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Exploring new solid electrolytes (SEs) for lithium-ion conduction is significant for the development of rechargeable all-solid-state lithium batteries. Here, a lead-free organic-inorganic halide perovskite, MASr

Electrolytic MnO2/Zn batteries have attracted extensive attention for use in large-scale energy storage applications due to their low cost, high output voltage, safety, and environmental friendliness. However, the poor electrical conductivity of MnO2 limits its deposition and dissolution at large capacities, which leads to sluggish reaction kinetics and drastic capacity decay. Here, we report a theory-guided design principle for an electrolytic MnO2/Zn battery co-regulated with transition metal ions that has improved electrochemical performance in terms of deposition and stripping chemistries. We start with first-principles calculations to predict the electrolytic effects of regulating transition metal ions in the deposition/stripping chemistry of the MnO2 cathode. The results indicate that with the simultaneous incorporation of strongly electronegative Co and Ni, the MnO2 cathode tends to possess more active electron states, faster charge-transfer kinetics, and better electrical conductivity than either MnO2 regulated with Co or Ni on their own, or pristine MnO2; hence, this co-regulation is beneficial for the cathode solid/liquid MnO2/Mn2+ reactions. We then fabricate and demonstrate a novel Co2+ and Ni2+ co-regulated MnO2/Zn (Co-Ni-MnO2/Zn) battery that yields significantly better electrochemical performance, finding that the synergistic regulation of Co and Ni on MnO2 can significantly increase its intrinsic conductivity and achieve high rates and Coulombic efficiencies at large capacities. The aqueous Co-Ni-MnO2/Zn battery exhibits a high rate (10 C, 100 mA cm–2), high Coulombic efficiency (91.89%), and excellent cycling stability (600 cycles without decay) at a large areal capacity of 10 mAh cm–2. Our proposed strategy of co-regulation with transition metal ions offers a versatile approach for improving the electrochemical performance of aqueous electrolytic MnO2/Zn batteries in large-scale energy storage applications.

Aqueous proton batteries are regarded as one of the most promising energy technologies for next-generation grid storage due to the distinctive merits of H+ charge carriers with small ionic radius and light weight. Various materials have been explored for aqueous proton batteries; however, their full batteries show undesirable electrochemical performance with limited rate capability and cycling stability. Here we introduce a novel aqueous proton full battery that shows remarkable rate capability, cycling stability, and ultralow temperature performance, which is driven by a hydrogen gas anode and a Prussian blue analogue cathode in a concentrated phosphoric acid electrolyte. Its operation involves hydrogen evolution/oxidation redox reactions on the anode and H+ insertion/extraction reactions on the cathode, in parallel with the ideal transfer of only H+ between these two electrodes. The fabricated aqueous hydrogen gas-proton battery exhibits an unprecedented charge/discharge capability of up to 960 C with a superior power density of 36.5 kW kg-1, along with an ultralong cycle life of over 0.35 million cycles. Furthermore, this hydrogen gas-proton battery is able to work well at an ultralow temperature of -80 °C with 54% of its room-temperature capacity and under -60 °C with a stable cycle life of 1150 cycles. This work provides new opportunities to construct aqueous proton batteries with high performance in extreme conditions for large-scale energy storage.

Thermochromic phosphors are intriguing materials for realizing thermochromic behaviors of light-emitting diodes. Here a highly luminescent and stable thermochromic phosphor based on one-dimensional Cu

As one fundamental property of light, polarization has a huge impact in quantum optics and optoelectronics through light-matter interactions. However, the bright and near-unity polarized light emissions in the visible range by solid crystalline materials are scantly realized. Here, we report well-defined quasi two-dimensional (2D) hybrid crystals based on the linear alignment of Cu2I2-dimer/bidentate ligand hybrid clusters for achieving bright and near-unity linearly polarized light emissions. Using first-principle calculations, we demonstrate that the superaligned transition dipole moments are the key for the observed excellent polarized light emissions. To further enhance the photoluminescence (PL) polarization degree, we fabricate Cu2I2-dimer-based hybrid nanobelts, which display high PL quantum yield (up to 64%) and ultrahigh PL polarization degree (∼0.99). Our reported copper iodine cluster-based luminescent hybrid materials for bright and highly polarized light emissions will have great potential for future quantum optics applications.

Solid electrolytes (SEs) with superionic conductivity and interfacial stability are highly desirable for stable all-solid-state Li-metal batteries (ASSLMBs). Here, we employ neural network potential to simulate materials composed of Li, Zr/Hf, and Cl using stochastic surface walking method and identify two potential unique layered halide SEs, named Li

All-inorganic cesium lead halide perovskite colloidal nanocrystals are attractive for next-generation light-emitting diodes because of their high color purity, but the nonradiative Auger recombination in perovskite nanocrystal film limits the efficiency and brightness of the fabricated devices. Here, we introduce a surface-engineering process to exchange the original long-chain oleic acid/oleylamine ligands by the cerium-tributylphosphine oxide hybrid ligands to suppress nonradiative Auger recombination in CsPbBr3 NC film for bright and low-efficiency roll-off light-emitting diodes. Using ultrafast transient absorption and time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy, we demonstrate that the hybrid ligand passivation can efficiently remove surface trap states to enhance radiative recombination and homogenize the exciton concentration to suppress nonradiative Auger recombination in the CsPbBr3 nanocrystal thin film. Consequently, we fabricate a light-emitting diode with efficient charge injection into the CsPbBr3 nanocrystal emitting layer, achieving a pronounced improvement of electroluminescence with an external quantum efficiency from 5.5% to 9.1%. More importantly, the efficiency roll-off characteristics of high-brightness light-emitting diodes is effectively mitigated. Our reported hybrid ligand passivation suppressed Auger recombination strategy shows a great potential for fabricating high-brightness cesium lead halide perovskite light-emitting diodes.

Fabricating a robust interfacial layer on the lithium metal anode to isolate it from liquid electrolyte is vital to restrain the rapid degradation of a lithium metal battery. Here, we report that the solution-processed metal chloride perovskite thin film can be coated onto the lithium metal surface as a robust interfacial layer to shield the lithium metal from liquid electrolyte. Via phase analysis and density functional theory calculations, we demonstrate that the perovskite layer can allow fast lithium ion shuttle under a low energy barrier of 0.45 eV without the collapse of framework. Such perovskite modification can realize stable cycling of LiCoO2|Li cells with an areal capacity of 2.8 mAh cm−2 using thin lithium metal foil (50 μm) and limited electrolyte (20 μl mAh−1) for over 100 cycles at 0.5 C. The metal chloride perovskite protection strategy could open a promising avenue for advanced lithium metal batteries., Metal halide perovskite is well-known for the high absorption coefficient; however, its Li-ion transport property remains poorly explored. Here the authors coat an ion conducting metal chloride perovskite interfacial layer on the Li metal anode, enabling good battery performance.

Highly luminescent inks are desirable for various applications such as decorative coating, art painting, and anticounterfeiting, to name a few. However, present inks display low photoluminescent efficiency requiring a strong excitation light to make them glow. Here, we report a highly luminescent ink based on the copper-iodide/1-Propyl-1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octan-1-ium (Cu4I6(pr-ted)2) hybrid cluster with a quantum efficiency exceeding 98%. Under the interaction between the Cu4I6(pr-ted)2 hybrid cluster and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), the highly luminescent Cu4I6(pr-ted)2/PVP ink can be facilely prepared via the one-pot solution synthesis. The obtained ink exhibits strong green light emission that originates from the efficient phosphorescence of Cu4I6(pr-ted)2 nanocrystals. Attractively, the ink displays high conversion efficiency for the ultraviolet light to bright green light emission due to its wide Stokes shift, implying great potential for anticounterfeiting and luminescent solar concentrator coating.

High-voltage spinel cobalt-free LiNi

Hierarchically structured chiral luminescent materials hold promise for achieving efficient circularly polarized luminescence. However, a feasible chemical route to fabricate hierarchically structured chiral luminescent polycrystals is still elusive because of their complex structures and complicated formation process. We here report a biomimetic non-classical crystallization (BNCC) strategy for preparing efficient hierarchically structured chiral luminescent polycrystals using well-designed highly luminescent homochiral copper(I)-iodide hybrid clusters as basic units for biomimetic crystallization. By monitoring the crystallization process, we unravel the BNCC mechanism, which involves crystal nucleation, nanoparticles aggregation, oriented attachment, and mesoscopic transformation processes. We finally obtain the circularly polarized phosphors with both high luminescent efficiency (32%) and high luminescent dissymmetry factor (1.5 × 10-2), achieving the first demonstration of a circularly polarized phosphor converted light emitting diode with a polarization degree of 1.84% at room temperature. Our designed BNCC strategy provides a simple, reliable and large-scale synthetic route for preparing bright circularly polarized phosphors.

Lead halide perovskite nanocrystals (PNCs) are emerging as promising light emitters to be actively explored for high color purity and efficient light-emitting diodes. However, the most reported lead halide perovskite nanocrystal light-emitting diodes (PNCLEDs) encountered issues of emission line width broadening and operation voltage elevating caused by the quantum confinement effect. Here, we report a new type of PNCLED using large-size CsPbBr3 PNCs overly exceeding the Bohr exciton diameter, achieving ultranarrow emission line width and rapid brightness rise around the turn-on voltage. We adopt calcium-tributylphosphine oxide hybrid ligand passivation to produce highly dispersed large-size colloidal CsPbBr3 PNCs with a weak size confinement effect and also high photoluminescence quantum yield (∼85%). Utilizing these large-size PNCs as emitters, we manifest that the detrimental effects caused by the quantum confinement effect can be avoided in the device, thereby realizing the highest color purity in green PNCLED, with a narrow full width at half-maximum of 16.4 nm and a high corrected maximum external quantum efficiency of 17.85%. Moreover, the operation half-life time of the large-size PNCLED is 5-fold of that based on smaller-size PNCs. Our work provides a new avenue for improving the performance of PNCLEDs based on unconventional large-size effects.

Lithium metal based anode with hierarchical structure to enable high rate capability, volume change accommodation, and dendritic suppression is highly desirable for all-solid-state lithium metal battery. However, the fabrication of hierarchical lithium metal based anode is challenging due to the volatility of lithium. Here, we report that natural diatomite can act as an excellent template for constructing hierarchical silicon-lithium based hybrid anode for high performance all-solid-state lithium metal battery. This hybrid anode exhibits stable lithium stripping/plating performance over 1000 h with average overpotential lower than 100 mV without any short circuit. Moreover, all-solid-state full cell using this lithium metal composite anode to couple with lithium iron phosphate cathode shows excellent cycling stability (0.04% capacity decay rate for 500 cycles at 0.5C) and high rate capability (65 mAh g−1 at 5C). The present natural diatomite derived hybrid anode could further promote the fabrication of high performance all-solid-state lithium batteries from sustainable natural resources., Lithium metal is the anode of choice for the next-generation high energy density batteries. To address the key technological challenges, the authors report a hybrid Li anode design with hierarchical pores structure derived from natural diatomite and improved electrochemical performance in all-solid-state lithium batteries.

Two-dimensional (2D) boron nitride nanosheets (BNNSs) were chemically exfoliated from bulk boron nitride and coated onto the surface of a poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)-based electrolyte through a dry-pressing transfer process. The fabricated BNNSs coating formed a robust interfacial layer to improve the chemical and mechanical stability of the PEO-based electrolyte, leading to the enhanced performance of solid-state Li metal batteries.

Using highly dispersed metal fluoride nanoparticles to construct a uniform fluorinated alloy type interfacial layer on the surface of Li metal anodes is realized by an ex situ solution chemical modification method. The fluorinated alloy-type interfacial layer can effectively inhibit the growth of undesirable Li dendrites while enhancing the performance of Li metal anodes.

Metal halide perovskites are emerging as promising candidate materials for light-emitting diodes (LEDs) due to their high luminescence, color purity, tunable bandgaps, and solution processabilities...

As one fundamental property of light, polarization has a huge impact in quantum optics and optoelectronics through light-matter interactions. However, the bright and near-unity polarized light emissions in the visible range by solid crystalline materials are scantly realized. Here, we report well-defined quasi two-dimensional (2D) hybrid crystals based on the linear alignment of Cu

Early detection is vital for the prevention and treatment of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). However, existent methods (such as enzyme immunoassay, chemiluminescent immunoassay and radioimmunoassay) for early detection of CRC are time consuming, costly and complicated multistage processes, limiting their further applications. Here, a novel label-free and ultrasensitive detection method is developed for CRC protein marker NDKA by Cr3+ ions aggregating Au@Ag NPs (ICNPs) via surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) spectra for the first time. The Au@Ag NPs with size-controlled Ag shell thickness (1 nm, 3 nm, 5 nm, 7 nm and 9 nm Ag shells) are prepared as the SERS substrates and its Raman signals are Ag shells thickness-dependent sensitivity to proteins. By using Cr3+ ions as aggregating agents, the aggregating effect between the SERS substrates of Au@Ag ICNPs and protein analyte results in significantly enhanced and reproducible Raman signals owing to formation of lots of hotspots. Using this novel method, several label-free proteins, myoglobin (3 fg/mL), human serum albumin (30 fg/mL), lysozyme (30 ng/mL) and cytochrome C (30 ng/mL) were also detected at ultralow concentrations with good reproducibility and high sensitivity, demonstrating the potential applications in the fields of medical therapy and clinical diagnosis.

Lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2) possesses an attractive theoretical specific capacity (274 mAh g–1) and high discharge voltage (∼4.2 V vs Li+/Li). However, only a half of the theoretical capacity of ...

Aggregation-induced emission (AIE) is an attractive phenomenon in which materials display strong luminescence in the aggregated solid states rather than in the conventional dissolved molecular states. However, highly luminescent inks based on AIE are hard to be obtained because of the difficulty in finely controlling the crystallinity of AIE materials at nanoscale. Herein, we report the preparation of highly luminescent inks via oil-in-water microemulsion induced aggregation of Cu-I hybrid clusters based on the highly soluble copper iodide-tris(3-methylphenyl)phosphine (Cu4 I4 (P-(m-Tol)3 )4 ) hybrid. Furthermore, we can synthesize a series of AIE inks with different light-emission colors to cover the whole visible spectrum range via a facile ligand exchange processes. The assemblies of Cu-I hybrid clusters with AIE characteristics will pave the way to fabricate low-cost highly luminescent inks.

Although the efficiency of metal halide perovskite light emitting diodes (PeLEDs) has been improved to an attractive level, the poor stability of perovskite emitting layers is a major concern for the application of PeLEDs. Herein, we report a facile ligand-assisted precipitation synthesis of stable dual-phase CsPbBr3–CsPb2Br5 nanocrystals (NCs) for improving the stability of PeLEDs. In our synthetic process, the bromide-rich circumstance is beneficial to generate high quality dual-phase perovskite NCs with PLQY as high as 92% and a narrow emission linewidth (19 nm). More importantly, as-synthesized dual phase perovskite NCs exhibit extremely high thermal stability in heating tests in air with a considerable humidity of 30%–55% in comparison with previously reported single phase CsPbBr3 NCs. The aforementioned advantages of our synthesized dual-phase CsPbBr3–CsPb2Br5 NCs allow for the fabrication of light emitting layers of PeLEDs under ambient conditions. The fabricated green PeLED based on CsPbBr3–CsPb2Br5 NCs shows a low turn-on voltage of 2.5 V and a high brightness of 8383 cd m−2 at 8 V. Owing to the high stability of dual-phase CsPbBr3–CsPb2Br5 NCs, the fabricated PeLED also exhibits better operational stability in comparison with those PeLEDs based on single phase CsPbBr3 NCs. Our work presents a new route to fabricate stable perovskite light-emitting diodes using room temperature precipitated dual-phase CsPbBr3–CsPb2Br5 NCs as emitting layer materials.

All‐inorganic cesium lead halide perovskite colloidal nanocrystals (NCs) (CsPbX3, X = Cl, Br, I) have emerged as potential candidates for next‐generation light‐emitting diodes (LEDs). However, high trap states on the surface of CsPbX3 NCs caused by ionic nature and dynamic bonding of organic ligands limit the performance of CsPbX3 NCs‐based LEDs. Herein, a microemulsion (ME)‐modified strategy to decorate CsPbBr3 NC cores with inorganic PbWO4 is developed. It is demonstrated that ME‐assisted modification plays a crucial role in bridging the WO42− anion solution and the CsPbBr3 NC suspension. Compared with pristine CsPbBr3 NCs, the obtained PbWO4‐modified NCs exhibit improved photoluminescence efficiency. The corresponding NC films also show enhanced stability at elevated temperature and also in humid atmosphere. Consequently, the PbWO4‐modified NCs‐based LED exhibits a pronounced improvement of electroluminescence with an external quantum efficiency from 0.2% to 5.7% and twofold enhancement of the operational lifetime through PbWO4 passivation in comparison with that of pristine CsPbBr3 NCs‐based LED. These results show a promising pathway by ME‐induced anionic modification for high‐performance and stable LEDs based on perovskite NCs.

The commercial ceramic nanoparticle coated microporous polyolefin separators used in lithium batteries are still vulnerable under external impact, which may cause short circuits and consequently severe safety threats, because the protective ceramic nanoparticle coating layers on the separators are intrinsically brittle. Here, a nacre-inspired coating on the separator to improve the impact tolerance of lithium batteries is reported. Instead of a random structured ceramic nanoparticle layer, ion-conductive porous multilayers consisting of highly oriented aragonite platelets are coated on the separator. The nacre-inspired coating can sustain external impact by turning the violent localized stress into lower and more uniform stress due to the platelet sliding. A lithium-metal pouch cell using the aragonite platelet coated separator exhibits good cycling stability under external shock, which is in sharp contrast to the fast short circuit of a lithium-metal pouch cell using a commercial ceramic nanoparticle coated separator.

All solid-state lithium (Li) metal batteries (SSLMBs) are attractive for prospective electrochemical energy storage systems on account of their high energy densities and good safeties. However, the incompatible interface between the solid-state electrolyte and Li metal anode limits the ability of SSLMBs. Here, a three-dimensional (3D) electronic and ionic mixed conducting interlayer is proposed to improve the interfacial affinity in SSLMBs. The 3D electronic and ionic mixed conducting interlayer is composed of a Sn/Ni alloy layer-coated Cu nanowire (Cu@SnNi) network. The Li plating demonstrates that the Cu@SnNi network can possess fast Li+ ion transport channels from the Li metal to LiFePO4, acting as a stable interlayer between the Li metal and solid polymer electrolyte. Noticeably, the solid-state LiFePO4/Li cell with a Cu@SnNi interlayer exhibits an excellent rate capability (133 mA h g–1, 2 C; 100 mA h g–1, 5 C) in comparison to the low rate performance of the cell without the interlayer (117 mA h g–1...

Rechargeable hydrogen gas batteries are attracting great interest for emerging large-scale energy storage owing to their fast charge/discharge rates and excellent stability. Despite recent progress in the development of different hydrogen gas batteries, it is highly desirable to explore new cathodes for flourishing the hydrogen gas battery chemistries. Different from the previous hydrogen gas battery systems with solid or semi-solid cathode reactions, in this study, we propose and demonstrate an iron–hydrogen gas battery in a liquid cathode with low-cost [Fe(CN)6]3–/[Fe(CN)6]4– redox couple by pairing with the hydrogen gas anode. The designed iron–hydrogen gas battery exhibits a high energy efficiency of 93% with a discharge plateau of ~1.29 V at a current of 10 mA, an energy efficiency of 73% even at a high current of 60 mA and an ultra-stable cycling life of over 20000 cycles. This article highlights the significance of the deployment of liquid redox molecules as active species in hydrogen gas batteries, which provides an effective strategy to broaden the hydrogen gas battery systems for large-scale energy storage applications.

Although the efficiency of metal halide perovskite light emitting diodes (PeLEDs) has been improved to an attractive level, the poor stability of perovskite emitting layers is a major concern for the application of PeLEDs. Herein, we report a facile ligand-assisted precipitation synthesis of stable dual-phase CsPbBr

Lithium metal is one of the most promising anode materials for high-energy-density Li batteries. However, low stability caused by dendrite growth and volume change during cycling hinders its practical application. Herein, we report an ingenious design of bio-inspired low-tortuosity carbon with tunable vertical micro-channels to be used as a host to incorporate nanosized Sn/Ni alloy nucleation sites, which can guide Li metal's plating/stripping and meanwhile accommodate the volume change. The pore sizes of the vertical channels of the carbon host can be regulated to investigate the structure–performance correlation. After compositing Li, the bio-inspired carbon host with the smallest pore size (∼14 μm) of vertical channels exhibits the lowest overpotential (∼18 mV at 1 mA cm−2), most stable tripping/plating voltage profiles, and best cycling stability (up to 500 cycles) in symmetrical cells. Notably, the carbon/Li composite anode is more rewarding than Li foil when coupled with LiFePO4 in full cells, exhibiting a much lower polarization effect, better rate capability and higher capacity retention (90.6% after 120 cycles). This novel bio-inspired design of a low-tortuosity carbon host with nanoalloy coatings may open a new avenue for fabricating advanced Li-metal batteries with high performance.

The objective of this study was to reveal flame spread characteristics of the insulation material, expanded polystyrene (EPS) with different thicknesses under different environmental conditions (pressure and oxygen concentration). Experiments were carried out in small-scale flame spread experimental benches in the Tibetan plateau and Hefei, respectively, with EPS sample sheets inclined horizontally. Changes in the flame spread speed, average length of the pool fire, average maximum flame height, and maximum flame temperature in the surface flame zone were used to determine the effect of the plateau and plain environments on flame spread characteristics. The results showed that with the increase in sample thickness, the values of these parameters increased both in Lhasa and Hefei. The values of flame spread speed, average length of the pool fire, and average maximum flame height in Hefei were all larger than those in Lhasa, while the maximum flame temperature in the surface flame zone in Hefei was less than that in Lhasa for the EPS of the same thickness.