Room Temperature Synthesis of Vertically Aligned Amorphous Ultrathin NiCo-LDH Nanosheets Bifunctional Flexible Supercapacitor Electrodes

Developing a simple scalable method to fabricate electrodes with high capacity and wide voltage range is desired for the real use of electrochemical supercapacitors.Herein,we synthesized amorphous NiCo-LDH nanosheets vertically aligned on activated carbon cloth substrate,which was in situ transformed from Co-metal-organic framework materials nano-columns by a simple ion exchange process at room temperature.Due to the amorphous and vertically aligned ultrathin structure of NiCo-LDH,the NiCo-LDH/activated carbon cloth composites present high areal capacities of 3770 and 1480 mF cm^(-2)as cathode and anode at 2 mA cm^(-2),and 79.5%and 80%capacity have been preserved at 50 mA cm^(-2).In the meantime,they all showed excellent cycling performance with negligible change after>10000 cycles.By fabricating them into an asymmetric supercapacitor,the device achieves high energy densities(5.61 mWh cm^(-2)and 0.352 mW cm^(-3)).This work provides an innovative strategy for simplifying the design of supercapacitors as well as providing a new understanding of improving the rate capabilities/cycling stability of NiCo-LDH materials.

Preparation of nano-sized cerium and titanium pyrophosphates via solid-state reaction at room temperature

Nano-sized cerium-titanium pyrophosphates Ce1-xTixP2O7 （with x = 0, 0.2, 0.5, 0.7, 0.9, and 1.0） were obtained by grinding a mixture of Ce（SO4）2·4H2O, Ti（SO4）2, and Na4P2O7·10H2O in the presence of surfactant PEG-400 at room temperature, washing the mixture with water to remove soluble inorganic salts, and drying at 100℃. The products and their calcined samples were characterized using ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy （UV-vis）, thermogravimetry and differential thermal analyses （TG/DTA）, X-ray powder diffraction （XRD）, and transmission electron microscopy （TEM）. The results show that nano-sized Ce1-xTixP2O7 behave as an excellent UV-shielding material. Thereinto, the CeP2O7 has the most excellent UV-shielding effect, and the amorphous state of Ce0.8Ti0.2P2O7 can keep at a higher temperature than CeP2O7. Therefore, the stabilization of the amorphous state of the cerium pyrophosphates was carded out by doping titanium. This stabilization is a significant improvement, which enables to apply these amorphous pyrophosphates not only to cosmetics and paints, but also plastics and films.

Development of permanent magnetic refrigerator at room temperature

A reciprocating magnetic refrigerator was developed based on the active magnetic regeneration technology. Rare earth metal Gd and intermetallic compound LaFe11.2Co0.7Si1.1 were used as the magnetic operating materials in the machine. The particles of the magnetic operating materials, with diameter of 0.5-2 mm and total mass of 950 g, were mounted in the cooling bed. A magnetic field was assembled using NdFeB rare earth permanent magnets. It had the magnetic field space of Φ 34×200 and the magnetic induction of 1.5 T. The water at pH=10 is used as a heat transfer fluid. When the ambient temperature is 296 K, a temperature span of 18 K was achieved after operation of 45 min at a frequency of 0.178 Hz. The temperature span and the output power increase significantly with the increasing velocity of heat transfer.

Synthesis and characterization of CePO_4 nanowires via microemulsion method at room temperature

Uniform CeVO4 nanowires with diameter of about 25 nm were synthesized by the water-in-oil microemulsion method at room temperature from cerous chloride, sodium orthophosphate, sodium chloride, cyclohexane, Triton X-100 and cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide （CTAB）. The crystal structure and morphology of the nanowires were characterized by XRD and TEM, respectively. The UV-vis absorption was detected by UV-vis spectrophotometer techniques. The results showed that as-prepared nanowires with the hexagonal phase have obvious quantum confinement effect and semiconductor characteristics. Little sodium chloride could play a positive role on the formation of CePO4 nanowires at room temperature. The size of the nanowires can be controlled through the joining of sodium chloride. C 2009 Yi Bin Yin. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Chinese Chemical Society. All rights reserved.

Preparing Nano-ZnS by Solid State Reaction at Room Temperature

ZnS nanoparticles were prepared by using solid-state reaction method at room temperature in agate mortar for the first time. The average particle size was about 20nm. This reaction is affected by the structure of reactant, crystal water and defects.

Greener approach towards the facile synthesis of 1,4-dihydropyrano[2,3-c]pyrazol-5-y1 cyanide derivatives at room temperature

This report describes triethylammonium acetate （TEAA） ionic liquid catalyzed one pot synthesis of 6-amino-4-aryl-5-cyano-3- methyl-1-phenyl-1,4-dihydropyrano [2,3-c]pyrazoles by the reaction of aromatic aldehyde, malononitrile and 3-methyl-1-phenyl-2- pyrazolin-5-one at room temperature. TEAA plays dual role as reaction media and catalyst. It can also be easily recovered and reused in several runs. TEAA provides greener reaction protocol to present methodology which obviates the need of organic solvents, expensive and toxic catalyst.

First-principles investigation of the significant anisotropy and ultrahigh thermoelectric efficiency of a novel two-dimensional Ga_(2)I_(2)S_(2) at room temperature

Two-dimensional(2D)thermoelectric(TE)materials have been widely developed;however,some 2D materials exhibit isotropic phonon,electron transport properties,and poor TE performance,which limit their application scope.Thus,exploring excellent anisotropic and ultrahigh-performance TE materials are very warranted.Herein,we first investigate the phonon thermal and TE properties of a novel 2D-connectivity ternary compound named Ga2I2S2.This paper comprehensively studies the phonon dispersion,phonon anharmonicity,lattice thermal conductivity,electronic structure,carrier mobility,Seebeck coefficient,electrical conductivity,and the dimensionless figure of merit(ZT)versus carrier concentration for 2D Ga_(2)I_(2)S_(2).We conclude that the in-plane lattice thermal conductivities of Ga_(2)I_(2)S_(2) at room temperature(300 K)are found to be 1.55 W mK^(−1) in the X-axis direction(xx-direction)and 3.82 W mK^(−1)in the Y-axis direction(yy-direction),which means its anisotropy ratio reaches 1.46.Simultaneously,the TE performance of p-type and n-type doping 2D Ga2I2S2 also shows significant anisotropy,giving rise to the ZT peak values of p-type doping in xx-and yy-directions being 0.81 and 1.99,respectively,and those of n-type doping reach ultrahigh values of 7.12 and 2.89 at 300 K,which are obviously higher than the reported values for p-type and n-type doping ternary compound Sn2BiX(ZT∼1.70 and∼2.45 at 300 K)(2020 Nano Energy 67104283).This work demonstrates that 2D Ga_(2)I_(2)S_(2) has high anisotropic TE conversion efficiency and can also be used as a new potential room-temperature TE material.

Dissolution of Konjac Glucomannan with Room Temperature Ionic Liquids

Two kinds of new room temperature ionic liquids （RTILs）, 1-allyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride （AMIMCl） and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride （BMIMCl）, were synthesized and used for the dissolution of konjac glucomannan （KGM）. The experimental results showed that the solubility of KGM in AMIMCl was better than that in BMIMCl. Regenerated KGM were obtained by adding anhydrous alcohol to the KGM / ionic liquids solutions. Solubility, molecular weight, structure, and thermal property of the regenerated KGM were investigated by polarized optical microscopy （POM）, viscosimetry, infrared spectroscopy （IR）, X-ray diffraction technique （XRD）, thermogravimetry （TG） and differential scanning calorimetry （DSC）. It was demonstrated that the viscosity-averaged molecular weight of the KGM samples decreased after regeneration because of the molecular degradation of KGM. Results from IR and XRD indicated that the chemical structure and the crystalline form of regenerated KGM were not changed. Results from TG and DSC showed that the thermal stability of the regenerated KGM samples only slightly decreased. These results suggest that AMIMCl and BMIMCl are direct and effective solvents for KGM.

Efficient MAPbI_(3) solar cells made via drop-coating at room temperature

Here we demonstrate a room-temperature drop-coating method for MAPbI_(3) films.By using low-boiling-point solvent,high-quality MAPbI_(3) films were made by simply casting a drop of solution onto the substrate at room temperature.This approach took advantage of the synergistic effect of good wettability and volatility of the solvent,enabling high nuclei density and compact film at room temperature.The crystal growth in different solvents was in-situ observed by using optical microscope,which helped us to understand the mechanism for the formation of different film morphology.Perovskite solar cells gave a PCE of 18.21%.

Substitution Reactions by Azide and Thiocyanide Anions in Room Temperature Ionic Liquids

Conducted in the ionic liquids, activated and inactivated halides, acyl chlorides, tosylate, and bezotriazolyl acylates were converted to corresponding azide and thiocyanide compounds in high yields under mild conditions.

TOUGHENING OF IN SITU SYNTHESIZED MoSi_2-SiC COMPOSITE AT ROOM TEMPERATURE

The in situ synthesized MoSi2-SiC composite is proved to be of higher fracture toughness than the monolithic MoSi2. The TEM and HREM study reveals that the interface between MoSi2/SiC is of direct atomic bonding without any amorphous glassy phase, such the SiO2 structure. Based on the fractography and the observation of crack propagation path from indentation, it is concluded that the toughening of such composite at room temperature can be attributed to the high interfacial binding energy, the refinement of the MoSi2 matrix and the deflection and bridging behavior in the crack propagation.

Manipulating metal-sulfur interactions for achieving high-performance S cathodes for room temperature Li/Na-sulfur batteries

Rechargeable lithium/sodium-sulfur batteries working at room temperature(RT-Li/S,RT-Na/S)appear to be a promising energy storage system in terms of high theoretical energy density,low cost,and abundant resources in nature.They are,thus,considered as highly attractive candidates for future application in energy storage devices.Nevertheless,the solubility of sulfur species,sluggish kinetics of lithium/sodium sulfide compounds,and high reactivity of metallic anodes render these cells unstable.As a consequence,metal-sulfur batteries present low reversible capacity and quick capacity loss,which hinder their practical application.Investigations to address these issues regarding S cathodes are critical to the increase of their performance and our fundamental understanding of RT-Li/S and RT-Na/S battery systems.Metal-sulfur interactions,recently,have attracted considerable attention,and there have been new insights on pathways to high‐performance RT-Li/Na sulfur batteries,due to the following factors:(1)deliberate construction of metal-sulfur interactions can enable a leap in capacity;(2)metal-sulfur interactions can confine S species,as well as sodium sulfide compounds,to stop shuttle effects;(3)traces of metal species can help to encapsulate a high loading mass of sulfur with high‐cost efficiency;and(4)metal components make electrodes more conductive.In this review,we highlight the latest progress in sulfide immobilization via constructing metal bonding between various metals and S cathodes.Also,we summarize the storage mechanisms of Li/Na as well as the metal-sulfur interaction mechanisms.Furthermore,the current challenges and future remedies in terms of intact confinement and optimization of the electrochemical performance of RT-Li/Na sulfur systems are discussed in this review.

Role of Catalytic Materials on Conversion of Sulfur Species for Room Temperature Sodium–Sulfur Battery

Room temperature sodium–sulfur(RT Na-S)battery with high theoretical energy density and low cost has spurred tremendous interest,which is recognized as an ideal candidate for large-scale energy storage applications.However,serious sodium polysulfide shutting and sluggish reaction kinetics lead to rapid capacity decay and poor Coulombic efficiency.Recently,catalytic materials capable of adsorbing and catalyzing the conversion of polysulfides are profiled as a promising method to improve electrochemical performance.In this review,the research progress is summarized that the application of catalytic materials in RT Na-S battery.For the role of catalyst on the conversion of sulfur species,specific attention is focused on the influence factors of reaction rate during different redox processes.Various catalytic materials based on lightweight and high conductive carbon materials,including heteroatom-doped carbon,metals and metal compounds,single-atom and heterostructure,promote the reaction kinetic via lowered energy barrier and accelerated charge transfer.Additionally,the adsorption capacity of the catalytic materials is the key to the catalytic effect.Particular attention to the interaction between polysulfides and sulfur host materials is necessary for the exploration of catalytic mechanism.Lastly,the challenges and outlooks toward the desired design of efficient catalytic materials for RT Na-S battery are discussed.

Rice Husk Templated Mesoporous ZnO Nanostructures for Ethanol Sensing at Room Temperature

Mesoporous zinc oxide nanostructures are successfully synthesized via the sol-gel route by using a rice husk as the template for ethanol sensing at room temperature. The structure and morphology of the nanostructures are characterized by x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, transmission electron microscopy （TEM）, and nitrogen adsorption-desorption analyses. The mechanism for the growth of zinc oxide nanostructures over the biotemplate is proposed. SEM and TEM observations also reveal the formation of spherical zinc oxide nanoparticles over the interwoven fibrous network. Multiple sized pores having pore diameter ranging from 10- 4Ohm is also evidenced from the pore size distribution plot. The larger surface area and porous nature of the material lead to high sensitivity （40.93% for 300 ppm of ethanol）, quick response （42s） and recovery （40 s） towards ethanol at 30014. The porous nature of the interwoven fibre-like network affords mass transportation of ethanol vapor, which results in faster surface accessibility, and hence it acts as a potential candidate for ethanol sensing at room temperature.

High performance room temperature all-solid-state Na-SexS battery with Na3SbS4-coated cathode via aqueous solution

All-solid-state(ASS)Na-S batteries are promising for large-scale energy storage because of the incombustible solid electrolyte and avoiding the dissolution of intermediates.However,the poor contact between the active material and the solid electrolyte in the positive electrode leads to poor electrochemical performance.Here,we report an aqueous solution approach to fabricate Na3SbS4-coated SexS-based active materials for a Na-S battery working at room temperature.Compared with the Na3SbS4 and SexS mixed cathode,the coated cathode achieves significantly improved Na-ion diffusion kinetics and reduced impedance resistance.Additionally,the nanoparticle coating sustains the volume expansion of the cathode during cycling.The resulting batteries deliver an intensively enhanced specific capacity at various rates.Regardless of the mass loading,the Na3SbS4-coated cathode maintains a decent reversible capacity for the long-term discharge/charge cycling.The best battery achieves an initial discharge capacity of509 mAh g^-1 at a current density of 437.4 mA g^-1 and capacity retention of 98.9%for 100 cycles.To the best of our knowledge,this is one of the best room temperature ASS Na-S battery so far.This work demonstrates that Na3SbS4 is very promising for the cathode coating purpose for ASS Na-S batteries.

Promote the conductivity of solid polymer electrolyte at room temperature by constructing a dual range ionic conduction path

Poly(ethylene oxide)(PEO)is a classic matrix model for solid polymer electrolyte which can not only dissociate lithium-ions(Li^(+)),but also can conduct Li^(+) through segmental motion in long-range.However,the crystal aggregation state of PEO restricts the conduction of Li^(+) especially at room temperature.In this work,an amorphous polymer electrolyte with ethylene oxide(EO)and propylene oxide(PO)block structure(B-PEG@DMC)synthesized by the transesterification is firstly obtained,showing an ionic conductivity value of 1.1×10^(5) S/cm at room temperature(25℃).According to the molecular dynamics(MD)simulation,the PO segments would lead to an inconsecutive and hampered conduction of Li^(+),which is not beneficial to the short range conduction of Li^(+).Thus the effect of transformation of aggregation state on the improveme nt of ionic conductivity is not eno ugh,it is n ecessary to further consider the differe nt coupled behaviours of EO and PO segments with Li^(+).In this way,we blend this amorphous polymer(B-PEG@DMC)with PEO to obtain a dual range ionic conductive solid polymer electrolyte(D-SPE)with further improved ionic conductivity promoted by constructing a dual range fast ionic conduction,which eventually shows a further improved ionic conductivity value of 2.3×10^(5) S/cm at room temperature.

Si nanopillar arrays with nanocrystals produced by template-induced growth at room temperature

Well-aligned and closely-packed silicon nanopillar （SNP） arrays are fabricated by using a simple method with magnetron sputtering of Si on a porous anodic alumina （PAA） template at room temperature. The SNPs are formed by selective growth on the top of the PAA pore walls. The growth mechanism analysis indicates that the structure of the SNPs can be modulated by the pore spacing of the PAA and the sputtering process and is independent of the wall width of the PAA. Moreover, nanocrystals are identified by using transmission electron microscopy in the as-deposited SNP samples, which are related to the heat isolation structure of the SNPs. The Raman focus depth profile reveals a high crystallization ratio on the surface.

Room temperature non-balanced electric bridge ethanol gas sensor based on a single ZnO microwire

In this paper,ultra-long and large-scaled ZnO microwire arrays are grown by the chemical vapor deposition method,and a single ZnO microwire-based non-balanced electric bridge ethanol gas sensor is fabricated.The experimental results show that the gas sensor has good repeatability,high response rate,short response,and recovery time at room temperature(25℃).The response rate of the gas sensor exposed to 90-ppm ethanol is about 93%,with a response time and recovery time are 0.3 s and 0.7 s respectively.As a contrast,the traditional resistive gas sensor of a single ZnO microwire shows very small gas response rate.Therefore,ethanol gas sensor based on non-balanced electric bridge can obviously enhance gas sensing characteristics,which provides a feasible method of developing the high performance ZnO-based gas sensor.

Room Temperature Magnetic Behavior of Sol-Gel Synthesized Mn Doped ZnO

Mn doped ZnO nano-crystallites were synthesized by state of the art sol-gel derived auto- combustion technique. As-burnt powder was investigated with different characterization techniques to explore the properties of Mn doped ZnO dilute magnetic semiconductor. X- ray diffraction measurements indicate that Mn doped ZnO retain wurtzite type hexagonal crystal structure like ZnO. Compositional and morphological studies were carried out by energy dispersive X-ray analysis and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. Temperature dependent resistivity of the sample exhibited the semiconducting behavior of the DMS material. Room temperature magnetic properties determined by vibrating sample magnetometer, revealed the presence of ferromagnetic and diamagnetic contributions in Mn doped ZnO.

UV-Enhanced Room Temperature Ozone Sensor Based on Hierarchical SnO_2-In_2O_3

SnO2-ln2O3 hierarchical microspheres were prepared by the hydrothermal and solvothermal method. The morphology, phase crystallinity of the obtained SnO2-In203 were measured by X-ray diffraetion（XRD）, scan electron microscopy（SEM）, respectively. A room temperature ozone sensor based on SnO2-In2O3 hierarchical microspheres was fabricated and investigated. The gas sensing properties of the sensor using SnO2-In2O3 strongly depended on the proportion of SnO2 and In2O3. The sensitivity and response/recovery speed were greatly enhanced by UV illumination. A gas sensing mechanism related to oxygen defect was suggested.