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Critical illness polyneuropathy (CIP) is a complex disease commonly occurring in septic patients which indicates a worse prognosis. Herein, we investigated the characteristics of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in septic patients with CIP.

In pursuit of highly active zinc–air battery (ZAB) catalysts, nitrogen doping has proven key to enhancing carbon-based non-metallic catalysts' performance in the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). This study employed a novel method to synthesize variously sized ZnO materials coated with ZIF-8. Notably, smaller particle sizes correlated with reduced activation energy. ZnO-12, the smallest variant, fully carbonized at 800 °C, resulting in zinc ion evaporation and the formation of an amorphous carbon nano-hollow structure, ZIF8/ZnO-12. This material showcased remarkable ORR properties, with an onset potential of 0.9 V (vs. RHE) and a Tafel slope of 71.4 mV dec−1, surpassing the benchmark Pt/C catalyst and exhibiting excellent stability. Moreover, in ZAB tests, ZIF8/ZnO-12 achieved a specific capacity of 816 mA h g−1, outperforming Pt/C. DFT calculations indicate that under alkaline conditions, nitrogen-doped carbon materials containing adsorbed oxygen and doped oxygen exhibit lower catalytic activation energy for the ORR, which is beneficial for accelerating the ORR. This research provides valuable insights into designing more efficient carbon-based non-metallic catalysts for ZABs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presence of excess secondary‐phase PbI2 in perovskite films shows a negative impact on their long‐term stability. Herein, an intermediate phase modification (IPM) strategy is proposed to eliminate residual PbI2 for improved quality of all‐inorganic CsPbI3‐type perovskite films, wherein the extrinsic agent is introduced to address the intermediate phase. By transforming residual PbI2 into a novel 1D perovskite phase, the IPM strategy acts as a patch to suture grain boundaries in the inorganic perovskite films. In addition, the IPM strategy not only enhances the quality of perovskite films but also mitigates energy disorder, reduces trap state density, and prolongs carrier lifetime by expediting the intermediate phase conversion process and passivating surface defects. As such, the perovskite solar cells (PSCs) with a high power conversion efficiency (PCE) of ≈20% and a high fill factor of 83.3% are considered to be very efficient, with excellent shelf stability of 3000 h of exposure in air without any encapsulation. This work not only exhibits a novel optimization route for inorganic perovskite but also emphasizes the crucial role of eliminating residual PbI2 in inorganic perovskites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elemental vacancies are proposed as an effective approach to tuning the electronic structure of catalysts that are critical for energy conversion. However, for reactions such as the sluggish oxygen evolution reaction, the excess of oxygen vacancies (VO) is inevitable and detrimental to catalysts' electrochemical stability and activities, e.g., in the most active RuO2. While significant work is carried out to hinder the formation of VO, the development of a fast and efficient strategy is limited. Herein, a protection SrO layer produced successfully at the surface of RuO2 with the in situ exsolution method with perovskite SrRuO3 as the precatalyst, which could significantly hinder the generation of VO. Benefited from the suppression of VO, the surface‐modified RuO2 requires a low overpotential of 290 mV at 100 mA cm−2, accompanied by remarkably high electrochemical stability (100 h) and Faraday efficiency (≈100%). Theoretical investigation reveals that the formation energy of VO in RuO2 is almost doubled in the exsolved RuO2 phase as a result of the weakened RuO bond covalency. This work not only provides insight into the structural evolution of perovskite oxide catalysts but also demonstrates the feasibility of controlling vacancy formation via in situ exsolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high oxidation overpotential in the ammonia oxidation reaction (AOR) is a key factor restricting the fields of ammonia fuel cells, hydrogen production by electrochemical decomposition of ammonia, and treatment of ammonia-containing wastewater. Copper-based catalysts have been considered hopeless for AOR; however, in this research, copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) catalysts grown on carbon fiber cloth (CFC), CuPc@CFC, were investigated firstly for AOR catalysis, and the unique Cu–N4 resulted in a peak potential of −0.29 V vs. Hg/HgO for AOR, which is superior to Pt/C. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations show that Cu–N4 is the reactive center of AOR, and the LUMO of CuPc is distributed on the Cu site, which is favorable to gain electrons from NH3 and thus adsorb NH3; in contrast, the HOMO of C10H10CuN8 is distributed on the Cu site, which tends to give electrons and is unfavorable to NH3 adsorption. However, copper azide pyridine (C10H10CuN8) was found in the samples after the AOR. Analysis of the comparison samples showed that changing the ethanol content has the effect of changing the grain size and inhibiting the generation of C10H10CuN8 after the AOR process, as well as slightly changing the Cu–N4, leading to the change of its Fermi energy level and d-orbital energy level center, thus providing new ideas for the future fabrication of catalysts in various fields of AOR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of electrocatalysts for both oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) with high-activity and atability still remain great challenges for rechargeable Zn-air batteries. Herein, a new type of Co-doped Ceâ€"Nâ€"C bifunctional electrocatalyst has been synthesized through a simple two-step method, which realizes the high dispersion of Co3O4 on the CeO2 carbon frame and stabilizes its specific surface area. Benefiting from the synergistic interaction between Co3O4 and CeO2, the conductivity of the electrocatalyst is improved and the oxygen reduction reaction/oxygen storage properties are promoted. The resultant Co3O4-CeO2@Nâ€"C catalyst shows remarkable ORR activity with the high initial potential (E 0 = 0.8 V), the large limiting current density (j L = 6 mA cmâˆ'2), and a low Tafel slope (81 mV decâˆ'1). In full cell tests, Co3O4-CeO2@NC as the oxygen electrode exhibites superior charge/discharge capacity and excellent cycle stability. The assembled Zn-air battery achieves a maximum power density of 110 mW cmâˆ'2 at a current density of 180 mA cmâˆ'2, and a high specific capacity of 780 mAh gâˆ'1 at a discharge current density of 10 mA cmâˆ'2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The distorted lead iodide octahedra of all‐inorganic perovskite based on triple halide‐mixed CsPb(I2.85Br0.149Cl0.001) framework have made a tremendous breakthrough in its black phase stability and photovoltaic efficiency. However, their performance still suffers from severe ion migration, trap‐induced nonradiative recombination, and black phase instability due to lower tolerance factor and high total energy. Here, a combinational passivation strategy to suppress ion migration and reduce traps both on the surface and in the bulk of the CsPhTh3 perovskite film is developed, resulting in improved power conversion efficiency (PCE) to as high as 19.37%. The involvement of guanidinium (GA) into the CsPhTh3 perovskite bulk film and glycocyamine (GCA) passivation on the perovskite surface and grain boundary synergistically enlarge the tolerance factor and suppress the trap state density. In addition, the acetate anion as a nucleating agent significantly improves the thermodynamic stability of GA‐doped CsPbTh3 film through the slight distortion of PbI6 octahedra. The decreased nonradiative recombination loss translates to a high fill factor of 82.1% and open‐circuit voltage (VOC) of 1.17 V. Furthermore, bare CsPbTh3 perovskite solar cells without any encapsulation retain 80% of its initial PCE value after being stored for one month under ambient conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]