Rambutan-like hollow carbon spheres decorated with vacancy-rich nickel oxide for energy conversion and storage

Transition metal oxides hold great promise for lithium-ion batteries(LIBs)and electrocatalytic water splitting because of their high abundance and high energy density.However,designing and fabrication of efficient,stable,high power density electrode materials are challenging.Herein,we report rambutan-like hollow carbon spheres formed by carbon nanosheet decorated with nickel oxide(NiO)rich inmetal vacancies(denoted as h-NiO/C)as a bifunctional electrode material for LIBs and electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction(OER).When being used as the anode of LIBs,the h-NiO/C electrode shows a large initial capacity of 885mAh g−1,a robust stability with a high capacity of 817mAh g−1 after 400 cycles,and great rate capability with a high reversible capacity of 523mAh g−1 at 10Ag−1 after 600 cycles.Moreover,working as an OER electrocatalyst,the h-NiO/C electrode shows a small overpotential of 260mV at 10mAcm−2,a Tafel slope of 37.6mVdec−1 along with good stability.Our work offers a cost-effective method for the fabrication of efficient electrode for LIBs and OER.

Universal,predominant exciton transfer in perovskite nanocrystal solids

Perovskite nanocrystal(PNC)solids are promising materials for optoelectronic applications.Recent studies have shown that exciton diffusion in PNC solids occurs via alternate exciton hopping(EH)and photon recycling(PR).The energy disorder induced by the size distribution is a common factor in PNC solids,and the impact of this energy disorder on the exciton diffusion remains unclear.Here,we investigated the exciton diffusion in CsPbBr3 NC solids with a Gaussian size distribution of 11.2±6.8 nm via steady and time-resolved photoluminescence(PL)spectroscopy with multiple detection bands in transmission mode.Our results indicated that exciton diffusion was controlled by a downhill transfer among the different energy sites through the disordered energy landscape,as confirmed by the accompanying low-temperature PL analysis.A detailed examination revealed that the acceptor distribution in tandem with the reabsorption coefficient determined the contribution of EH and PR to exciton transfer between different energy sites.Consequently,the exciton diffusion mechanism varied in PNC solids of different thicknesses:in a thin solid with a thickness of several hundred nanometers,the exciton transfer was dominated by efficient EH and PR from the high-energy sites to the lower-energy sites;in a few-micrometer-thick solid,transfer from the medium-energy sites toward the lower-energy sites also became prominent and occurred mainly through PR.These findings enhance the understanding of the vital role that the acceptor distribution plays in the exciton diffusion process in PNC solids,providing important insights for optoelectronic applications based on PNC solids.Our work also exploits the use of commonly available tools for in-depth exciton diffusion studies,which reveals the interior diffusion information that is usually hidden in surface sensitive PL imaging methods.

Optical engineering of infrared PbS CQD photovoltaic cells for wireless optical power transfer systems

Infrared photovoltaic cells(IRPCs)have attracted considerable attention for potential applications in wireless optical power transfer(WOPT)systems.As an efcient fber-integrated WOPT system typically uses a 1550 nm laser beam,it is essential to tune the peak conversion efciency of IRPCs to this wavelength.However,IRPCs based on lead sulfde(PbS)colloidal quantum dots(CQDs)with an excitonic peak of 1550 nm exhibit low short circuit current(Jsc)due to insufcient absorption under monochromatic light illumination.Here,we propose comprehensive optical engineering to optimize the device structure of IRPCs based on PbS CQDs,for 1550 nm WOPT systems.The absorption by the device is enhanced by improving the transmittance of tin-doped indium oxide(ITO)in the infrared region and by utilizing the optical resonance efect in the device.Therefore,the optimized device exhibited a high short circuit current density of 37.65 mA/cm^(2)under 1 sun(AM 1.5G)solar illumination and 11.91 mA/cm^(2)under 1550 nm illumination 17.3 mW/cm^(2).Furthermore,the champion device achieved a record high power conversion efciency(PCE)of 7.17%under 1 sun illumination and 10.29%under 1550 nm illumination.The PbS CQDs IRPCs under 1550 nm illumination can even light up a liquid crystal display(LCD),demonstrating application prospects in the future.

Stabilizing the black phase of cesium lead halide inorganic perovskite for efficient solar cells

Inorganic perovskite cesium lead halide is extensively studied because of its potential in improving the thermal stability of perovskite materials. However, the tolerance factor of this type of perovskite is near the critical value, which leads to phase instability. The optoelectronic active black phases(α,β, and γ phases of CsPbI3) are metastable at room temperature, which can be easily transferred into an optoelectronic inactive yellow phase(δ-CsPbI3). This review highlights recent progress in stabilizing the black phase for efficient and stable perovskite solar cells.

Exfoliated FePS nanosheets for T-weighted magnetic resonance imaging-guided near-infrared photothermal therapy in vivo

Developing bifunctional nanoplatforms integrating advanced biological imaging with high-performance therapeutic functions is interesting for nanoscience and biomedicine.Herein,thin-layered FePS3 nanosheets modified with amine polyethylene glycol(FePS3-PEG)are synthesized by ultrasonicated exfoliation of bulk Fe PS3 single crystals under Ar atmosphere and in situ chemical functionalization with amine PEG.The prepared Fe PS3-PEG nanosheets give a photothermal conversion efficiency of 22.1%under 808-nm laser and evident T1relaxation(r1=2.69(mmol L^(-1))^(-1)S^(-1))in external magnetic fields.Biologically experimental results in vitro and in vivo demonstrate that Fe PS3-PEG nanosheets have good biocompatibility and exhibit excellent photothermal therapy(PTT)effect under clear T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging(MRI).The characteristics of Fe PS3-PEGnanosheets enable them to be a promising nanomedicine for T1-weighted MRI-guided near-infrared PTT of cancers.

Electron-beam-induced degradation of halide-perovskite-related semiconductor nanomaterials

The instability of lead halide perovskites in various application-related conditions is a key challenge to be resolved. We investigated the formation of metal nanoparticles during transmission electron microscopy(TEM) imaging of perovskite-related metal halide compounds. The metal nanoparticle formation on these materials originates from stimulated desorption of halogen under electron beams and subsequent aggregation of metal atoms. Based on shared mechanisms,the TEM-based degradation test can help to evaluate the material stability against light irradiation.