Copolymer-Induced Intermolecular Charge Transfer: Enhancing the Activity of Metal-Free Catalysts for Oxygen Reduction

Breaking the electroneutrality of sp² carbon lattice is a viable way for nanocarbon material to modulate the charge delocalization and to further alter the electrocatalytic activity. Positive charge spreadsheeting is preferable for catalyzing the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and other electrochemical reactions. Analogously to the case of intramolecular charge transfer by heteroatom doping, electrons in the conjugated carbon lattice can be redistributed by the intermolecular charge transfer from the nanocarbon material to the polyelectrolyte. A copolymeric electrolyte, epichlorohydrin-dimethylamine copolymer (EDC) was synthesized. The EDC-modified carbon nanotube (CNT) hybrid was subsequently fabricated by sonication treatment and served as a metal-free carbonaceous electrocatalyst with remarkable catalytic activity and stability. The resultant hybrid presents positive charge spreadsheeting on CNT as a result of the interfacial electron transfer from CNT to EDC. DFT calculations were further carried out to reveal that the enhancement of the wrapped EDC polyelectrolyte originates from the synergetic effect of the quaternary ammonium-hydroxyl covalently bonded structure. The CNT-EDC hybrid not only provides an atomically precise regulation to modulate nanocarbon materials from inactive carbonaceous materials into efficient metal-free catalysts, but it also opens new avenues to develop metal-free catalysts with well-defined and highly active sites.     

Rational Synthesis of Iron/Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Catalyst through a Spatial Isolation Strategy for Efficient Oxygen Reduction in Acidic and Alkaline Media

It remains challenging to rationally synthesize iron/nitrogen-doped carbon (Fe/N-C) catalysts with rich Fe−N_x atomic active sites for improved oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) electrocatalysis. A highly efficient Fe/N-C catalyst, which has been synthesized through a spatial isolation strategy, is reported. Derived from bioinspired polydopamine (PDA)-based hybrid microsphere precursors, it is a multifunctional carrier that loads atomically dispersed Fe³⁺/Zn²⁺ ions through coordination interactions and N-rich melamine through electrostatic attraction and covalent bonding. The Zn²⁺ ions and melamine in the precursor efficiently isolate Fe³⁺ atoms upon pyrolysis to form rich Fe−N_x atomic active sites, and generate abundant micropores during high-temperature treatment; as a consequence, the resultant Fe-N/C catalyst contains rich catalytically active Fe−N_x sites and a hierarchical porous structure. The catalyst exhibits improved ORR activity that is superior to and close to that of Pt/C in alkaline and acidic solutions, respectively.     

Adsorption of Nin (n=1 -4) clusters on perfect and O-defective CuAl2O4 surfaces: A DFT study

The adsorption energies for single Ni atom on CuAl₂O₄(100) and (110) surfaces are 5.30 and 4.08 eV, respectively. The growth and aggregation of Ni can be effectively inhibited on the perfect CuAl₂O₄(100) surface. The adsorption of Ni on the spinel surface is accompanied by charge transfer. The interaction of Ni with CuAl₂O₄ surface is stronger than with the γ-Al₂O₃(110) surface.     

Nonlinear Optical Switching in Regioregular Porphyrin Covalent Organic Frameworks

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) have garnered immense scientific interest among porous materials because of their structural tunability and diverse properties. However, the response of such materials toward laser‐induced nonlinear optical (NLO) applications is hardly understood and demands prompt attention. Three novel regioregular porphyrin (Por)‐based porous COFs—Por‐COF‐HH and its dual metalated congeners Por‐COF‐ZnCu and Por‐COF‐ZnNi—have been prepared and present excellent NLO properties. Notably, intensity‐dependent NLO switching behavior was observed for these Por‐COFs, which is highly desirable for optical switching and optical limiting devices. Moreover, the efficient π‐conjugation and charge‐transfer transition in ZnCu‐Por‐COF enabled a high nonlinear absorption coefficient (β=4470 cm/GW) and figure of merit (FOM=σ₁/σ_o, 3565) value compared to other state‐of‐the‐art materials, including molecular porphyrins (β≈100–400 cm/GW), metal–organic frameworks (MOFs; β≈0.3–0.5 cm/GW), and graphene (β=900 cm/GW).     

Hydrophobic Poly(tert‐butyl acrylate) Photonic Crystals towards Robust Energy‐Saving Performance

Photonic crystals (PCs) have been widely applied in optical, energy, and biological fields owing to their periodic crystal structure. However, the major challenges are easy cracking and poor structural color, seriously hindering their practical applications. Now, hydrophobic poly(tert‐butyl acrylate) (P(t‐BA)) PCs have been developed with relatively lower glass transition temperature (T_g), large crack‐free area, excellent hydrophobic properties, and brilliant structure color. This method based on hydrophobic groups (tertiary butyl groups) provides a reference for designing new kinds of PCs via the monomers with relatively lower T_g. Moreover, the P(t‐BA) PCs film were applied as the photoluminescence (PL) enhanced film to enhance the PL intensity of CdSe@ZnS QDs by 10‐fold in a liquid‐crystal display (LCD) device. The new‐type hydrophobic force assembled PCs may open an innovative avenue toward new‐generation energy‐saving devices.     

A Highly Elastic and Reversibly Stretchable All‐Polymer Supercapacitor

Multiple stretchability has never been demonstrated as supercapacitors because the hydrogel used cannot fully recover after being heavily deformed. Now, a highly reversibly stretchable all‐polymer supercapacitor was fabricated using a developed double network hydrogel (DN hydrogel) as electrolyte and pure polypyrrole (PPy) as electrode. The DN hydrogel provides excellent mechanical properties, which can be stretched up to 500 % many times and then restore almost 100 % of the original length. To fabricate the fully recoverable stretchable supercapacitor, we annealed a free‐standing pure conducting polymer film as electrode so that the electrodes induced retardance is minimized. The as‐fabricated DN hydrogel/pure conducting polymer supercapacitors can be perfectly recovered from 100 % strain with almost no residual deformation left and the electrochemical performance can be maintained even after 1000 stretches (but not bending).     

Actuation of adaptive liquid microlens droplet in microfluidic devices: A review

A significant growth of research on adaptive liquid lens is achieved over the past decades, and the field is still attracting increasing attentions, focusing on the transition from the current stage to the commercialized stage. The challenges faced are not limited to fabrication, material, small tuning range in focal lengths, additional control systems, limitations in special actuation methods and so on. In addition, the use of external driving parts or systems induce extra problem on bulky appearance, high cost, low reliability etc. Therefore, adaptive liquid lens will be an interesting research focus in both microfluidics and optofluidics science. This review attempts to summarize and focus on the droplet profile deformation under different driving mechanisms in tunable liquid microlens as well as the application in cameras, cell phone and so on. The driving techniques are generally categorized in terms of mechanisms and driving sources.     

Evaporative characteristics of sessile nanofluid droplet on micro‐structured heated surface

Micro‐structure patterned substrates attract our attention due to the special and programmable wettabilities. The interaction between the liquid and micro/nano structures gives rise to controllable spreading and thus evaporation. For exploration of the application versatility, the introduction of nanoparticles in liquid droplet results in interaction among particles, liquid and microstructures. In addition, temperature of the substrates strongly affects the spreading of the contact line and the evaporative property. The evaporation of sessile droplets of nanofluids on a micro‐grooved solid surface is investigated in terms of liquid and surface properties. The patterned nickel surface used in the experiments is designed and fabricated with circular and rectangular shaped pillars whose size ratios between interval and pillars is fixed at 5. The behavior is firstly compared between nanofluid and pure liquid on substrates at room temperature. For pure water droplet, the drying time is relatively longer due to the receding of contact line which slows down the liquid evaporation. Higher concentrations of nanoparticles tend to increase the total evaporation time. With varying concentrations of graphite at nano scale from 0.02% to 0.18% with an interval at 0.04% in water droplets and the heating temperature from 22 to 85°C, the wetting and evaporation of the sessile droplets are systematically studied with discussion on the impact parameters and the resulted liquid dynamics as well as the stain. The interaction among the phases together with the heating strongly affects the internal circulation inside the droplet, the evaporative rate and the pattern of particles deposition.     

Microwave assisted hydrothermal synthesis of tin niobates nanosheets with high cycle stability as lithium-ion battery anodes

SnNb₂O₆ and Sn₂Nb₂O₇ nanosheets were synthetized via microwave assisted hydrothermal method, and innovatively employed as anode materials for lithium-ion battery. Compared with Sn₂Nb₂O₇ and the previously reported pure Sn-based anode materials, the SnNb₂O₆ electrode exhibited outstanding cycling performance.     

Improved electrochemical properties in the Li3Fe2(PO4)3 by titanium and vanadium doping

Ti⁴⁺ ions were introduced to the VO₄^3- substituted Li₃Fe₂(PO₄)₃ by sol-gel method. Simultaneous substitution of Ti⁴⁺ for Fe³⁺ and VO₄^3- for PO₄^3- in the Li₃Fe₂(PO₄)₃ resulted in a net improvement in the rate capability and cycling performance, as compared with the single Ti⁴⁺ or VO₄^3- substituted compound.