A drug-loaded flexible substrate improves the performance of conformal cortical electrodes

Cortical electrodes are a powerful tool for the stimulation and/or recording of electrical activity in the nervous system.However,the inevitable wound caused by surgical implantation of electrodes presents bacterial infection and inflammatory reaction risks associated with foreign body exposure.Moreover,inflammation of the wound area can dramatically worsen in response to bacterial infection.These consequences can not only lead to the failure of cortical electrode implantation but also threaten the lives of patients.Herein,we prepared a hydrogel made of bacterial cellulose(BC),a flexible substrate for cortical electrodes,and further loaded antibiotic tetracycline(TC)and the anti-inflammatory drug dexamethasone(DEX)onto it.The encapsulated drugs can be released from the BC hydrogel and effectively inhibit the growth of Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria.Next,therapeutic cortical electrodes were developed by integrating the drug-loaded BC hydrogel and nine-channel serpentine arrays;these were used to record electrocorticography(ECoG)signals in a rat model.Due to the controlled release of TC and DEX from the BC hydrogel substrate,therapeutic cortical electrodes can alleviate or prevent symptoms associated with the bacterial infection and inflammation of brain tissue.This approach facilitates the development of drug delivery electrodes for resolving complications caused by implantable electrodes.

Multi-scale design of silicon/carbon composite anode materials for lithium-ion batteries:A review

Silicon/carbon composites,which integrate the high lithium storage performance of silicon with the exceptional mechanical strength and conductivity of carbon,will replace the traditional graphite electrodes for high-energy lithium-ion batteries.Various strategies have been designed to synthesize silicon/carbon composites for tackling the issues of anode pulverization and poor stability in the anodes,thereby improving the lithium storage ability.The effect of the regulation method at each scale on the final negative electrode performance remains unclear.However,it has not been fully clarified how the regulation methods at each scale influence the final anode performance.This review will categorize the materials structure into three scales:molecular scale,nanoscale,and microscale.First,the review will examine modification methods at the molecular scale,focusing on the interfacial bonding force between silicon and carbon.Next,it will summarize various nanostructures and special shapes in the nanoscale to explore the construction of silicon/carbon composites.Lastly,the review will provide an analysis of microscale control approaches,focusing on the formation of composite particle with micron size and the utilization of micro-Si.This review provides a comprehensive overview of the multi-scale design of silicon/carbon composite anode materials and their optimization strategies to enhance the performance of lithium-ion batteries.

Improved Efficiency and Stability of Organic Solar Cells by Interface Modification Using Atomic Layer Deposition of Ultrathin Aluminum Oxide

The interfacial contacts between the electron transporting layers(ETLs)and the photoactive layers are crucial to device performance and stability for OSCs with inverted architecture.Herein,atomic layer deposition(ALD)fabricated ultrathin Al_(2)O_(3)layers are applied to modify the ETLs/active blends(PM6:BTP-BO-4F)interfaces of OSCs,thus improving device performance.The ALD-Al_(2)O_(3)thin layers on ZnO significantly improved its surface morphology,which led to the decreased work function of ZnO and reduced recombination losses in devices.The simultaneous increase in open-circuit voltage(V_(OC)),short-circuit current density(J_(SC))and fill factor(FF)were achieved for the OSCs incorporated with ALD-Al_(2)O_(3)interlayers of a certain thickness,which produced a maximum PCE of 16.61%.Moreover,the ALD-Al_(2)O_(3)interlayers had significantly enhanced device stability by suppressing degradation of the photoactive layers induced by the photocatalytic activity of ZnO and passivating surface defects of ZnO that may play the role of active sites for the adsorption of oxygen and moisture.

Design of AI-Enhanced and Hardware-Supported Multimodal E-Skin for Environmental Object Recognition and Wireless Toxic Gas Alarm

Post-earthquake rescue missions are full of challenges due to the unstable structure of ruins and successive aftershocks.Most of the current rescue robots lack the ability to interact with environments,leading to low rescue efficiency.The multimodal electronic skin(e-skin)proposed not only reproduces the pressure,temperature,and humidity sensing capabilities of natural skin but also develops sensing functions beyond it—perceiving object proximity and NO2 gas.Its multilayer stacked structure based on Ecoflex and organohydrogel endows the e-skin with mechanical properties similar to natural skin.Rescue robots integrated with multimodal e-skin and artificial intelligence(AI)algorithms show strong environmental perception capabilities and can accurately distinguish objects and identify human limbs through grasping,laying the foundation for automated post-earthquake rescue.Besides,the combination of e-skin and NO2 wireless alarm circuits allows robots to sense toxic gases in the environment in real time,thereby adopting appropriate measures to protect trapped people from the toxic environment.Multimodal e-skin powered by AI algorithms and hardware circuits exhibits powerful environmental perception and information processing capabilities,which,as an interface for interaction with the physical world,dramatically expands intelligent robots’application scenarios.

Enhancing Li cycling coulombic efficiency while mitigating “shuttle effect” of Li-S battery through sustained release of LiNO_(3)

In practical lithium-sulfur batteries(LSBs),the shuttle effect and Li cycling coulombic efficiency(CE) are strongly affected by the physicochemical properties of solid electrolyte interphase(SEI).LiNO_(3) is widely used as an additive in electrolytes to build a high-quality SEI,but its self-sacrificial nature limits the ability to mitigate the shuttle effect and stabilize Li anode during long-term cycling.To counteract LiNO_(3) consumption during long-term cycling without using a high initial concentration,inspired by sustainedrelease drugs,we encapsulated LiNO_(3) in lithiated Nafion polymer and added an electrolyte co-solvent(1,1,2,2-tetrafluoroethylene 2,2,2-trifluoromethyl ether) with poor LiNO_(3) solubility to construct highquality and durable F-and N-rich SEI.Theoretical calculations,experiments,multiphysics simulations,and in-situ observations confirmed that the F-and N-rich SEI can modulate lithium deposition behavior and allow persistent repair of SEI during prolonged cycling.Hence,the F-and N-rich SEI improves the Li anode cycling CE to 99.63% and alleviates the shuttle effect during long-term cycling.The lithium anode with sustainable F-and N-rich SEI shows a stable Li plating/stripping over 2000 h at 1 mA cm^(-2).As expected,Li‖S full cells with this SEI achieved a long lifespan of 250 cycles,far exceeding cells with a routine SEI.The Li‖S pouch cell based on F-and N-rich SEI also can achieve a high energy density of about300 Wh kg^(-1) at initial cycles.This strategy provides a novel design for high-quality and durable SEls in LSBs and may also be extendable to other alkali metal batteries.

Inverse design and realization of an optical cavity-based displacement transducer with arbitrary responses

Optical cavity has long been critical for a variety of applications ranging from precise measurement to spectral analysis.A number of theories and methods have been successful in describing the optical response of a stratified optical cavity,while the inverse problem,especially the inverse design of a displacement sensitive cavity,remains a significant challenge due to the cost of computation and comprehensive performance requirements.This paper reports a novel inverse design methodology combining the characteristic matrix method,mixed-discrete variables optimization algorithm,and Monte Carlo method-based tolerance analysis.The material characteristics are indexed to enable the mixed-discrete variables optimization,which yields considerable speed and efficiency improvements.This method allows arbitrary response adjustment with technical feasibility and gives a glimpse into the analytical characterization of the optical response.Two entirely different light-displacement responses,including an asymmetric sawtooth-like response and a highly symmetric response,are dug out and experimentally achieved,which fully confirms the validity of the method.The compact Fabry-Perot cavities have a good balance between performance and feasibility,making them promising candidates for displacement transducers.More importantly,the proposed inverse design paves the way for a universal design of optical cavities,or even nanophotonic devices.

Concurrent hetero-/homo-geneous electrocatalysts to bi-phasically mediate sulfur species for lithium-sulfur batteries

Expediting redox kinetics of sulfur species on conductive scaffolds with limited charge accessible surface is considered as an imperative approach to realize energy-dense and power-intensive lithium-sulfur(Li-S)batteries.In this work,the concept of concurrent hetero-/homo-geneous electrocatalysts is proposed to simultaneously mediate liquid-solid conversion of lithium polysulfides(LiPSs)and solid lithium disulfide/sulfide(Li_(2)S_(2)/Li_(2)S)propagation,the latter of which suffers from sluggish reduction kinetics due to buried conductive scaffold surface by extensive deposition of Li_(2)S_(2)/Li_(2)S.The selected model material to verify this concept is a two-in-one catalyst:carbon nanotube(CNT)scaffold supported iron-cobalt(Fe-Co)alloy nanoparticles and partially carbonized selenium(C-Se)component.The Fe-Co alloy serves as a heterogeneous electrocatalyst to seed Li_(2)S_(2)/Li_(2)S through sulphifilic active sites,while the C-Se sustainably releases soluble lithium polyselenides and functions as a homogeneous electrocatalyst to propagate Li_(2)S_(2)/Li_(2)S via solution pathways.Such bi-phasic mediation of the sulfur species benefits reduction kinetics of LiPS conversion,especially for the massive Li_(2)S_(2)/Li_(2)S growth scenario by affording an additional solution directed route in case of conductive surface being largely buried.This strategy endows the Li-S batteries with improved cycling stability(836 mA h g^(-1)after 180 cycles),rate capability(547 mA h g^(-1)at 4 C)and high sulfur loading superiority(2.96 mA h cm^(-2)at 2.4 mg cm^(-2)).This work hopes to enlighten the employment of bi-phasic electrocatalysts to dictate liquid-solid transformation of intermediates for conversion chemistry batteries.

Boosting MA-based two-dimensional Ruddlesden-Popper perovskite solar cells by incorporating a binary spacer

Two-dimensional Ruddlesden-Popper(2DRP)perovskite exhibits excellent stability in perovskite solar cells(PSCs)due to introducing hydrophobic long-chain organic spacers.However,the poor charge transporting property of bulky organic cation spacers limits the performance of 2DRP PSCs.Inspired by the Asite cation alloying strategy in 3D perovskites,2DRP perovskites with a binary spacer can promote charge transporting compared to the unary spacer counterparts.Herein,the superior MA-based 2DRP perovskite films with a binary spacer,including 3-guanidinopropanoic acid(GPA)and 4-fluorophenethylamine(FPEA)are realized.These films(GPA_(0.85)FPEA_(0.15))_(2)MA_(4)Pb_5I_(16)show good morphology,large grain size,decreased trap state density,and preferential orientation of the as-prepared film.Accordingly,the present 2DRP-based PSC with the binary spacer achieves a remarkable efficiency of 18.37%with a V_(OC)of1.15 V,a J_(SC)of 20.13 mA cm^(-2),and an FF of 79.23%.To our knowledge,the PCE value should be the highest for binary spacer MA-based 2DRP(n≤5)PSCs to date.Importantly,owing to the hydrophobic fluorine group of FPEA and the enhanced interlayer interaction by FPEA,the unencapsulated 2DRP PSCs based on binary spacers exhibit much excellent humidity stability and thermal stability than the unary spacer counterparts.

Construction of ultra-stable NiFe armored catalyst for liquid and flexible quasi-solid-state rechargeable Zn-air batteries

The commercial application of non-precious metal-based electrocatalysts is not only limited by the intrinsic activity of the catalysts,but also the stability of the catalysts is extremely important.Herein,we fabricated an ultra-stable NiFe armored catalyst(Ar-NiFe/NC)by a simple secondary pyrolysis strategy.The as-obtained Ar-NiFe/NC electrocatalyst exhibits an excellent bifunctional oxygen electrocatalytic performance with an activity indicatorΔE of 0.74 V vs.reversible hydrogen electrode(RHE).More importantly,the Ar-NiFe/NC electrocatalyst also shows a remarkable operational and storage stability.After accelerated durability test(ADT)cycles,no obvious degradation of oxygen electrocatalytic performance could be observed.In addition,the Ar-NiFe/NC electrocatalyst still exhibits an unbated oxygen electrocatalytic performance comparable to fresh catalysts after three months of air-exposed storage.The assembled liquid and flexible quasi-solid-state rechargeable Zn-air batteries with the Ar-NiFe/NC electrocatalyst exhibit impressive performance.The liquid rechargeable Zn-air batteries possess a high open-circuit voltage(OCV)of 1.43 V and a salient peak power density of 146.40 mW·cm^(−2),while the flexible quasi-solid-state rechargeable Zn-air batteries also exhibit an excellent OCV of 1.60 V and an exciting peak power density of 41.99 mW·cm^(−2).

A MXene-functionalized paper-based electrochemical immunosensor for label-free detection of cardiac troponin I

Convenient,rapid,and accurate detection of cardiac troponin I(cTnI)is crucial in early diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction(AMI).A paper-based electrochemical immunosensor is a promising choice in this field,because of the flexibility,porosity,and cost-efficacy of the paper.However,paper is poor in electronic conductivity and surface functionality.Herein,we report a paper-based electrochemical immunosensor for the label-free detection of cTnI with the working electrode modified by MXene(Ti_(3)C_(2))nanosheets.In order to immobilize the bio-receptor(anti-cTnI)on the MXene-modified working electrode,the MXene nanosheets were functionalized by aminosilane,and the functionalized MXene was immobilized onto the surface of the working electrode through Nafion.The large surface area of the MXene nanosheets facilitates the immobilization of antibodies,and the excellent conductivity facilitates the electron transfer between the electrochemical species and the underlying electrode surface.As a result,the paper-based immunosensor could detect cTnI within a wide range of 5-100 ng/mL with a detection limit of 0.58 ng/mL.The immunosensor also shows outstanding selectivity and good repeatability.Our MXene-modified paper-based electrochemical immunosensor enables fast and sensitive detection of cTnI,which may be used in real-time and cost-efficient monitoring of AMI diseases in clinics.

Catalysis-based specific detection and inhibition of tyrosinase and their application

Tyrosinase is an important enzyme in controlling the formation of melanin in melanosome,and plays a key role in the pigmentation of hair and skin.The abnormal expression or activation of tyrosinase is associated with several diseases such as albinism,vitiligo,melanoma and Parkinson disease.Excessive deposition of melanin could cause diseases such as freckles and brown spots in the human body,and it is also closely related to browning of fruits and vegetables and insect molting.Detecting and inhibiting the activity of tyrosinase is of extraordinary value in the progress of diagnosis and treatment of these diseases.Therefore,many selective optical detection probes and small molecular inhibitors have been developed,and have made significant contributions to the basic and clinical research on these diseases.In this paper,the detection and inhibition of tyrosinase and their application in whitening products are reviewed,with special emphasis on development of fluorescent probes and inhibitors.Hopefully,this review will help design more efficient and sensitive tyrosinase probes and inhibitors,as well as shed light on novel treatment of diseases such as melanoma.

Interdiscipline between optoelectronic materials and mechanical sensors:Recent advances of organic triboluminescent compounds and their applications in sensing

Triboluminescence,also as known as mechanoluminescence,is an attractive optical behavior that means the light emitted from specific organic and inorganic materials when they are subjected to external forces,such as crushing,deformation,cleaving,vibration.Inorganic triboluminescent materials show great potential for applications in sensing,such as stress sensing,damage detection.However,the triboluminescent mechanism of organic materials should be pushed further as well as their application.In this review,we summarized the history of development and possible mechanism of organic triboluminescent materials,and discussed various applications in sensing field.At the same time,inspired by the existing research progress in inorganic triboluminescent materials,we proposed the flourishing development prospects of organic triboluminescent materials in stress sensors,movement monitoring,imaging stress distribution,visualization of crack propagation,structural diagnosis,and other fields.

Stability of mixed-halide wide bandgap perovskite solar cells: Strategies and progress

Benefiting from the superior optoelectronic properties and low-cost manufacturing techniques,mixedhalide wide bandgap(WBG)perovskite solar cells(PSCs)are currently considered as ideal top cells for fabricating multi-junction or tandem solar cells,which are designed to beyond the Shockley-Queisser(S-Q)limit of single-junction solar cells.However,the poor long-term operational stability of WBG PSCs limits their further employment and hinders the marketization of multi-junction or tandem solar cells.In this review,recent progresses on improving environmental stability of mixed-halide WBG PSCs through different strategies,including compositional engineering,additive engineering,interface engineering,and other strategies,are summarized.Then,the outlook and potential direction are discussed and explored to promote the further development of WBG PSCs and their applications in multijunction or tandem solar cells.

Stability of Sn-Pb mixed organic–inorganic halide perovskite solar cells:Progress,challenges,and perspectives

The exploration of low bandgap perovskite material to approach Shockley-Queisser limit of photovoltaic device is of great significance,but it is still challenging.During the past few years,tin–lead(Sn-Pb)mixed perovskites with low bandgaps have been rapidly developed,and their single junction solar cells have reached power conversion efficiency(PCE)over 21%,which also makes them ideal candidate as low bandgap sub-cell for tandem device.Nevertheless,due to the incorporation of unstable Sn^(2+),the stability issue becomes the vital problem for the further development of Sn-Pb mixed perovskite solar cells(PSCs).In this review,we are dedicated to give a full view in current understanding on the stability issue of SnPb mixed perovskites and their PSCs.We begin with the demonstration on the origin of instability of Sn-Pb mixed perovskites,including oxidation of Sn^(2+),defects,and interfacial layer induced instability.Sequentially,the up-to-date developments on the stability improvement of Sn-Pb mixed perovskites and their PSCs is systematically reviewed,including composition engineering,additive engineering,and interfacial engineering.At last,the current challenges and future perspectives on the stability study of Sn-Pb mixed PSCs are discussed,which we hope could promote the further application of Sn-Pb mixed perovskites towards commercialization.

Tuning crystal orientation and charge transport of quasi-2D perovskites via halogen-substituted benzylammonium for efficient solar cells

Quasi-two-dimensional(quasi-2D)perovskites with high stability usually suffers from poor device efficiency.Chemical tuning of the spacer cations has been an effective strategy to achieve efficient and stable quasi-2D perovskite solar cells.Here,we demonstrate that 3-halogon-substituted benzylammonium iodide(3X-BAI,X=F,Cl,Br,I)can significantly affect the orientation of low-dimensional perovskites and charge transport from perovskite to hole extraction layer,as well as device performance.With 3Br-BAI,we achieve the highest device efficiency of 13.21%for quasi-2D perovskites with a nominal n=3 average composition.Our work provides a facile approach to regulate vertical crystal orientation and charge transport via tuning the molecular structure of organic spacer toward high performance quasi-2D perovskite solar cells.

Perovskite Light-emitting Diodes with Record High EQE of 20.7% and ECE of 18.6%

Light-emitting diodes(LEDs)have wide applications in the areaof lighting,medical devices,display screens,etc.Owing to theexcellent optoelectronic properties and the facile solution proces-sing methods,organometal halide perovskites are extensively stu-died and proved to be promising light.emitting materials to fabri-cate LED devices[1-2].Generally,nonradiative recombination andlight trapping are two main factors to impede the efficiency en-hancement of LEDs,which are more serious in perovskite mate-rials for the high refractive index.

Controllable assembling of highly-doped linked carbon bubbles on graphene microfolds

Carbon-based microassemblies(CMs) have attracted significant attention in numerous applications due to their unique hierarchical structures and delicate building blocks,especially when hollow carbon spheres(HCSs) are reasonably introduced into the construction.Herein,a new design for novel HCSscombined CMs is proposed.Remarkably,the HCSs are linear carbon bubbles linked one-by-one, arranging into necklaces decorating on the graphene microfolds.Detailed thermal analysis confirm that high temperatures straighten the linked carbon bubbles into bamboo-like carbon nanofibers,evidently due to the attenuation of doping degree.Benefiting from the abundant active sites of carbon bubbles,the obtained CMs exhibit satisfactory electrocatalytic activity for oxygen reduction reactions.This work establishes a bridge to precisely control the synthesis of carbon-based hierarchical architectures.

Ambiently fostering solid electrolyte interphase for low-temperature lithium metal batteries

Despite being a leading candidate to meet stringent energy targets,lithium(Li) metal batteries(LMBs)face severe challenges at low temperatures such as dramatic increase in impedance,capacity loss and dendrite growth.Unambiguously fingerprinting rate-limited factors of low-temperature LMBs would encourage targeted approaches to promote performances.Herein,the charge transfer impedance across solid electrolyte interphase(SEI) is identified to restrict battery operation under low temperature,and we propose a facile approach on the basis of ambiently fostering SEI(af-SEI) to facilitate charge transfer.The concept of af-SEI stems from kinetic benefits and structural merits to construct SEI at ambient temperature over low temperature developed SEI that is temporally consuming to achieve steady state and that is structurally defective to incur dendrite growth.The af-SEI allows ionically conductive and morphologically uniform layer on the anode surface,which exhibits a lower resistance and induces an even deposition of Li in the subsequent low temperature battery operation.Armed with af-SEI,the LMBs deliver the improved rate performance and prolonged cycle life when subjected to low temperature cycling.This work unveils the underlying causes that limit low temperature LMB performances,and enlightens the facile test protocols to build up favorable SEI,beyond scope of material and morphology design.

Energy conversion materials for the space solar power station

Since it was first proposed,the space solar power station(SSPS)has attracted great attention all over the world;it is a huge space system and provides energy for Earth.Although several schemes and abundant studies on the SSPS have been proposed and conducted,it is still not realized.The reason why SSPS is still an idea is not only because it is a giant and complex project,but also due to the requirement for various excellent space materials.Among the diverse required materials,we believe energy materials are the most important.Herein,we review the space energy conversion materials for the SSPS.

钙钛矿太阳能电池的发展现状和未来趋势

1.Introduction Carbon neutrality is an important strategy to address the acute problems of resource and environmental constraints.Currently,afforestation,energy conservation,emissions reduction,and other measures have been adopted to offset the total amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions generated by countries,businesses,products,activities,or individuals,with the aim of finally achieving zero net emissions(Fig.1(a)).