Layer stacked SiO_(x) microparticle with disconnected interstices enables stable interphase and particle integrity for lithium-ion batteries

Severe mechanical fractu re and unstable interphase,associated with the large volumetric expansion/contraction,significantly hinder the application of high-capacity SiO_(x)materials in lithium-ion batteries.Herein,we report the design and facile synthesis of a layer stacked SiO_(x)microparticle(LS-SiO_(x))material,which presents a stacking structure of SiO_(x)layers with abundant disconnected interstices.This LS-SiO_(x)microparticle can effectively accommodate the volume expansion,while ensuring negligible particle expansion.More importantly,the interstices within SiO_(x)microparticle are disconnected from each other,which efficiently prevent the electrolyte from infiltration into the interior,achieving stable electrode/-electrolyte interface.Accordingly,the LS-SiO_(x)material without any coating delivers ultrahigh average Coulombic efficiency,outstanding cycling stability,and full-cell applicability.Only 6 cycles can attain>99.92%Coulombic efficiency and the capacity retention at 0.05 A g^(-1)for 100 cycles exceeds99%.After 800 cycles at 1 A g^(-1),the thickness swelling of LS-SiO_(x)electrode is as low as 0.87%.Moreover,the full cell with pure LS-SiO_(x)anode exhibits capacity retention of 91.2%after 300 cycles at 0.2 C.This work provides a novel concept and effective approach to rationally design silicon-based and other electrode materials with huge volume variation for electrochemical energy storage applications.

Modification of the Hybridization Gap by Twisted Stacking of Quintuple Layers in a Three-Dimensional Topological Insulator Thin Film

Twisting the stacking of layered materials leads to rich new physics. A three-dimensional topological insulator film hosts two-dimensional gapless Dirac electrons on top and bottom surfaces, which, when the film is below some critical thickness, will hybridize and open a gap in the surface state structure. The hybridization gap can be tuned by various parameters such as film thickness and inversion symmetry, according to the literature. The three-dimensional strong topological insulator Bi(Sb)Se(Te) family has layered structures composed of quintuple layers(QLs) stacked together by van der Waals interaction. Here we successfully grow twistedly stacked Sb_2Te_3 QLs and investigate the effect of twist angels on the hybridization gaps below the thickness limit. It is found that the hybridization gap can be tuned for films of three QLs, which may lead to quantum spin Hall states.Signatures of gap-closing are found in 3-QL films. The successful in situ application of this approach opens a new route to search for exotic physics in topological insulators.

High-performance enhancement-mode AlGaN/GaN MOS-HEMTs with fluorinated stack gate dielectrics and thin barrier layer

We present high-performance enhancement-mode AlGaN/GaN metal-oxide-semiconductor highelectron mobility transistors（MOS-HEMTs） by a fluorinated gate dielectric technique.A nanolaminate of an Al_2O_3/La_xAl_（1-x）O_3/Al_2O_3 stack（x≈0.33） grown by atomic layer deposition is employed to avoid fluorine ions implantation into the scaled barrier layer.Fabricated enhancement-mode MOS-HEMTs exhibit an excellent performance as compared to those with the conventional dielectric-last technique,delivering a large maximum drain current of 916 mA/mm and simultaneously a high peak transconductance of 342 mS/mm.The balanced DC characteristics indicate that advanced gate stack dielectrics combined with buffered fluorine ions implantation have a great potential for high speed GaN E/D-mode integrated circuit applications.

Progress in synthesis of highly crystalline covalent organic frameworks and their crystallinity enhancement strategies

Covalent organic frameworks(COFs) have been attracting growing concerns since the first report in2005. With the well-defined and ordered structures, COFs express big potential in mass transport, storage/separation and energy conversion applications. From the perspective of both theory and application,the construction of crystalline COFs with high quality and variety is highly worth to be devoted to. To give insight into the crystalline process of COFs and deeply understand the factors of COFs crystallization,this review was concentrated on the recent progress in construction of crystalline COFs. Accordingly, the types and crystallization process of COFs were summarized firstly. And then the factors on crystallinity and the measures for improving the crystallinity of COFs were classified and discussed in detail. Finally,the perspectives for the development of COFs in further was given at the end of this review.