Icephobic performance on the aluminum foil-based micro-/nanostructured surface

The research of superhydrophobic materials has attracted many researchers＇ attention due to its application value and prospects.In order to expand the serviceable range,people have investigated various superhydrophobic materials.The simple and easy preparation method has become the focus for superhydrophobic materials.In this paper,we present a program for preparing a rough surface on an aluminum foil,which possesses excellent hydrophobic properties after the treatment with low surface energy materials at high vacuum.The resulting contact angle is larger than 160° and the droplet cannot freeze on the surface above-10 ℃.Meanwhile,the modified aluminum foil with the thickness of less than 100 μm can be used as an ideal flexible applied material for superhydrophobicity/anti-icing.

Effect of metal catalyst on the mechanism of hydrogen spillover in three-dimensional covalent-organic frameworks

Hydrogen spillover mechanism of metal-supported covalent-organic frameworks COF-105 is investigated by means of the density functional theory, and the effects of metal catalysts M_4（Pt_4, Pd_4, and Ni_4） on the whole spillover process are systematically analyzed. These three metal catalysts exhibit several similar phenomena：（i） they prefer to deposit on the tetra（_4-dihydroxyborylphenyl） silane（TBPS） cluster with surface-contacted configuration;（ii） only the H atoms at the bridge site can migrate to 2,3,6,7,10,11-hexahydroxy triphenylene（HHTP） and TBPS surfaces, and the migration process is an endothermic reaction and not stable;（iii） the introduction of M_4 catalyst can greatly reduce the diffusion energy barrier of H atoms, which makes it easier for the H atoms to diffuse on the substrate surface. Differently, all of the H2 molecules spontaneously dissociate into H atoms onto Pt_4 and Pd_4clusters. However, the adsorbed H2 molecules on Ni_4 cluster show two types of adsorption states： one activated state with stretched H–H bond length of 0.88 ？A via the Kubas interaction and five dissociated states with separated hydrogen atoms. Among all the M_4 catalysts, the orders of the binding energy of M_4 deposited on the substrate and average chemisorption energy per H2 molecule are Pt_4〉Ni_4〉Pd_4. On the contrary, the orders of the migration and diffusion barriers of H atoms are Pt_4

In situ synthesis of chemically bonded NaTi2（PO4）3/rGO 2D nanocomposite for high-rate sodium-ion batteries

A phase-pure NaTi2（PO4）3/reduced graphene oxide （rGO） nanocomposite was prepared using a microwave-assisted one-pot method and subsequent heat treatment. The well-crystallized NaTi2（PO4）3 nanoparticles （30-40 nm） were uniformly precipitated on rGO templates through Ti-O-C bonds. The chemical interactions between the NaTi2（PO4）3 nanoparticles and rGO could immobilize the NaTi2（PO4）3 nanoparticles on the rGO sheets, which might be responsible for the excellent electrochemical performance of the nanocomposite. The NaTi2（PO4）B/rGO nanocomposite exhibited a specific capacity of 128.6 mA-h.g-1 approaching the theoretical value at a 0.1 C-rate with an excellent rate capability （72.9% capacity retention at 50 C-rate） and cycling performance （only 4.5% capacity loss after 1,000 cycles at a high rate of 10 C）. These properties were maintained even when the electrodes were prepared without the use of an additional conducting agent. The excellent sodium storage properties of the NaTi2（PO4）B/rGO nanocomposite could be attributed to the nano-sized NaTi2（PO4）3 particles, which significantly reduced the transport lengths for Na＋ ions, and an intimate contact between the NaTi2（PO4）3 particles and rGO due to chemical bonding.

Ordered SnO nanoparticles in MWCNT as a functional host material for high-rate lithium-sulfur battery cathode

Lithium-sulfur battery has become one of the most promising candidates for next generation batteries, and it is still restricted due to the low sulfur conductivity, large volume expansion and severe polysulfide shuttling. Herein, we present a novel hybrid electrode with a ternary nanomaterial based on sulfur-impregnated multiwalled carbon nanotubes filled with ordered tin-monoxide nanoparticles （MWCNT-SnO/S）. Using a dry plasma reduction method, a mechanically robust material is prepared as a cathode host material for lithium-sulfur batteries. The MWCNT-SnO/S electrode exhibits high conductivity, good ability to capture polysulfides, and small volume change during a repeated charge-discharge process. In situ transmission electron microscopy and ultraviolet-visible absorption results indicate that the MWCNT-SnO host efficiently suppresses volume expansion during lithiation and reduces polysulfide dissolution into the electrolyte. Furthermore, the ordered SnO nanoparticles in the MWCNTs facilitate fast ion/electron transfer during the redox reactions by acting as connective links between the walls of the MWCNTs. The MWCNT-SnO/S cathode with a high sulfur content of 70 wt.% exhibits an initial discharge capacity of 1,682.4 mAh·g^-1 at 167.5 m·g^-1 （0.1 C rate） and retains a capacity of 530.1 mAh·g^-1 at 0.5 C after 1,000 cycles with nearly 100% Coulombic efficiency. Furthermore, the electrode exhibits the high capacity even at a high current rate of 20 C.

Highly efficient and stable solid-state fiber dye-sensitized solar cells with Ag-decorated SiO_(2) nanoparticles

Fiber-shaped dye-sensitized solar cells(FDSSCs)represent promising futuristic flexible or wearable power sources,owing to their simple fabrication process,light weight,weavability,and wearability.Along with strategies on changing the properties of semiconductor materials,the effects of incorporating silver-embedded SiO_(2) nanoparticles(Ag@SiO_(2)NPs)on the photoanodes of solid-state FDSSCs(SS-FDSSCs)are investigated.The power conversion efficiency(PCE)of SS-FDSSCs with Ag@SiO_(2) NPs reaches 5.38%,which is comparable to the reference(3.98%).The PCEs remain at 95%between-16.9 and 91.7℃,indicating the operational stability of SS-FDSSCs within this temperature range.The fabricated SS-FDSSCs,whose radii were 2 mm,maintains more than 90%of their efficiency over 500 bending cycles and 10 washing cycles.