A universal spray printing strategy to prepare gradient hybrid architectures

Functionally gradient materials(FGMs)have attracted tremendous attention due to their unique properties and structures.However,it is still a great challenge to prepare scalable FGMs by a universal,cost-effective,and highly efficient method.Here,a strategy of combining in situ concentration regulation and spraying is developed to fabricate continuously gradient composite films(GCFs),where the component gradient variation can be well controlled.This strategy is universal and versatile,which is beneficial to inducing different components into GCFs with gradient distributions and further constructing them with diverse configurations on various substrates.The gradient design endows the composite films with excellent mechanical strength and gradient electron transport pathways,which ensures that GCFs directly serve as the electrodes in electrochemical devices.As a proof of concept,free-standing GCFs based on V2O5 nanomaterials are used as cathodes of aqueous zinc-ion batteries.The resultant devices deliver superior electrochemical performances in comparison with the counterparts of homogeneous case.Therefore,this universal strategy provides a promising route in the scalable production of FGMs and further extends their applications in various fields.

In-plane micro-sized energy storage devices:From device fabrication to integration and intelligent designs

The rapid development of micro-electronics raises the demand of their power sources to be simplified,miniaturized and highly integratable with other electronics on a chip.In-plane Micro-sized energy storage devices(MESDs),which are composed of interdigitated electrodes on a single chip,have aroused particular attentions since they could be easily integrated with other miniaturized electronics,reducing the complexity of overall chip design via removing complex interconnections with bulky power sources.This review highlights the achievements in the device fabrication of in-plane MESDs,as well as their integration and intelligent designs.We also discussed the current challenges and future perspectives for the development of in-plane MESDs.

Flexible and tailorable quasi‐solid‐state rechargeable Ag/Zn microbatteries with high performance

The recent boom in flexible and wearable electronics requires their powersources not only to be adequately compact but also could undergo extremedeformation without significant degradation in performance. Here, flexibleand tailorable quasi‐solid‐state microsized Ag/Zn batteries (micro‐AZBs)were designed by combining mask‐assisted spray printing and electrochemicaldeposition strategies. The micro‐AZBs display ultrastable outputvoltage, excellent energy, and power densities, as well as stable cycling performance.Furthermore, the micro‐AZBs with desired shapes can be designedin series or in parallel on a flexible chip to output improved voltage or currentwith the internal connection. More importantly, the microelectrodes could besprayed on various substrates. Flexible micro‐AZBs could be achieved onflexible substrates and tailorable micro‐AZBs are obtained when they arefabricated on clothes. They exhibit stable electrochemical performance evenunder bending or cutting states. The novel design of such quasi‐solid‐statemicro‐AZBs would pave a way for the miniaturization and integration ofenergy storage devices.

Freestanding reduced graphene oxide/sodium vanadate composite films for flexible aqueous zinc-ion batteries

With the booming development of portable and wearable electronic devices, flexible energy storage devices have attracted great attention. Among various energy storage devices, aqueous zinc ion batteries(ZIBs) are one of the promising candidates due to their low cost, good safety, high energy and power densities. However, the conventional cathodes of aqueous ZIBs were often prepared by mixing active materials with binders and conductive additives and then coating them onto current collectors. The resultant cathodes often suffer from unsatisfied flexibility. Herein, we fabricated freestanding reduced graphene oxide/NaV_3O_8·1.5H_2O(RGO/NVO) composite films with interlinked multilayered architecture by a vacuum filtrating process. Such composite films exhibit excellent mechanical property and high electronic conductivity. Owing to unique architecture, they display a high capacity of 410 mA h g^(-1) and excellent cycling performance up to 2000 cycles with a high capacity retention of 94%. Moreover, RGO/NVO composite films can directly serve as the cathodes of flexible aqueous ZIBs. As a proof of concept,flexible ZIBs were assembled based on the composite films. Impressively, they exhibit stable performance at different bending states, demonstrating great potential application in flexible energy storage devices.