Recent isolation of black phosphorus atomic layers (known as phosphorene) has revealed its great potential for use as an alternative 2D semiconductor in many areas of electronics and optoelectronics. ...Liquid‐phase exfoliation is utilized to produce high‐quality black phosphorus nanoflakes with thicknesses down to a monolayer in the form of uniform and stable dispersions, allowing for pace toward practical applications.
Two major challenges hinder the advance of aqueous zinc metal batteries for sustainable stationary storage: (1) achieving predominant Zn-ion (de)intercalation at the oxide cathode by suppressing ...adventitious proton co-intercalation and dissolution, and (2) simultaneously overcoming Zn dendrite growth at the anode that triggers parasitic electrolyte reactions. Here, we reveal the competition between Zn
vs proton intercalation chemistry of a typical oxide cathode using ex-situ/operando techniques, and alleviate side reactions by developing a cost-effective and non-flammable hybrid eutectic electrolyte. A fully hydrated Zn
solvation structure facilitates fast charge transfer at the solid/electrolyte interface, enabling dendrite-free Zn plating/stripping with a remarkably high average coulombic efficiency of 99.8% at commercially relevant areal capacities of 4 mAh cm
and function up to 1600 h at 8 mAh cm
. By concurrently stabilizing Zn redox at both electrodes, we achieve a new benchmark in Zn-ion battery performance of 4 mAh cm
anode-free cells that retain 85% capacity over 100 cycles at 25 °C. Using this eutectic-design electrolyte, Zn | |Iodine full cells are further realized with 86% capacity retention over 2500 cycles. The approach represents a new avenue for long-duration energy storage.
Atomic and electronic structures of hydrated ferritin are characterized using electron microscopy and spectroscopy through encapsulation in single layer graphene in a biocompatible manner. Graphene's ...ability to reduce radiation damage levels to hydrogen bond breakage is demonstrated. A reduction of iron valence from 3+ to 2+ is measured at nanometer‐resolution in ferritin, showing initial stages of iron release by ferritin.
Conversion of carbon dioxide (CO₂) into fuels is an attractive solution to many energy and environmental challenges. However, the chemical inertness of CO₂ renders many electrochemical and ...photochemical conversion processes inefficient. We report a transition metal dichalcogenide nanoarchitecture for catalytic electrochemical CO₂ conversion to carbon monoxide (CO) in an ionic liquid. We found that tungsten diselenide nanoflakes show a current density of 18.95 milliamperes per square centimeter, CO faradaic efficiency of 24%, and CO formation turnover frequency of 0.28 per second at a low overpotential of 54 millivolts. We also applied this catalyst in a light-harvesting artificial leaf platform that concurrently oxidized water in the absence of any external potential.
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