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Abstract: ZnO and TiO2 single-crystalline nanowires (SCNWs) are considered to be ideal materials for the photoanode of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) due to their superior property of electron transfer, however, a direct comparison between the above two systems has not been made. In the present work, ZnO and TiO2 SCNWs were synthesized directly on conductive glasses by wet chemical methods, and their sizes were kept identical. After being sensitized by N3 dye, the two kinds of nanowires were employed as photoanodes for assembling DSSCs. Comparative studies show that, although TiO2 SCNWs adsorb less dye molecules, they could effectively retard charge recombination and achieve longer electron lifetime than ZnO SCNWs; as a result, the DSSCs composed of TiO2 SCNWs exhibit higher performance than those of ZnO SCNWs. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Both increasing demand for ultrasensitive detection in the scientific community and significant new breakthroughs in materials science field have inspired and promoted the development of new-generation multifunctional plasmonic sensing platforms by adopting promising plasmonic nanomaterials. Recently, high-quality surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensors, assisted by two dimensional (2D) nanomaterials including 2D van der Waals (vdWs) materials (such as graphene/graphene oxide, transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), phosphorene, antimonene, tellurene, MXenes, and metal oxides), 2D metal−organic frameworks (MOFs), 2D hyperbolic metamaterials (HMMs), and 2D optical metasurfaces, have emerged as a class of novel plasmonic sensing platforms that show unprecedented detection sensitivity and impressive performance. This review of recent progress in 2D nanomaterials-enhanced SPR platforms will highlight their compelling plasmonic enhancement features, working mechanisms, and design methodologies, as well as discuss illustrative practical applications. Hence, it is of great importance to describe the latest research progress in 2D nanomaterials-enhanced SPR sensing cases. In this review, we present some concepts of SPR enhanced by 2D nanomaterials, including the basic principles of SPR, signal modulation approaches, and working enhancement mechanisms for various 2D materials-enhanced SPR systems. In addition, we also demonstrate a detailed categorization of 2D nanomaterials-enhanced SPR sensing platforms and comment on their ability to realize ultrasensitive SPR detection. Finally, we conclude with future perspectives for exploring a new generation of 2D nanomaterials-based sensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, self-supported NiTe nanosheets were prepared via one-step microwave method. XRD and XPS spectroscopy showed the successful synthesis of NiTe material in the hexagonal crystal system. SEM and EDS were used to identify the microscopic morphology and composition of NiTe on nickel foam (NF). The electrode demonstrated specific capacitance (Cs) of 808.9 F g−1 and ultra-long cycle life of 60,000 cycles. In addition, a solid-state asymmetric supercapacitor consisted of NiTe@NF electrode as cathode material and demonstrated the largest energy density and power density of 94.4 μWh cm−2 and 7801.8 μW cm−2, respectively, and the specific capacitance remained 83.3% after 20,000 cycles. Moreover, the as-obtained NiTe@NF catalyst also displayed an excellent catalytic activity for oxygen evolution reaction (OER), which achieved an ultra-low overpotential of 199.5 mV at 10 mA cm−2. [Display omitted] • The NiTe nanosheet offered outstanding specific capacitance of 808.9 F g−1. • Superior durability of 91.4% retention during 60,000 cycles. • The NiTe@NF electrode delivered a small Tafel slope and a low overpotential. • Self-supporting NiTe nanosheets were prepared within 150 s via a microwave method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]