Boosting Piezo-Catalytic Activity of KNN-Based Materials with Phase Boundary and Defect Engineering

Although the piezo-catalysis is promising for the environmental remediation and biomedicine, the piezo-catalytic properties of various piezoelectric materials are limited by low carrier concentrations and mobility, and rapid electron-hole pair recombination, and reported regulating strategies are quite complex and difficult. Herein, a new and simple strategy, integrating phase boundary engineering and defect engineering, to boost the piezo-catalytic activity of potassium sodium niobate ((K, Na)NbO₃, KNN) based materials is innovatively proposed. Tur strategy is validated by exampling 0.96(K_0.48Na_0.52)Nb_0.955Sb_0.045O₃-0.04(Bi_xNa_4-3x)_0.5ZrO₃-0.3%Fe₂O₃ material having phase boundary engineering and conducted the defect engineering via the high-energy sand-grinding. A high reaction rate constant k of 92.49 × 10⁻³ min⁻¹ in the sand-grinding sample is obtained, which is 2.40 times than that of non-sand-grinding one and superior to those of other representative lead-free perovskite piezoelectric materials. Meanwhile, the sand-grinding sample has remarkable bactericidal properties against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Superior piezo-catalytic activities originate from the enhanced electron-hole pair separation and the increased carrier concentration. This study provides a novel method for improving the piezo-catalytic activities of lead-free piezoelectric materials and holds great promise for harnessing natural energy and disease treatment.     

Review of Broadband Metamaterial Absorbers: From Principles,Design Strategies,and Tunable Properties to Functional Applications

Metamaterial absorbers have been widely studied and continuously concerned owing to their excellent resonance features of ultra-thin thickness, light-weight, and high absorbance. Their applications, however, are typically restricted by the intrinsic dispersion of materials and strong resonant features of patterned arrays (mainly referring to narrow absorption bandwidth). It is, therefore essential to reassert the principles of building broadband metamaterial absorbers (BMAs). Herein, the research progress of BMAs from principles, design strategies, tunable properties to functional applications are comprehensively and deeply summarized. Physical principles behind broadband absorption are briefly discussed, typical design strategies in realizing broadband absorption are further emphasized, such as top-down lithography, bottom-up self-assembly, and emerging 3D printing technology. Diversified active components choices, including optical response, temperature response, electrical response, magnetic response, mechanical response, and multi-parameter responses, are reviewed in achieving dynamically tuned broadband absorption. Following this, the achievements of various interdisciplinary applications for BMAs in energy-harvesting, photodetectors, radar-IR dual stealth, bolometers, noise absorbing, imaging, and fabric wearable are summarized. Finally, the challenges and perspectives for future development of BMAs are discussed.     

New Polymerized Small Molecular Acceptors with Non-Aromatic π-Conjugated Linkers for Efficient All-Polymer Solar Cells

Developing new polymerized small molecular acceptor (PSMA) is pivotal for improving the performance of all-polymer solar cells. On the basis of this newly developed CH-series small molecule acceptors, two PSMAs are reported herein (namely PZC16 and PZC17, respectively). To reduce the molecular torsion caused by the traditional aromatic π-bridges, non-aromatic conjugated units (ethynyl for PZC16 and vinylene for PZC17) are adopted as the linkers and their effect on the photo-physical properties as well as the device performance are systematically investigated. Both polymer acceptors exhibit co-planar molecular conformation, along with broad absorption ranges and suitable energy levels. In comparison with the PM6:PZC16 film, the PM6:PZC17 film exhibits more uniform phase separation in morphology with a distinct bi-continuous network and better crystallinity. The PM6:PZC17-binary-based devices exhibit a satisfactory PCE of 16.33%, significantly higher than 9.22% of the PZC16-based devices. Impressively, PM6:PZC17-based large area device (ca. 1 cm²) achieves an excellent PCE of 15.14%, which is among the top performance for reported all-polymer solar cells (all-PSCs).     

A 2.20 eV Bandgap Polymer Donor for Efficient Colorful Semitransparent Organic Solar Cells

Semitransparent organic solar cells (ST-OSCs) have attracted increasing attention due to their promising prospect in building-integrated photovoltaics. Generally, efficient ST-OSCs with good average visible transmittance (AVT) can be realized by developing active layer materials with light absorption far from the visible light range. Herein, the development of ultrawide bandgap polymer donors with near-ultraviolet absorption, paired with near-infrared acceptors, is proposed to achieve high-performance ST-OSCs. The key points for the design of ultrawide bandgap polymers include constructing donor–donor type conjugated skeleton, suppressing the quinoidal resonance effect, and minimizing the twist of conjugated skeleton via noncovalent conformational locks. As a proof of concept, a polymer named PBOF with an optical bandgap of 2.20 eV is synthesized, which exhibited largely reduced overlap with the human eye photopic response spectrum and afforded a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 16.40% in opaque device. As a result, ST-OSCs with a PCE over 10% and an AVT over 30% are achieved without optical modulation. Moreover, colorful ST-OSCs with visual aesthetics can be achieved by tuning the donor/acceptor weight ratio in active layer benefiting from the ultrawide bandgap nature of PBOF. This study demonstrates the great potential of ultrawide bandgap polymers for efficient colorful ST-OSCs.     

Macrophage Membrane-Coated Nanoparticles Sensitize Glioblastoma to Radiation by Suppressing Proneural–Mesenchymal Transformation in Glioma Stem Cells

Radiotherapy is identified as a crucial treatment for patients with glioblastoma, but recurrence is inevitable. The efficacy of radiotherapy is severely hampered partially due to the tumor evolution. Growing evidence suggests that proneural glioma stem cells can acquire mesenchymal features coupled with increased radioresistance. Thus, a better understanding of mechanisms underlying tumor subclonal evolution may develop new strategies. Herein, data highlighting a positive correlation between the accumulation of macrophage in the glioblastoma microenvironment after irradiation and mesenchymal transdifferentiation in glioblastoma are presented. Mechanistically, elevated production of inflammatory cytokines released by macrophages promotes mesenchymal transition in an NF-κB-dependent manner. Hence, rationally designed macrophage membrane-coated porous mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MMNs) in which therapeutic anti-NF-κB peptides are loaded for enhancing radiotherapy of glioblastoma are constructed. The combination of MMNs and fractionated irradiation results in the blockage of tumor evolution and therapy resistance in glioblastoma-bearing mice. Intriguingly, the macrophage invasion across the blood-brain barrier is inhibited competitively by MMNs, suggesting that these nanoparticles can fundamentally halt the evolution of radioresistant clones. Taken together, the biomimetic MMNs represent a promising strategy that prevents mesenchymal transition and improves therapeutic response to irradiation as well as overall survival in patients with glioblastoma.     

Ultra-Stable and Sensitive Ultraviolet Photodetectors Based on Monocrystalline Perovskite Thin Films

The detection of ultraviolet (UV) radiation with effective performance and robust stability is essential to practical applications. Metal halide single-crystal perovskites (ABX₃) are promising next-generation materials for UV detection. The device performance of all-inorganic CsPbCl₃ photodetectors (PDs) is still limited by inner imperfection of crystals grown in solution. Here wafer-scale single-crystal CsPbCl₃ thin films are successfully grown by vapor-phase epitaxy method, and the as-constructed PDs under UV light illumination exhibit an ultralow dark current of 7.18 pA, ultrahigh ON/OFF ratio of ≈5.22 × 10⁵, competitive responsivity of 32.8 A W⁻¹, external quantum efficiency of 10867% and specific detectivity of 4.22 × 10¹² Jones. More importantly, they feature superb long-term stability toward moisture and oxygen within twenty-one months, good temperature tolerances at low and high temperatures. The ability of the photodetector arrays for excellent UV light imaging is further demonstrated.     

C-Shaped Cartilage Development Using Wharton's Jelly-Derived Hydrogels to Assemble a Highly Biomimetic Neotrachea for use in Circumferential Tracheal Reconstruction

A highly biomimetic neotrachea with C-shaped cartilage rings has promising clinical applications in the treatment of circumferential tracheal defects (CTDs) owing to its structure and physiological function. However, to date, most fabricated tracheal cartilages are O-shaped. In this study, finite element analysis demonstrates C-shaped cartilage rings that exhibit better compliance than O-shaped. Hydrogel is developed using methacryloyl-modified decellularized Wharton's jelly matrix (DWJMA) for the regeneration of C-shaped cartilage rings. This novel hydrogel possesses adjustable physicochemical properties and favorable cytocompatibility. When loaded with chondrocytes, DWJMA hydrogels support the optimal cartilage regeneration both in vitro and in vivo. More importantly, a highly biomimetic neotrachea simultaneously simulating the structural and physiological properties of the normal trachea is regenerated via modular assembly of several individual C-shaped cartilage rings. The results demonstrate the highly biomimetic neotrachea have better patency (88.6 ± 6.1% vs 74.4 ± 9.4%, p < 0.05), improve the survival rate, alleviate weight loss and mucoid impaction, than its O-shaped counterpart when used for the treatment of CTDs in a rabbit model. Therefore, this study proposes a novel hydrogel for the regeneration of C-shaped cartilage and provides new insights into the treatment of CTDs using a highly biomimetic neotrachea with C-shaped cartilage rings.     

Simultaneous CO2 and H2O Activation via Integrated Cu Single Atom and N Vacancy Dual-Site for Enhanced CO Photo-Production

Photocatalytic conversion of CO₂ into fuels using pure water as the proton source is of immense potential in simultaneously addressing the climate-change crisis and realizing a carbon-neutral economy. Single-atom photocatalysts with tunable local atomic configurations and unique electronic properties have exhibited outstanding catalytic performance in the past decade. However, given their single-site features they are usually only amenable to activations involving single molecules. For CO₂ photoreduction entailing complex activation and dissociation process, designing multiple active sites on a photocatalyst for both CO₂ reduction and H₂O dissociation simultaneously is still a daunting challenge. Herein, it is precisely construct Cu single-atom centers and two-coordinated N vacancies as dual active sites on CN (Cu₁/N_2CV-CN). Experimental and theoretical results show that Cu single-atom centers promote CO₂ chemisorption and activation via accumulating photogenerated electrons, and the N_2CV sites enhance the dissociation of H₂O, thereby facilitating the conversion from COO* to COOH*. Benefiting from the dual-functional sites, the Cu₁/N_2CV-CN exhibits a high selectivity (98.50%) and decent CO production rate of 11.12 µmol g⁻¹ h⁻¹. An ingenious atomic-level design provides a platform for precisely integrating the modified catalyst with the deterministic identification of the electronic property during CO₂ photoreduction process.     

Vapor Phase Growth of Centimeter-Sized Band Gap Engineered Cesium Lead Halide Perovskite Single-Crystal Thin Films with Color-tunable Stimulated Emission

Single crystal metal halide perovskites thin films are considered to be a promising optical, optoelectronic materials with extraordinary performance due to their low defect densities. However, it is still difficult to achieve large-scale perovskite single-crystal thin films (SCTFs) with tunable bandgap by vapor-phase deposition method. Herein, the synthesis of CsPbCl_3(1–x)Br_3x SCTFs with centimeter size (1 cm × 1 cm) via vapor-phase deposition is reported. The Br composition of CsPbCl_3(1–x)Br_3x SCTFs can be gradually tuned from x = 0 to x = 1, leading the corresponding bandgap to change from 2.29 to 2.91 eV. Additionally, an low-threshold (≈23.9 µJ cm⁻²) amplified spontaneous emission is achieved based on CsPbCl_3(1–x)Br_3x SCTFs at room temperature, and the wavelength is tuned from 432 to 547 nm by varying the Cl/Br ratio. Importantly, the high-quality CsPbCl_3(1–x)Br_3x SCTFs are ideal optical gain medium with high gain up to 1369.8 ± 101.2 cm⁻¹. This study not only provides a versatile method to fabricate high quality CsPbCl_3(1–x)Br_3x SCTFs with different Cl/Br ratio, but also paves the way for further research of color-tunable perovskite lasing.     

交流电机变频调速中矢量控制与直接转矩控制的研究

随着交流电机在现代社会生产中的广泛应用,三相交流异步交流调速控制系统成为研究的热点,各种各样的变频调速方案相继出现,作为当前两种主要的交流电机变频控制方法,矢量控制和直接转机控制在实际中得到广泛的应用。本文以矢量控制与直接转矩控制比较为核心,对二者的控制原理、特性以及应用进行了分析与比较。同时,在分析的直接转矩控制原理的基础上,基于Simulink环境下对直接转矩控制系统进行仿真模型的搭建,并得到相应的仿真图象。