Cobalt selenide has been proposed to be an effective low‐cost electrocatalyst toward the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) due to its well‐suited electronic configuration. However, pure cobalt selenide ...has by far still exhibited catalytic activity far below what is expected. Herein, this paper for the first time reports the synthesis of new monoclinic Co3Se4 thin nanowires on cobalt foam (CF) via a facile one‐pot hydrothermal process using selenourea. When used to catalyze the OER in basic solution, the conditioned monolithic self‐supported Co3Se4/CF electrode shows an exceptionally high catalytic current of 397 mA cm−2 at a low overpotential (η) of 320 mV, a small Tafel slope of 44 mV dec−1, a turnover frequency of 6.44 × 10−2 s−1 at η = 320 mV, and excellent electrocatalytic stability at various current densities. Furthermore, an electrolyzer is assembled using two symmetrical Co3Se4/CF electrodes as anode and cathode, which can deliver 10 and 20 mA cm−2 at low cell voltages of 1.59 and 1.63 V, respectively. More significantly, the electrolyzer can operate at 10 mA cm−2 over 3500 h and at 100 mA cm−2 for at least 2000 h without noticeable degradation, showing extraordinary operational stability.
Thin Co3Se4 nanowires are grown on porous Co foam (CF) via hydrothermal selenization, forming an integrated Co3Se4/CF electrode, which exhibits outstanding catalytic performance for oxygen evolution with a high current of 397 mA cm‐2 at an overpotential of 320 mV. An electrolyzer comprising two symmetrical Co3Se4/CF can operate at 10 mA cm−2 under 1.59 V over 3500 h without degradation.
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Effective solid‐state interfacial contact of both the cathode and lithium metal anode with the solid electrolyte (SE) are required to improve the performance of solid‐state lithium metal batteries ...(SSBs). Electro–chemo–mechanical coupling (ECMC) strongly affects the interfacial stability of SSBs. On one hand, mechanical stress strongly influences interfacial contact and causes side reactions. On the other hand, electrochemical reactions such as lithium deposition cause mechanical deformation and stress at electrode/SE interfaces. To solve the degradation/failure problems of interfaces and provide guidelines to construct high‐performance SSBs, the ECMC at electrode/SE interfaces should be comprehensively investigated. In this review, the problems associated with ECMC at electrode/SE interfaces are summarized. The interfacial degradation/failure mechanisms, including the contact and electrochemical stability of interfaces, are introduced. Mechanical factors affecting interfacial contact and lithium deposition are highlighted. Experimental observation and computational analysis methods for electrode/SE interfaces are then summarized. Strategies to construct stable electrode/SE interfaces, such as assembling stress and wetting layers to improve interfacial contact, 3D SE structure, and plating stress relief to suppress lithium dendrite formation, are reviewed. The remaining challenges to better understanding ECMC and related solutions to aid SSB development are discussed.
The failure mechanisms of electrode/solid electrolyte (SE) interfaces in solid‐state lithium metal batteries (SSBs) involve multiscale and multiphysical field coupling. Various in situ observation technologies and corresponding theoretical approaches have been used to investigate the degradation mechanism of SSBs. Based on the experimental and theoretical results, well‐established solutions are explored to construct stable electrode/SE interfaces in SSBs.
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Separating molecules or ions with sub-Angstrom scale precision is important but technically challenging. Achieving such a precise separation using membranes requires Angstrom scale pores with a high ...level of pore size uniformity. Herein, we demonstrate that precise solute-solute separation can be achieved using polyamide membranes formed via surfactant-assembly regulated interfacial polymerization (SARIP). The dynamic, self-assembled network of surfactants facilitates faster and more homogeneous diffusion of amine monomers across the water/hexane interface during interfacial polymerization, thereby forming a polyamide active layer with more uniform sub-nanometre pores compared to those formed via conventional interfacial polymerization. The polyamide membrane formed by SARIP exhibits highly size-dependent sieving of solutes, yielding a step-wise transition from low rejection to near-perfect rejection over a solute size range smaller than half Angstrom. SARIP represents an approach for the scalable fabrication of ultra-selective membranes with uniform nanopores for precise separation of ions and small solutes.
A new approach was designed to synthesize tin‐nanoparticles encapsulated in elastic hollow carbon spheres (TNHCs) with uniform size, in which tin nanoparticles with a diameter <100 nm were ...encapsulated in one thin hollow carbon sphere. The content of tin is up to over 70% by weight, andthe void volume inside the TNHCsis as high as 70–80%, which can accommodate the volume after expansion. This tin‐based nanocomposite exhibits a great potential as an anode materials for lithium‐ion batteries.
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Thin-film composite membranes formed by conventional interfacial polymerization generally suffer from the depth heterogeneity of the polyamide layer, i.e., nonuniformly distributed free volume pores, ...leading to the inefficient permselectivity. Here, we demonstrate a facile and versatile approach to tune the nanoscale homogeneity of polyamide-based thin-film composite membranes via inorganic salt-mediated interfacial polymerization process. Molecular dynamics simulations and various characterization techniques elucidate in detail the underlying molecular mechanism by which the salt addition confines and regulates the diffusion of amine monomers to the water-oil interface and thus tunes the nanoscale homogeneity of the polyamide layer. The resulting thin-film composite membranes with thin, smooth, dense, and structurally homogeneous polyamide layers demonstrate a permeance increment of ~20-435% and/or solute rejection enhancement of ~10-170% as well as improved antifouling property for efficient reverse/forward osmosis and nanofiltration separations. This work sheds light on the tunability of the polyamide layer homogeneity via salt-regulated interfacial polymerization process.
Recently, phage display technology has been announced as the recipient of Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2018. Phage display technique allows high affinity target-binding peptides to be selected from a ...complex mixture pool of billions of displayed peptides on phage in a combinatorial library and could be further enriched through the biopanning process; proving to be a powerful technique in the screening of peptide with high affinity and selectivity. In this review, we will first discuss the modifications in phage display techniques used to isolate various cancer-specific ligands by in situ, in vitro, in vivo, and ex vivo screening methods. We will then discuss prominent examples of solid tumor targeting-peptides; namely peptide targeting tumor vasculature, tumor microenvironment (TME) and overexpressed receptors on cancer cells identified through phage display screening. We will also discuss the current challenges and future outlook for targeting peptidebased therapeutics in the clinics.
Typically, volume expansion of the electrodes after intercalation of active ions is highly undesirable yet inetvitable, and it can significantly reduce the adhesion force between the electrodes and ...current collectors. Especially in aluminum‐ion batteries (AIBs), the intercalation of large‐sized AlCl4− can greatly weaken this adhesion force and result in the detachment of the electrodes from the current collectors, which seems an inherent and irreconcilable problem. Here, an interesting concept, the “dead zone”, is presented to overcome the above challenge. By incorporating a large number of OH− and COOH− groups onto the surface of MXene film, a rich negative‐charge region is formed on its surface. When used as the current collector for AIBs, it shields a tiny area of the positive electrode (adjacent to the current collector side) from AlCl4− intercalation due to the repulsion force, and a tiny inert layer (dead zone) at the interface of the positive electrode is formed, preventing the electrode from falling off the current collector. This helps to effectively increase the battery's cycle life to as high as 50 000 times. It is believed that the proposed concept can be an important reference for future development of current collectors in rocking chair batteries.
A stable, lightweight, durable, and low‐cost current collector, MXene (Ti3C2Tx) film, is achieved for aluminum‐ion batteries. A large number of OH− and COOH− groups are incorporated onto the surface of the MXene film to form rich negative charges region on its surface, which shields the positive electrode material from AlCl4− intercalation in its “dead zone.”
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Aluminum‐ion batteries (AIBs) attract interest for their promising features of superior safety and long‐life energy storage. Organic materials with engineered active groups are considered promising ...for promoting energy storage capabilities. However, the corresponding energy density (both voltage plateau and sufficient active sites required) and stability are still unexpectedly poor. To address these challenges, here π‐conjugated organic porphyrin molecules, that is, 5,10,15,20‐tetraphenylporphyrin (H2TPP) and 5,10,15,20‐tetrakis(4‐carboxyphenyl) porphyrin (H2TCPP), are selected as the positive electrode materials for AIBs. Owing to the highly reversible coordination/dissociation with aluminum complex cations, H2TPP presents long‐term cycling stability beyond 5000 cycles at 200 mA g−1. Compared with the specific capacity of H2TCPP (≈24 mA h g−1 at 100 mA g−1), the enhanced capabilities in H2TPP (reversible specific capacity of ≈101 mA h g−1 at 100 mA g−1) are attributed to removal of the carboxyl functional groups, which plays a role in reducing the basicity of porphyrin induced via electron withdrawing effects. Additionally, the mechanism of electrochemical reaction between AlCl2+ and porphyrin as well as ionic diffusion behaviors on the surface of the electrode are investigated. The results establish a platform to develop long‐term organic aluminum batteries for safe and stable energy storage.
Stable high‐capacity organic aluminum–porphyrin batteries are assembled and the large delocalized π bond in porphyrins can effectively promote the active sites and improve stability of the molecular structures. These features allow the aluminum–porphyrin batteries to deliver long‐term stability and high rate capabilities, which enable the fabrication of a high‐capacity organic Aluminum‐ion batteries.
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Nonaqueous rechargeable aluminum batteries (RABs) of low cost and high safety are promising for next‐generation energy storage. With the presence of ionic liquid (IL) electrolytes, their high ...moisture sensitivity and poor stability would lead to critical issues in liquid RABs, including undesirable gas production, irreversible activity loss, and an unstable electrode interface, undermining the operation stability. To address such issues, herein, a stable quasi‐solid‐state electrolyte is developed via encapsulating a small amount of an IL into a metal–organic framework, which not only protects the IL from moisture, but creates sufficient ionic transport network between the active materials and the electrolyte. Owing to the generated stable states at both positive‐electrode–electrolyte and negative‐electrode–electrolyte interfaces, the as‐assembled quasi‐solid‐state Al–graphite batteries deliver specific capacity of ≈75 mA h g−1 (with positive electrode material loading ≈9 mg cm−2, much higher than that in the conventional liquid systems). The batteries present a long‐term cycling stability beyond 2000 cycles, with great stability even upon exposure to air within 2 h and under flame combustion tests. Such technology opens a new platform of designing highly safe rechargeable Al batteries for stable energy storage.
Stable quasi‐solid‐state aluminum batteries are constructed using quasi‐solid‐state electrolyte with high air stability, still operating well when exposed to air and if burning in fire, revealing a long‐term air stability and high safety. The results offer a novel approach for designing highly stable and safe aluminum batteries, providing a feasible strategy to boost applications in grid‐scale energy storage.
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With H2O or NH3 stimuli, the blue cobalt‐based metal–organic framework (MOF) BP can reversibly transform to red RP. The removal/recovery of terephthalate ligands accompanied by the transformation ...leads to a gate effect, which allows the encapsulation and release of small solvent molecules under certain conditions. This is the first example of topology transformation from a self‐penetrating to interpenetrating net in 3D MOFs.
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