Journey from Small-Molecule Diyne Structures to 2D Graphdiyne: Synthetic Strategies

Graphdiyne (GDY) exhibits unique characteristics of a highly conjugated π system, evenly distributed nanopores, and a direct band gap. This has encouraged multidisciplinary research groups to investigate its application in energy conversion and storage, catalysts, electronic devices, sensing, and separation. Herein, the achievements of synthetic strategies for preparing small-molecule diyne structures (GDY substructure), 1D nanoribbons, and 2D GDY are presented. These studies may help future investigations into the basic structure-related properties of GDY and synthetic methodology for the future developments of GDY-related 2D carbon materials.     

Fe3O4@C Nanotubes Grown on Carbon Fabric as a Free-Standing Anode for High-Performance Li-Ion Batteries

Recently, Li-ion batteries (LIBs) have attracted extensive attention owing to their wide applications in portable and flexible electronic devices. Such a huge market for LIBs has caused an ever-increasing demand for excellent mechanical flexibility, outstanding cycling life, and electrodes with superior rate capability. Herein, an anode of self-supported Fe₃O₄@C nanotubes grown on carbon fabric cloth (CFC) is designed rationally and fabricated through an in situ etching and deposition route combined with an annealing process. These carbon-coated nanotube structured Fe₃O₄ arrays with large surface area and enough void space can not only moderate the volume variation during repeated Li⁺ insertion/extraction, but also facilitate Li⁺/electrons transportation and electrolyte penetration. This novel structure endows the Fe₃O₄@C nanotube arrays stable cycle performance (a large reversible capacity of 900 mA h g⁻¹ up to 100 cycles at 0.5 A g⁻¹) and outstanding rate capability (reversible capacities of 1030, 985, 908, and 755 mA h g⁻¹ at 0.15, 0.3, 0.75, and 1.5 A g⁻¹, respectively). Fe₃O₄@C nanotube arrays still achieve a capacity of 665 mA h g⁻¹ after 50 cycles at 0.1 A g⁻¹ in Fe₃O₄@C//LiCoO₂ full cells.     

Solving nonnegative sparsity-constrained optimization via DC quadratic-piecewise-linear approximations

Journal of Global Optimization - In this paper, we propose a novel algorithm that is based on quadratic-piecewise-linear approximations of DC functions to solve nonnegative sparsity-constrained...     

Spatial mode compensation technique using progressive phase conjugation

Optical Review - We propose a spatial mode compensation method using progressive phase conjugation (PPC) to establish a dynamic control technology for mode distribution in multi-mode fiber (MMF)....     

Preparation and in vivo imaging of a novel potential αvβ3 targeting PET/MRI dual-modal imaging agent

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - Multi-modal biomedical imaging has played an essential role in tumor diagnosis. However, constructing a multi-modal imaging contrast agent with...     

Apportionment of wind from water erosion on the hillslopes of China Northern Loess Hilly Area,by the fallout 137Cs technique

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - Differences in the net soil loss and apportionment of wind from water erosion on hillslopes were analyzed and evaluated quantitatively through...     

Remarkable durability of the antibacterial function achieved via a coordination effect of Cu(II) ion and chitosan grafted on cotton fibers

Cellulose - We report here a simple and effective method applying a combination of chitosan (Cs) and Cu(II) ion to fabricate antibacterial cotton fabric with a remarkable durability against...     

Classify the Higgs decays with the PFN and ParticleNet at electron–positron colliders

Various Higgs factories are proposed to study the Higgs boson precisely and systematically in a model- independent way. In this study, the Particle Flow Network and ParticleNet techniques are used to classify the Higgs decays into multicategories, and the ultimate goal is to realize an "end-to-end" analysis. A Monte Carlo simulation study is performed to demonstrate the feasibility, and the performance looks rather promising. This result could be the basis of a "one-stop" analysis to measure all the branching fractions of the Higgs decays simultaneously.     

Vibration-induced symmetry breaking in hybrid light-matter dimer states

We investigate the influence of vibronic coupling on a molecular dimer strongly coupled to a single cavity mode. In the framework of the Holstein-Tavis-Cummings model, the energy structure of the molecular dimer is analyzed by numerical exact diagonalization and perturbation theory. Under numerical exact diagonalization, we find that the degeneracy of lower polaritons vanishes in the presence of vibronic coupling. Under the second-order degenerate perturbation theory, the degeneracy breaking of lower polaritons can be associated with asymmetric indirect interactions mediated by the upper polaritons and the dark states. The consistency of the two approaches confirms the robustness of our simulations, indicating that the vibration-induced symmetry breaking should be experimentally observed.     

碱性电解液中K3[Fe(CN)6]在锌阳极上的自发还原和吸附延长锌镍电池的循环寿命

In view of the continuously worsening environmental problems, fossil fuels will not be able to support the development of human life in the future. Hence, it is of great importance to work on the efficient utilization of cleaner energy resources. In this case, cheap, reliable, and eco-friendly grid-scale energy storage systems can play a key role in optimizing our energy usage. When compared with lithium-ion and lead-acid batteries, the excellent safety, environmental benignity, and low toxicity of aqueous Zn-based batteries make them competitive in the context of large-scale energy storage. Among the various Zn-based batteries, due to a high open-circuit voltage and excellent rate performance, Zn-Ni batteries have great potential in practical applications. Nevertheless, the intrinsic obstacles associated with the use of Zn anodes in alkaline electrolytes, such as dendrite, shape change, passivation, and corrosion, limit their commercial application. Hence, we have focused our current efforts on inhibiting the corrosion and dissolution of Zn species. Based on a previous study from our research group, the failure of the Zn-Ni battery was caused by the shape change of the Zn anode, which stemmed from the dissolution of Zn and uneven current distribution on the anode. Therefore, for the current study, we selected K₃[Fe(CN)₆] as an electrolyte additive that would help minimize the corrosion and dissolution of the Zn anode. In the alkaline electrolyte, [Fe(CN)₆]^3– was reduced to [Fe(CN)₆]^4– by the metallic Zn present in the Zn-Ni battery. Owing to its low solubility in the electrolyte, K₄[Fe(CN)₆] adhered to the active Zn anode, thereby inhibiting the aggregation and corrosion of Zn. Ultimately, the shape change of the anode was effectively eliminated, which improved the cycling life of the Zn-Ni battery by more than three times (i.e., from 124 cycles to more than 423 cycles). As for capacity retention, the Zn-Ni battery with the pristine electrolyte only exhibited 40% capacity retention after 85 cycles, while the Zn-Ni battery with the modified electrolyte (i.e., containing K₃[Fe(CN)₆]) showed 72% capacity retention. Moreover, unlike conventional organic additives that increase electrode polarization, the addition of K₃[Fe(CN)₆] not only significantly reduced the charge-transfer resistance in a simplified three-electrode system, but also improved the discharge capacity and rate performance of the Zn-Ni battery. Importantly, considering that this strategy was easy to achieve and minimized additional costs, K₃[Fe(CN)₆], as an electrolyte additive with almost no negative effect, has tremendous potential in commercial Zn-Ni batteries.