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and robust long-term stability. It achieves a low overpotential of only 220 mV for a current density of 10 mA cm-2 with a Tafel slope of 54.1 mV dec-1 and remains stable in 1.0 M KOH for 66 h. The binder-free self-supported three-dimensional nanoblocks enhance the reaction region and long-term stability. Electronic interactions between Fe3O4 and Ni3S2, coupled with heterogeneous interfaces, optimize the electronic structure, fostering the formation of highly reactive species. Density-functional theory (DFT) calculations confirm that Ni3S2/Fe3O4, with a heterogeneous interfacial structure, modulates the chemisorption of reaction intermediates on the catalyst surface, optimizing the Gibbs free energies (ΔG) of oxygen-containing intermediates. The synergistic effect between the two active materials within the heterogeneous structure enhances OER catalytic performance. This finding offers a valuable approach to designing efficient and stable OER electrocatalysts.

Photothermally Modulatable and Structurally Disintegratable Sub-8-nm Au1Ag9 Embedded Nanoblocks for Combination Cancer Therapy Produced by Plug-in Assembly.

As well as the exploration of translatable delivery nanosystems for cancer therapeutic agents, the development of automatable continuous-flow manufacturing technology comprising digitally controlled reactions for the on-demand production of pharmaceuticals is an important challenge in anticancer nanomedicine. Most attempts to resolve these issues have involved the development of alternative reactions, formulations, or constructs containing stimulus components aimed at producing multiple approaches for highly efficacious combination cancer therapies. However, there has been no report of a platform based on plug-in execution that enables continuous-flow manufacture in a compact, reconfigurable manner, although an optimal platform technology may be a prerequisite for the timely translation of recently developed nanomedicines. To this end, we describe the development of a platform toward digitizable, continuous manufacture by a serial combination of plug-in reactionwares (heating plates, a spraying cup, and a photochamber) for single-pass flow fabrication. Specifically, we fabricated three different composite nanoblocks consisting of Au1Ag9 (<8 nm; stimulus component), docetaxel (an anticancer drug), and bovine serum albumin (a protective and targeting agent) using our system, with the result of producing nanoblocks with photothermally modulatable and structurally disintegratable properties. These were examined for effectiveness in near-infrared-induced chemothermal cancer therapy and renal excretion of Au1Ag9 particles and exhibited high anticancer efficacy and warrantable biosafety.

Ultrafine Bi3TaO7 Nanodot-Decorated V, N Codoped TiO2 Nanoblocks for Visible-Light Photocatalytic Activity: Interfacial Effect and Mechanism Insight.

Bi3TaO7 is a potential photocatalyst because of its high chemical stability, defective fluorite-type structure, and superior mobility of photoinduced holes. However, few studies have focused on the interfacial effects of Bi3TaO7-based photocatalysts. In this work, 0D Bi3TaO7 nanodot-hybridized 3D V and N codoped TiO2 nanoblock (B/VNT) composites were first synthesized for the photocatalytic removal of oxytetracycline hydrochloride, 2,4,6-trichlorophenol, and tetrabromobisphenol A. The fabricated B/VNT had a photocatalytic performance superior to that of pristine components, and probable degradation pathways were proposed according to the primary intermediates identified by a gas chromatography-mass spectrometer. Interestingly, on B/VNT, the transfer of interfacial electrons was observed from V/N-TiO2 to Bi3TaO7, and the formed built-in electronic field led to a direct Z-scheme structure, rather than type II, as confirmed by the generated •OH and •O2- radicals and band structures from the density functional theory calculation. Therefore, the strong interfacial electronic interaction on the B/VNT was significant, which drove faster photogenerated charge transfer, more visible-light adsorption, and active •OH and •O2- generation, thus improving the photocatalytic activity.