Hierarchical porous carbon derived from one-step self-activation of zinc gluconate for symmetric supercapacitors with high energy density

Porous carbons with high specific area surfaces are promising electrode materials for supercapacitors.However,their production usually involves complex,time-consuming,and corrosive processes.Hence,a straightforward and effective strategy is presented for producing highly porous carbons via a self-activation procedure utilizing zinc gluconate as the precursor.The volatile nature of zinc at high temperatures gives the carbons a large specific surface area and an abundance of mesopores,which avoids the use of additional activators and templates.Consequently,the obtained porous carbon electrode delivers a satisfactory specific capacitance and outstanding cycling durability of 90.9%after 50000 cycles at 10 A·g^(-1).The symmetric supercapacitors assembled by the optimal electrodes exhibit an acceptable rate capability and a distinguished cycling stability in both aqueous and ionic liquid electrolytes.Accordingly,capacitance retention rates of 77.8%and 85.7%are achieved after 50000 cycles in aqueous alkaline electrolyte and 10000 cycles in ionic liquid electrolyte.Moreover,the symmetric supercapacitors deliver high energy/power densities of 49.8 W·h·kg^(-1)/2477.8 W·kg^(-1) in the Et4NBF4 electrolyte,outperforming the majority of previously reported porous carbon-based symmetric supercapacitors in ionic liquid electrolytes.

Residual fluoride self-activated effect enabling upgraded utilization of recycled graphite anode

Recycling graphite anode from spent lithium-ion batteries(SLIBs)is regarded as a crucial approach to promoting sustainable energy storage industry.However,the recycled graphite(RG)generally presents degraded structure and performance.Herein,the residual fluoride self-activated effect is proposed for the upgraded utilization of RG.Simple and low-energy water immersion treatment not only widens the interlayer spacing,but also retains appropriate fluoride on the surface of RG.Theoretical analysis and experiments demonstrate that the residual fluoride can optimize Li~+migration and deposition kinetics,resulting in better Li~+intercalation/deintercalation in the interlayer and more stable Li metal plating/stripping on the surface of RG,As a result,the designed LFP||RG full cells achieve ultrahigh reversibility(~100%Coulombic efficiency),high capacity retention(67%after 200 cycles,0.85 N/P ratio),and commendable adaptability(stable cycling without short-circuiting,0.15 N/P ratio).The energy density is improved from 334 Wh kg^(-1)of 1.1 N/P ratio to 367 Wh kg^(-1)of 0.85 N/P ratio(total mass based on cathode and anode).The exploration of RG by residual fluoride self-activated effect achieves upgraded utilization beyond fresh commercial graphite and highlights a new strategy for efficient reuse of SLIBs.

Multiple active components synergistically driven heteroatom-doped porous carbon as high-performance counter electrode in dye-sensitized solar cells

A facile template-free in situ self-activation approach for the multiple active components synergistically driven porous carbon was presented via a feasible annealing process.The biomass-derived carbon without additional activation reagents was fabricated using K-rich pomelo peel(PP)as the carbon source,which possesses a high electric conductivity where abundant functional hetero-metal atoms are doped into the carbon framework that playing the role of catalytic graphitization.The K^+that exists within the biomass can induce self-activation during pyrolysis apart from the activating gases during the pyrolysis process.The resulting electrocatalyst of PP-850(PP was pyrolyzed at 850°C in an N_2atmosphere)with abundant heteroatoms possesses a higher power conversion efficiency(PCE)of 7.81%as the counter electrode(CE)of dye-sensitized solar cells(DSCs)compared with the CEs calcinated at other temperatures and a similar PCE with Pt counterpart(8.24%)based on the liquid I_3^-/I^-electrolyte.The better electrocatalytic performance is attributed to the synergistic effect between self-activation and the co-doping of nitrogen,sulfur and phosphorus all together in a carbon matrix.Due to the feasibility of large-scale production,rich heteroatom doping,the PP-derived carbon,which simplifies the procedure and decreases the cost,has a potential application for an alternative electrocatalyst for high-performance photovoltaic devices.

“Intelligent” reforming catalysts:Trace noble metal-doped Ni/Mg(Al)O derived from hydrotalcites

Trace amounts of noble metal-doped Ni/Mg（AI）O catalysts were pre- pared starting from Mg-Al hydrotalcites （HTs） and tested in daily start-up and shut-down （DSS） operation of steam reforming （SR） of methane or partial oxidation （PO） of propane. Although Ni/Mg（Al）O catalysts prepared from Mg（Ni）-Al HT exhibited high and stable activity in stationary SR, PO and dry reforming of methane and propane, the Ni/Mg（Al）O catalysts were drastically deactivated due to Ni oxidation by steam as purge gas when they were applied in DSS SR of methane. Such deactivation was effectively suppressed by doping trace amounts of noble metal on the catalysts by using a ＂memory effect＂ of HTs. Moreover, the noble metal-doped Ni/Mg（Al）O catalysts exhibited ＂intelligent＂ catalytic behaviors, i.e., self-activation and self-regenerative activity, leading to high and sustainable activity during DSS operation. Pt was the most effective among noble metals tested. The self-activation occurred by the reduction of Ni2＋ in Mg（Ni,Al）O periclase to Ni^0 assisted by hydrogen spillover from Pt （or Pt-Ni alloy）. The self-regenerative activity was accomplished by self-redispersion of active Ni^0 particles due to a reversible reductionoxidation movement of Ni between the outside and the inside of the Mg（Al）O periclase crystal; surface Ni^0 was oxidized to Ni2＋ by steam and incorporated into Mg（Ni2＋,Al）O periclase, whereas the Ni2＋ in the periclase was reduced to Ni^0 by the hydrogen spillover and appeared as the fine Ni^0 particles on the catalyst surface. Further a ＂green＂ preparation of the Pt/Ni/[Mg3.sAl]O catalysts was accomplished starting from commercial Mg3.5-AI HT by calcination, followed by sequential impregnation of Ni and Pt.

How does an individual’s default behavior on an online peer-to-peer lending platform influence an observer’s default intention?

Previous studies indicate that individuals’default behaviors on online peer-to-peer(P2P)lending platforms greatly influence other borrowers’default intentions.However,the mechanism of this impact is not clear.Moreover,there is scarce research in regard to which factors influence the relationship between an individual’s default behavior and an observer’s default intention.These important questions are yet to be resolved;hence,we conducted two experiments using the scenario-based research method,focusing on Chinese online P2P lending platforms.Our results indicate that an individual’s default behavior can trigger an observer’s default intention as a result of the imperfect punitive measures as they currently exist on Chinese online P2P lending platforms.Both the observer’s moral disengagement level and pragmatic self-activation level serve as mediating variables.In situations where an observer knows an individual’s default behavior,the level of intimacy between the defaulter and observer positively affects the relationship between their default behavior and intention.The intimacy level also positively influences the relationship between the individual’s default behavior and the two mediator variables.Based on the findings,we provide management suggestions in the context of online P2P lending.Our study sets a foundation for future research to utilize other methods to extend the present research findings to other regions and domains.

A novel self-activated ultraviolet persistent luminescence material and its anti-counterfeiting application based on intensity and time resolution from persistent luminescence

Recently,the ultraviolet(UV)persistent luminescence material(PLM)has attracted extensive attention.However,the design and development of new UV PLM and exploring their promising advanced application remain challenges.Here,we developed a new dopant-free self-activated UVA PLM,Zn_(2)Al_(2)SiO_(7),which could be applied in anti-counterfeiting field.Zn_(2)Al_(2)SiO_(7)shows UVA persistent luminescence(PersL)peaking at 380 nm after 254 nm UV lamp excitation.Addition of Yb^(3+),the UVA PersL intensity and time are raised obviously,and the UVA PersL time lasts more than 24 h.In addition,Yb^(3+)-doped Zn_(2)Al_(2)SiO_(7)exhibits photostimulated properties with different light source.Finally,we design anticounterfeiting pattern based on intensity and time resolution from PersL of Zn_(2)Al_(2)SiO_(7),showing its advantages in the anti-counterfeiting field.

Thermally stable photoluminescence and long persistent luminescence of Ca3Ga4O9:Tb^3+/Zn^2+

A green long persistent luminescence（LPL） phosphor Ca3Ga4O9：Tb3＋/Zn2＋ was prepared. Ca3 Ga4 O9 matrix exhibits blue self-activated LPL due to the creation of intrinsic traps. When Tb3＋ is doped, the photoluminescence（PL） and LPL colors change from blue to green with their intensities significantly enhanced. The doping of Zn^（2＋） evidently improves the PL and LPL performances of the Ca3Ga4O9 matrix and Ca3Ga4O9：Tb^（3＋）. The thermoluminescence（TL） spectra show that a successive trap distribution is formed by multiple intrinsic traps with different depths in the Ca3 Ga4 O9 matrix, and the incorporation of Tb^（3＋） and Zn^（2＋） effectively increases the densities of these intrinsic traps. The existence of a successive trap distribution makes the Ca3 Ga4 O9：Tb^（3＋）/Zn^（2＋） phosphor exhibit thermally stable PL and LPL, It is indicated that this phosphor shows great promise for the application such as high-temperature LPL phosphor.

Intracellular effects of prodrug-like wortmannin probes

Wortmannin, a known inhibitor of phosphoinositide 3-kinases(PI3 Ks), their low selectivity and high toxicity is still problematic and less is known about their effects on PI3 Ks in cellular systems. Hence, we have synthesized a series of multifunctional wortmannin probes with the ability to self-activate, by installing a clickable handle at C11 site, and secondary amine and cancer-targeting moiety at C20 site respectively. MTT assay first confirmed that self-activating probes have better inhibition potency and biotin enhanced their cancer cell uptake. Further experiments showed most of probes can target PI3 K/Akt/mTOR pathway with prolonged turn-over time. Protein profiling and pull-down results were observed that the derivatives not only labelled four PI3 Ks with selectivity, but also engaged in covalent interactions with numerous cellular proteins which could be the major reason of their high toxicity.