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Gallium‐based alloy liquid metal batteries currently face limitations such as volume expansion, unstable solid electrolyte interface (SEI) film and substantial capacity decay. In this study, amorphous titanium dioxide is used to coat eutectic GaSn nanodroplets (eGaSn NDs) to construct the core‐shell structure of eGaSn@TiO2 nanodroplets (eGaSn@TiO2 NDs). The amorphous TiO2 shell (~6.5 nm) formed a stable SEI film, alleviated the volume expansion, and provided electron/ion transport channels to achieve excellent cycling performance and high specific capacity. The resulting eGaSn@TiO2 NDs exhibited high capacities of 580, 540, 515, 485, 456 and 426 mAh g−1 at 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1, 2 and 5 C, respectively. No significant decay was observed after more than 500 cycles with a capacity of 455 mAh g−1 at 1 C. In situ X‐ray diffraction (in situ XRD) was used to explore the lithiation mechanism of the eGaSn negative electrode during discharge. This study elucidates the design of advanced liquid alloy‐based negative electrode materials for high‐performance liquid metal batteries (LMBs). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gallium oxide is one of the most promising anode materials for lithium‐ion batteries due to its high theoretical specific capacity and ability to maintain self‐healing behavior during the reaction process. However, the susceptibility to volume expansion during the alloying reaction, which affects cycling performance, and the unclear lithium storage mechanism limit the application of Ga2O3. For this purpose, α‐Ga2O3@ chitosan‐derived carbon nanocomposites (α‐Ga2O3@CS NPs) are synthesized by introducing biomass materials. Due to the capacity contribution of Ga2O3 and the inhibition of biomass carbon on volume expansion, the composites exhibit excellent electrochemical performance. A high reversible capacity is shown in the long‐cycle test, with a discharge capacity of 505.1 mAh g−1 after 130 cycles at 0.2 A g−1, with no significant decrease from the initial capacity. During the periodic rate performance test of 0.1–5 A g−1, the reversible discharge capacity of the electrode material is maintained at 482.2 mAh g−1 when the current is restored to 0.1 A g−1. In addition, the lithium storage process of the electrode is investigated by in situ X‐ray diffraction, which, together with the low‐cost synthesis process, promotes the practical application prospect of Ga2O3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A rapid and sensitive strategy was proposed for the detection of fluoranthene (FL), which is a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), in water samples. In this work, syringe solid‐phase extraction (SPE) combined with solid‐phase fluorescence spectrometry was used to determine FL in PAHs polluted environmental samples. The fluorescence signals were directly monitored on the membrane surface after FL was enriched by syringe SPE. Under the optimal conditions, the proposed method showed a linear relationship in the concentration range 2–50 μg/L with a correlation coefficient (R2) of 0.998, and the limit of detection was 0.143 μg/L. The recoveries varied from 93.47% to 109.81% in the actual samples, with the relative standard deviations (n = 3) ranging from 2.06% to 6.32%. According to the results, the established method can be applied in the field of rapid detection as it is fast, simple, portable, and highly sensitive, and has strong anti‐interference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) matrix soft elastic composite material with low‐melting‐point GaInSnPbBi high‐entropy alloy (LHEA) inclusions is prepared to evaluate its radiation shielding performance. The LHEA is composed of two different three‐component eutectic microstructures, which are grown in a mixed manner to form a complex eutectic structure. The inclusions have excellent mechanical properties that matched the deformation of the PDMS matrix. To evaluate the interaction of the shielding material with photons, the Monte Carlo N‐Particle Extended and XCOM codes are used to determine the shielding parameters of the LHEA/PDMS composites, such as mass attenuation coefficient, linear attenuation coefficient, half‐value layer, tenth value layer, mean free path, and effective atomic number. The composite with 50‐vol% LHEA has the best radiation shielding properties, validated by medical X‐ray imaging experiments. The excellent shielding properties of the flexible lightweight composites are attributed to the higher mass attenuation coefficient of the LHEA inclusions than that of lead. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, a room‐temperature liquid metal battery (LMB) with a solid lithium anode electrode and gallium–tin (Ga–Sn) alloy cathode electrode is reported. With the improved wettability of the electric collector and grain‐refined liquid metal droplets cathode, the aforementioned LMB exhibits good cyclic reversibility and negligible self‐discharge. The result shows that the assembled Li||Ga–Sn battery has a satisfactory specific capacity (409 mAh g−1) and high energy efficiency (up to 92%). The low melting point Ga–Sn alloy can construct fast kinetics for the redox reaction and improve the electrode reaction kinetics, imparting the Li||Ga–Sn system with high discharge voltage (0.77 V at 1C) and smaller polarization voltage at different current densities, which ensure the high Coulomb efficiency and good rate performance of the battery. Moreover, the battery stably cycles at 35 °C for 60 cycles at the 1C rate, with no significant capacity degradation. With good electrochemical performance, simple structure, easy maintenance, and high safety, this room‐temperature Li||Ga–Sn battery may be a promising choice for power grid energy storage applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spontaneous anammox bacteria enrichment at mainstream conditions was reported in a full‐scale Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) in a temperate zone of China. The mainstream anammox was observed after WWTP process retrofit, which constructed a hybrid sludge retention time (SRT) system by providing moving carriers in the anaerobic/anoxic tank and was initially designed to enhance the denitrification process in a conventional anaerobic/anoxic/oxic process. The hybrid SRT system achieved 86.0 ± 4.6% total nitrogen (TN) removal via combined mainstream anammox and conventional denitrification. Autotrophic denitrification via mainstream anammox was confirmed by various shreds of evidence including high‐throughput sequencing, specific anammox activity test, and 15N isotopic tracing. Long‐term anammox bacteria existence in the biofilm of the carrier in anoxic zones was detected in a much higher relative abundance compared with other spots. The contribution of anammox activity to TN removal was estimated at around 20%–30%. The reasons leading to spontaneous anammox enrichment were mainly attributed to the carriers for slow‐growing bacteria growth and dissolved oxygen gradient in the anoxic tank (caused by intermittent aeration) for nitrite production. The insights of this full‐scale case study provide important perspectives for future mainstream anammox application, and also the design of an energy‐neutral WWTP process. Practitioner points: Spontaneous mainstream anammox in a full‐scale WWTP after its retrofit in a temperate zone of China was reported.Anammox bacteria enrichment and long‐term stability on moving carriers at mainstream conditions was achieved by modified hybrid SRT system.The hybrid SRT system achieve stable nitrogen removal even in cold winter and high BOD/N situation by combining mainstream anammox with conventional denitrification.Long term full‐scale operation demonstrated excellent nitrogen removal with about 20%–30% contribution of mainstream anammox.This full‐scale case study provided perspectives for future optimizing mainstream anammox application, and also energy‐neutral WWTP process design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND Dihydroxybenzene (DHB) which is an important raw material and intermediate of the organic chemical industry can be prepared by hydroxylation of phenol, so it promotes the study of highly selective catalyst for hydroxylation of phenol. RESULTS: Two novel PNP ((Ph2P)2NPh) ligand‐substituted di‐iron complexes were synthesized under controllable reaction conditions via carbon monoxide (CO)/ligand substitution of the parent complex (μ‐budt)Fe2(CO)6 [budt = SCH(CH3)CH2CH2)S]. The substituted complexes 1 and 2 were fully characterized by solution infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetoresonance spectroscopy, single crystal X‐ray diffraction, cyclic voltammetry and density functional theory calculations. Due to its favorable redox properties, Complex 1 was adopted first as an efficient catalyst for the hydroxylation of phenol to DHB (dihydroxybenzene) with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) as oxidant and H2O as solvent. Under the optimum reaction conditions, the conversion of phenol achieved 42.0%, the selectivity of DHB was ≤88.6% and the catechol:hydroquinone ratio (mol mol−1) was 2.2. Furthermore, only trace amounts of benzoquinone, as a deeply oxidized product, was detected (yield c. 0.1%). CONCLUSION: Complex 1 could be a new type of catalyst for the hydroxylation of phenol to hydroquinone owing to the mild reaction conditions and excellent catalytic performance. In addition, a possible catalytic reaction mechanism was related to the special structure of Complex 1 which features an internal base of amine in PNP ligand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food waste (FW) is a severe environmental problem all over the world, and the recalcitrant organic residues (ROR) from FW treatment plant operations are also a critical environmental issue due to unsustainable treatment and disposal techniques. Requirements for FW and ROR complete exploitation with the establishment of recycling‐renewable technologies are very crucial. This paper review AD and pyrolysis as two promising technologies to degrade FW and its residues, creating numerous renewable bioenergy yields with value‐added. Existing oil/tar application methods in the AD suffered from various problems such as microorganism toxicity and limited productivity. Future upgrading techniques considering the second‐stage pyrolysis process to decompose oil/tars for syngas with high hydrogen content and enhanced bio‐methanation in the AD were addressed. Simultaneous pyrolysis by‐product recycle in the AD during the valorization of FW are aimed to have the features of sustainability toward increased bioenergy production, reactor efficiency, and agricultural application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We studied the effects of photomask design, illumination time, and UV intensity on the formation of polymer walls, and speculated the related mechanism. According to the optimized condition, we make a flexible LCD cell with colorless polyimide substrate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We successfully realized 14 inch flexible LCD display with FHD resolution. The LCD panel has the thickness less than 0.3 mm, which using new type of colorless PI as substrate. The flexibel LCD is IPS mode. The key technology includes the conbination of indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO) TFT, Color filter on Array substrate(COA)and Black Photo Spacer(BPS). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]