Surface modification of liquid metal as an effective approach for deformable electronics and energy devices

The fields of flexible or stretchable electronics and energy devices, reconfigurable and compliant soft robotics, wearable e-textiles or health-care devices have paid significant attention to the need of deformable conductive electrodes due to its critical role in device performances. Gallium-based liquid metals, such as the eutectic gallium–indium (EGaIn) being an electrically conductive liquid phase at room temperature, have attracted immense interests as a promising candidate for deformable conductor. However, in the case of bulk liquid metal, there are several limitations such as the need of encapsulation, dispersion in a polymer matrix, or accurate patterning. For these reasons, the preparation of liquid metal particles in harnessing the properties in a non-bulk form and surface modification is crucial for the success of incorporating liquid metal into functional devices. Herein, we discuss the current progress in chemical surface modification and interfacial manipulations of liquid metal particles. The physical and chemical properties of the surface modification-assisted liquid metal polymer composite are also reviewed. Lastly, the applications of the surface-modified liquid metal particles such as flexible electrode, soft robotics, energy storage or harvester, thermal conductor, dielectric sensor, and bioelectronics are discussed, and the corresponding perspectives of deformable electronics and energy devices are provided. In particular, we focus on the functionalization method or requirement of liquid metal particles in each application. The challenging issues and outlook on the applications of surface-modified liquid metal particles are also discussed.

In this review, we summarize the recent progress in chemical surface modification and interfacial manipulations of liquid metal particles and discuss the modification method or requirement of liquid metal particles in emerging applications.     

Ag-Doped Free-Standing 2D TiO2 Sheets: Electronic,Optical, Magnetic,and Self-Healing Behaviour

Beyond a critical doping level, Ag–2D TiO₂ sheets (ATO) are deemed to be a flexible transparent conductor, useful for visible-range functional photonic/optoelectronic devices/sensors, sunlight-sensitive catalysis, and light-activated resistive switching. Due to the lack of control of surface energy which often leads to the formation of structural defects and even dimensionality crossover (2D to 0D) of materials during doping reaction, it is challenging to obtain ATO with a controlled doping level. Gauging the urgency, therefore we report the surface energy-controlled synthesis of ATO employing liquid phase exfoliation of TiO₂ and subsequent hydrothermal Ag-doping in the presence of Hexamethylenetetramine (HMTA). Electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy reveal ATO sheets with large lateral dimensions. 6-fold, 4-fold, and strain-mediated crystallographic phases of 2D ATO have been revealed by high-resolution electron imaging. Successful tuning of the band gap down to ~2 eV with Ag doping up to ~10 % is obtained. Synthesized 2D ATO have been investigated for their electrical, optical, optoelectronic, photoluminescence, and ferromagnetic behaviour. Visible light-sensitive thermally/structurally robust semiconductor/conductor via tuneable doping will pave the way for their flexible as well as wearable device applications. Self-healing effect of AFM tip-generated mechanical stress has also been demonstrated.     

The redox of hydroxyl-assisted metallic filament induced resistive switching memory based on a biomaterial-constructed sustainable and environment-friendly device

Using biomaterial-constructed resistive switching memory devices has attracted great attention for the potential application in advanced electronic components because of their variety of advantages, such as low cost, sustainability, environment-friendly, and so on. In this work, after a series of treatments, an edible mushroom as an intermediate insulating material was assembled into an Ag/biofilm/metal structure, in which the metals such as Al, Cu, Ag, and Ti were chosen as the bottom electrode to explore in-depth physical mechanisms. The transmission mechanism of resistive switching memory behavior in an Ag/biofilm/metal device was studied in detail. It was found that the redox of hydroxyl-assisted Ag filaments could be easily formed on an inactive metal bottom electrode through the mushroom film by redox reaction under applied voltage. This work provides an ingenious potential application in wearable, flexible, sustainable, and environment-friendly biologically resistive random-access memories.     

ITO-free transparent conductive films based on carbon nanomaterials with metal grid for liquid crystal displays

Carbon nanomaterials with metal grids were used as transparent conductive electrodes for liquid crystal displays (LCDs) to develop an indium tin oxide (ITO)-free device. We prepared LCDs with CNTs and graphene electrodes; however, the working voltage of the device with the CNT electrodes was high. The device with graphene electrodes had good performance, but not as good as devices with ITO electrodes. To improve the device performance, we applied a metal grid to the carbon nanomaterial to create low sheet-resistance transparent electrodes. The device with the graphene and metal grid transparent electrodes had a threshold voltage as low as 0.23 V/µm, which is similar to that of typical LCDs with ITO electrodes. The results show that a hybrid transparent conductive film with graphene and metal grid could be an alternative to ITO for developing ITO-free LCDs.     

氧化石墨烯诱导的Ni-Co氢氧化物整体电极的制备及电储能特性

超级电容器作为一种新型储能装置,由于其能量密度、功率密度高和良好的循环稳定性,而在实际工业应用中(新能源汽车、航天航空业、电子通信系统、可穿戴设备等)显示出巨大的潜力.但目前面临的最大挑战是构造柔性、轻薄可变形的储能设备.在本项研究工作中,利用溶剂热法和真空抽滤法开发了一种碳基/层状金属氢氧化物的复合材料.设计将氧化石...     

咪唑侧基功能化聚离子液体修饰的混合模式色谱固定相的制备及其色谱性能

该文合成了咪唑侧基功能化的离子液体单体1-(4-乙烯基苄基)-3-氰甲基溴化咪唑盐,通过表面引发原子转移自由基聚合将该单体接枝到硅胶表面,制备了一种新型混合模式色谱固定相。采用红外光谱、元素分析及热重分析对其结构进行表征。该色谱固定相具有良好的分离能力。通过研究流动相pH对物质保留的影响,验证了物质在该固定相上存在反相-离子交换保留机理。通过与十八烷基硅烷键合硅胶固定相比较,证实了该聚离子液体固定相对物质保留提供了π-π作用。结果表明,对咪唑侧基功能化是制备新型离子液体固定相的可行方法。     

烯碳纤维基能源器件的研究进展

纤维状能源器件的研究极大地推动了可穿戴电子设备的快速发展。烯碳纤维主要包括碳纳米管纤维和石墨烯纤维,其微观组成单元具有独特的碳碳共轭分子形态,宏观结构具有高度可调控性,表现出高的比强度、优良的导电性和导热性、以及良好的机械柔韧性等,被广泛应用于先进能源器件的研究和开发,有效促进了柔性可穿戴电子器件的发展。本文综述了烯碳纤维基能源器件包括能量转换和储能器件等的研究和应用进展,具体介绍了烯碳纤维基太阳能电池、湿气发电机、热电发电机、超级电容器以及电化学电池等的最新成果,重点讨论了烯碳纤维基能源器件的制备方法和可穿戴应用,分析了烯碳纤维基储能及能量转换器件面临的问题和挑战,期望能够为未来高性能纤维基可穿戴能源器件的发展提供有价值的研究思路。     

基于吡嗪空穴传输层的合成及在p-i-n型钙钛矿太阳能电池中的应用

钙钛矿太阳能电池由于具有高的光电转换效率,简单的溶液加工工艺,较低的成本等优势因而拥有广阔的应用前景。有机小分子空穴传输层材料在钙钛矿太阳能电池中扮演着极其重要的角色。在本工作中,我们设计和合成了基于吡嗪为分子中心核,三苯胺为分枝的X型空穴传输层材料PT-TPA。与Si-OMeTPA对比,吡嗪的引入不仅不会影响其结晶性,并且能够改善其电荷转移特性和分子中心共平面性,从而显著提升了PT-TPA的空穴迁移率。在非掺杂的情况之下,基于PT-TPA空穴传输层的p-i-n型钙钛矿太阳能电池展现出17.52%的光电转换效率,与相同条件下基于Si-OMeTPA空穴传输层的器件相比,效率提高了近15%。     

单离子聚合物快离子导体

具有高锂离子迁移数和良好可加工性能的锂快离子导体对于全固态电池的发展非常重要。然而,现有的锂快离子导体主要限制于硬质陶瓷,目前尚无柔性聚合物类型的锂快离子导体被报道。在这个工作中,我们报告了一种通过三种不同有机单体的自由基聚合反应形成的三元无规共聚单离子快离子导体(SISC)。该SISC中包含丰富的锂离子传输位点和具有阴离子锚定功能的阴离子受体。此外,三种不同单体的共聚反应带来低结晶度和低玻璃化转变温度(T_g),有利于链段运动,从而获得小的锂离子传输的活化能(E_a)。电化学测试结果表明,该SISC的室温离子电导率和锂离子迁移数分别达到1.29 mS∙cm⁻¹和0.94。将SISC与锂金属负极和多种正极(包括LiFePO₄、LiCoO₂和硫化聚丙烯腈(SPAN))原位聚合,组装得到的全固态电池具有良好的电化学稳定性。其中,Li||LiFePO₄全固态电池表现出高达8C的倍率性能和良好的循环寿命(在0.5C倍率下稳定循环 > 700圈)。这项工作提供了一种新颖的聚合物基快离子导体设计理念,对于发展高性能全固态电池具有重要意义。     

Zeolite-based Electrolyte Accelerating the Realization of Solid-state Li-Air Battery

Solid-state lithium-air battery represents one of the most promising energy storage systems to simultaneously achieve high energy density, safety, and cost-efficiency. Conventional inorganic solid electrolytes are not suitable for the lithium-air systems due to their spontaneous reactions with lithium and/or air. Meanwhile, the large-scale production of inorganic solid electrolytes at a low cost remains highly challenging to date. Recently, Yu et al. demonstrated that lithium-ion exchanged zeolite X membrane could be employed as the solid electrolyte for lithium-air battery owing to its unique microporous structure and the continuous ion-conduction pathway within a single crystal. Moreover, the lithium-ion exchanged zeolite X offers excellent compatibility with lithium and air and exhibits negligible air permeability. The integrated solid-state lithium-air battery exhibits superior electrochemical stability in ambient air compared to conventional liquid and solid electrolytes. Meanwhile, it offers flexibility, safety and tolerance against abuse. Since zeolites have been widely used in the chemical industry, this work opens up numerous opportunities in energy-related fields. The corresponding research has been published in Nature and can be accessed at https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03410-9.     

Ferroelectric liquid crystal materials synthesized from 2(S)-[2(S)-methylbutyloxy]propanol

A new chiral alcohol, 2(S)-[2(S)-methylbutyloxy]propanol (3), containing two chiral centres has been synthesized from ethyl lactate and (S)-1-iodo-2-methylbutane. It was used as a chiral building block for the preparation of ferroelectric liquid crystal materials. Several of the new materials exhibit an enantiotropic S*_c phase with a wide temperature range. The results indicate that the molecular structure of 3 is useful for synthesizing ferroelectric liquid crystal materials.     

人工界面层在金属锂负极中的应用

金属锂具有极高的比容量(3860 mAh·g^?1)和最低的电化学反应电位(相对标准氢电位为?3.040 V),被认为是高能量密度二次电池最具潜力的负极材料。然而金属锂负极界面稳定性差、不可控的枝晶生长、沉积/剥离过程中巨大的体积变化等严重阻碍了金属锂负极的商业化应用。在金属锂表面构建一层物理化学性质稳定的人工界面保护层被认为是解决金属锂负极界面不稳定和枝晶生长,缓解体积膨胀带来的界面波动等一系列问题的有效手段。本综述依据界面传导性质,从离子导通而电子绝缘的人工固态电解质界面(SEI)层、离子/电子混合传导界面、纳米界面钝化层三个部分对人工界面保护层进行了归纳总结。分析了人工界面保护层的物质结构与性能之间的构效关系,探讨了如何提高人工界面保护层的物理化学稳定性、界面离子输运、界面强度与柔韧性、界面兼容性等。最后,指出用于金属锂负极的人工界面保护层目前面临的主要挑战,并对其未来的发展进行了展望。     

Preparation and characterization of imprinted monolith with metal ion as pivot

This report provided the first example of using pivot concept to prepare monolithic molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) with ketoprofen (KET) imprints, in which metal ions were employed as mediator between the functional monomer and the template to achieve higher fidelity of imprint. To solve metal ions in pre-polymerization system, a new ternary porogen of dimethyl sulfoxide-toluene-isooctane was developed for preparation of MIP monoliths with high porosity and good permeability. The effect of polymerization parameters such as the nature of metal ions, the ratio of template to metal ion and the degree of crosslinking, on the permeability, morphology and affinity of the metal ion mediated MIP monolith were studied. The experiments demonstrated that Ni(2+), Co(2+) and Zn(2+) can be applied as pivot to prepare KET-imprinted monolith. Relative to monolithic MIP without metal ions, all the ion-mediated macropore MIP monoliths showed enhanced permeability, capacity factor and selectivity factor. High permeability (1.06×10(-7)mm(2)) was obtained on the Co(2+)-mediated MIP monolith and great selectivity factor (3.84) was achieved on the Ni(2+)-mediated one. The stoichiometric displacement model was constructed to investigate the recognition mechanism of metal-ion mediated MIP. The results indicate that metal ion as pivot not only improves the affinity but also allows the fine-tuning on the macroporous structure of MIP monolith.     

Characterization of Iron Metal Corrosion in Liquid Smoke Coagulant

Latex coagulant is one of important factors on natural rubber processing because it will determine the quality of rubber end products. One of the coagulants that produce good quality natural rubber is liquid smoke. The use of liquid smoke as coagulant is thought to cause corrosion in processing equipment commonly made of iron or steel. The objectives of this study were to identify and to study the characteristic of iron metal corrosion in the solution of liquid smoke coagulant. The treatment of liquid smoke as corrosion media consisted of 100% pure liquid smoke (AC100), 10% pure liquid smoke (AC10), 100% liquid smoke formula (FA100) and 10% liquid smoke formula (FA10). The method used was weight loss method with the planned interval test. The removal of corrosion products on the metal specimen was done by pickling method based on ASTM G1-81. The results showed that corrosion rate of the liquid smoke and its formula was around 0.05-0.23 mm per years. Corrosion resistance of iron metal in liquid smoke coagulant was categorized as good level. This analysis indicated that liquid smoke coagulant and its formula has very low corrosivity level. The visualization with 10x magnification showed that the corrosion attack was clearly visible on the iron metal surface.     

全钒液流电池用磺化聚醚醚酮/锂皂石质子膜的结构及性能

通过溶液流延法制备了磺化聚醚醚酮/锂皂石(SPEEK/Lap)复合膜, 对其物理化学性质、 机械性能、 化学稳定性及单电池性能进行了测试. 在SPEEK基质中引入的Lap有效改善了复合膜的质子传导率、 溶胀率和机械性能. 当Lap添加量(质量分数)从0.2%增到1.5%时, 复合膜的质子传导率随之增加(19.9~23.6 mS/cm). SPEEK/Lap-0.2复合膜的自放电时间为57.2 h, 是Nafion 117膜的2.4倍和纯SPEEK膜的1.5倍. 在80 mA/cm ²电流密度下, SPEEK/Lap-0.2复合膜的电压效率(VE, 86.5%)和能量效率(EE, 84.0%)明显高于Nafion 117膜(VE: 83.8%, EE: 80.7%)和纯SPEEK膜(VE: 81.4%, EE: 78.9%). 同时, SPEEK/Lap-0.2复合膜经100次充放电循环测试后具有良好的循环稳定性和结构稳定性.     

NASICON-based H2 Sensor Using CoCrMnO4 Insensitive Reference Electrode and Buried Au Sensing Electrode

This work focuses on the H2 sensing performance of the sensor with buried Au sensing electrode and spi- nel-type oxide CoCrMnO4 insensitive reference electrode within sodium super ionic conductor（NASICON） film. The sensor showed the highest response to H2 gas on the insensitive material sintering at 800 ~C. Compared with those of the traditional structure device, the sensitivity and selectivity of the sensor using buried sensing electrode were greatly improved, giving a response of-177 mV in 9x10 5 g/L H2, which was about 3.5 times higher than that of sensors with traditional structure. Moreover, the AV value of the sensing device exhibited linear relationship to the logarithm of H2 concentration and the sensitivity（slope） was -135 mV/decade. A sensing mechanism related to the mixed potential was proposed for the present sensor.     

Ionic liquid phase technology supported the three component synthesis of Hantzsch 1,4-dihydropyridines and Biginelli 3,4-dihydropyrimidin-2(1H)-ones under microwave dielectric heating

A microwave dielectric heating assisted liquid phase synthesis of 1,4-dihydropyridines, 3,4-dihydropyrimidin-2(1H)-ones, pyridines and polyhydroquinolines using task-specific ionic liquid as a soluble support was described. The efficiency of the ionic liquid phase organic synthesis (IoLiPOS) methodology was demonstrated by using a one-pot three component condensation. The structure of the intermediates in each step was verified routinely by spectroscopic analysis and, after cleavage the target compounds were obtained in good yields and high purities.     

原位聚合表面修饰的金属锂负极

金属锂负极由于比容量高(3860 mAh·g^-1)及氧化还原电位极低(-3.04 V vs.标准氢气电极(SHE)),被认为是实现高能量密度锂电池的理想负极。然而,金属锂电极与电解液反应剧烈,且锂离子在电极表面沉积不均匀容易产生枝晶,导致其循环稳定性和安全性都较差,限制了其应用推广。我们前期通过构建金属锂-碳纳米管(Li-CNT)复合结构,极大的提高了金属锂的比表面积,降低了电极电流密度,从而有效地抑制了锂枝晶的生长,提高了金属锂电极的循环稳定性和安全性能。本工作在前期工作基础上,采用简单的液相反应,利用4-氟苯乙烯(FPS)对Li-CNT进行表面修饰并进行原位聚合,得到了表面富含氟化锂(Li F)保护层的Li-CNT(FPS-Li-CNT)。该表面修饰层能够有效抑制电解液和空气对Li-CNT的侵蚀,显著的提高了LiCNT电极的界面稳定性。FPS-Li-CNT与磷酸铁锂正极(LFP)组成的LFP||FPS-Li-CNT全电池,在正负极容量配比为1:6条件下,能够稳定循环280圈,库伦效率达到97.7%。     

新型Ti3C2 MXene的化学制备及基于MXene忆阻器特性与机理

阻变器件是一种微电子器件,具有阻值可在两个甚至两个以上的阻态之间重复变化的特点。忆阻器作为新型的阻变器件,具有可连续变化的丰富阻态。近年来因其具备简单的二端结构、高集成度以及低工作电压等特性,在新型非易失性存储以及构建神经形态系统等方面被广泛研究。但其在实现应用的过程中仍存在着稳定性较差等问题。近期一些工作证明了二维材料如氧化石墨烯在优化忆阻器性能方面具备良好的应用潜力。MXene是一种具备类似石墨烯结构的新型二维过渡金属碳/氮化物,因其具备二维层状结构显现出特殊的力学以及电学特性,有望应用于忆阻器中以提高器件的电学性能。在本文中,我们通过化学湿法刻蚀制备了Ti₃C₂粉末,通过旋涂工艺在忆阻器结构中引入Ti₃C₂薄膜。Ti₃C₂ MXene与SiO₂同时作为忆阻器阻变层,制备了Cu/Ti₃C₂/SiO₂/W结构的忆阻器,并且对其相关电学特性进行了探究。在该器件上,通过实验测得忆阻器典型的开关特性曲线并在双向直流电压下针对高、低阻态的可重复性、稳定性进行了实验。结果表明该器件能够在100个扫描循环过程中保持稳定的高、低阻态达到10⁴ s以上。同时,该器件状态能够受脉冲电压调节,实现突触间典型的双脉冲易化行为。实验结果表明基于Ti₃C₂ MXene的忆阻器将有望应用于构建新兴存储设备以及人工神经形态系统。     

Density functional theory assessment of the thermal degradation of diclofenac and its calcium and iron complexes

Thermogravimetric analyses of diclofenac sodium, its Ca²⁺ and Fe³⁺ complexes manifested a decreasing trend of the onset decomposition temperatures at which these compounds dissociated. The drop in the temperature was metal ion dependent; the sodium salt showed thermal stability up to 245 °C, whereas the complexes started their degradation processes at temperatures starting from 90 °C. While G* for the cleavage of the acetate moiety in the sodium salt was 63.76 kJmol⁻¹, it was 82.06 and 140.57 kJmol⁻¹ in the cases of Ca²⁺ and Fe³⁺, respectively. However, their complete fusion took place at 187.65, 150.34 and 98.77 °C, respectively, displaying a reversed trend which is probably indicative of some catalytic part on the binding metals.

Using the Gaussian 98 W package of programs, ab initio molecular orbital treatments were applied to diclofenac and its Ca²⁺ and Fe³⁺ metal complexes to study their electronic structure at the atomic level. The thermochemistry of diclofenac sodium was followed through the TG fragmentation peak temperatures using the density functional theory calculations at the 6-31G(d) basis set level. The FT-IR data were in good agreement with the theoretically calculated values.

Single point calculations at the B3LYP/ 6-311G(d) level of theory, were used to compare the geometric features, energies and dipole moments of these compounds to detect the effect of the binding metal ions on the thermal dissociation of their diclofenac complexes.