Synergy of I-Cl co-occupation on halogen-rich argyrodites and resultant dual-layer interface for advanced all-solid-state Li metal batteries

The(electro)chemical stability and Li dendrite suppression capability of sulfide solid electrolytes(SEs)need further improvement for developing all-solid-state Li batteries(ASSLBs).Here,we report advanced halogen-rich argyrodites via I and Cl co-occupation on the crystal lattice.Notably,a proper I content forms a single phase,whereas an excessive I causes precipitation of two argyrodite phases like a superlattice structure.The resultant synergistic effect of the optimized composition allows to gain high ionic conductivities at room temperature and-20℃,and enhances the(electro)chemical stability against Li and Li dendrite suppression capability.The Li|argyrodite interface is very sensitive to the ratio of I and Cl.A LiCl-and LiI-rich double-layer interface is observed from the cell using the SE with optimized composition,whereas too high I content forms only a single interface layer with a mixture of Lil and LiCl.This double-layer interface is found to effectively mitigate the Li/SE reaction.The proper designed argyrodite enables ASSLBs to achieve good electrochemical properties at a broad temperature range regardless of the electrode materials.This co-occupation strategy provides a novel exploration for advanced halogen-rich argyrodite system.

Carbon-Based Flexible and All-Solid-State Micro-supercapacitors Fabricated by Inkjet Printing with Enhanced Performance

By means of inkjet printing technique, flexible and all-solid-state micro-supercapacitors(MSCs) were fabricated with carbon-based hybrid ink composed of graphene oxide(GO,98.0vol.%) ink and commercial pen ink(2.0vol.%). A small amount of commercial pen ink was added to effectively reduce the agglomeration of theGO sheets during solvent evaporation and the following reduction processes in which the presence of graphite carbon nanoparticles served as nano-spacer to separate GO sheets. The printed device fabricated using the hybrid ink,combined with the binder-free microelectrodes and interdigital microelectrode configuration, exhibits nearly 780%enhancement in areal capacitance compared with that of pure GO ink. It also shows excellent flexibility and cycling stability with nearly 100% retention of the areal capacitance after 10,000 cycles. The all-solid-state device can be optionally connected in series or in parallel to meet the voltage and capacity requirements for a given application.This work demonstrates a promising future of the carbonbased hybrid ink for directly large-scale inkjet printing MSCs for disposable energy storage devices.

High performance room temperature all-solid-state Na-SexS battery with Na3SbS4-coated cathode via aqueous solution

All-solid-state(ASS)Na-S batteries are promising for large-scale energy storage because of the incombustible solid electrolyte and avoiding the dissolution of intermediates.However,the poor contact between the active material and the solid electrolyte in the positive electrode leads to poor electrochemical performance.Here,we report an aqueous solution approach to fabricate Na3SbS4-coated SexS-based active materials for a Na-S battery working at room temperature.Compared with the Na3SbS4 and SexS mixed cathode,the coated cathode achieves significantly improved Na-ion diffusion kinetics and reduced impedance resistance.Additionally,the nanoparticle coating sustains the volume expansion of the cathode during cycling.The resulting batteries deliver an intensively enhanced specific capacity at various rates.Regardless of the mass loading,the Na3SbS4-coated cathode maintains a decent reversible capacity for the long-term discharge/charge cycling.The best battery achieves an initial discharge capacity of509 mAh g^-1 at a current density of 437.4 mA g^-1 and capacity retention of 98.9%for 100 cycles.To the best of our knowledge,this is one of the best room temperature ASS Na-S battery so far.This work demonstrates that Na3SbS4 is very promising for the cathode coating purpose for ASS Na-S batteries.

Influence of Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya and Kaplan-Shekhtman-Entinwohlman-Aharony superexchange interactions on ground state properties of the one-dimensional spin-Peilers model in open chain

The effects of the Dzyaloshinskii Moriya （DM） and the Kaplan-Shekhtman-Entinwohlman-Aharony （KSEA） superexchange interactions on the ground state properties of the one-dimensional spin-Peilers system in open chain are studied by using the Lanczos numerical method. The study concentrates mainly on the influence of systemic dimerisation in open chain. The results show that systemic ground state energy density varies with dimerisation parameter 5 in different DM interactions, and there exists a special point 5c where the DM interaction has no influence on the systemic dimerisation, no matter whether the DM interaction is relative or irrelative to systemic dimerisation （η= 1 or η=0）. The KSEA interaction has no fixed special point, but the points of intersection are dense relatively in a certain numberical value range, and sparse in other numberical value ranges. So we can conclude that the antisymmetric anisotropy DM interaction differs from the symmetric anisotropy KSEA interaction, but they are analogous in the sense of the influence of systemic dimerisation in open chain.

Preparation of Mg55Ni35Si10 Amorphous Powders by Mechanical Alloying and Consolidation by Vacuum Hot Pressing

Amorphous Mg55Ni35Si10 powders are fabricated by using a mechanical alloying technique. The amorphous powders are found to exhibit a relatively high crystallization temperature of 380℃. The as-milled amorphous Mg55Ni35Si10 powders are consolidated successfully into bulk body by vacuum hot pressing technique. Limited nanocrystallization is noticed. The Vickers microhardness range of the Mg55Ni35Si10 bulk sample is 7834 to 8048 MPa. Its bending strength and compressive strength are 529 MPa and 1466 MPa, respectively.

Variational Monte Carlo study of the nematic state in iron-pnictide superconductors with a five-orbital model

We perform a variational Monte Carlo study of the nematic state in iron-pnictide superconductors within a realistic five-orbital model. Our numerical results show that the nematic state, formed by introducing an anisotropic hopping order into the projected wave function, is not stable unless the off-site Coulomb interaction V exceeds a critical value. This demonstrates that V plays a key role in forming the nematic state in iron-pnictide superconductors. In the nematic state,the orbital order and the anisotropic spin correlations are consistent with the experimental observations. We argue that the experimentally observed anisotropic magnetic couplings and structural transition are associated with the nematic state and can be understood in a unified framework.

ANOMALOUSLY AMPLITUDE DEPENDENT EFFECT OF THE LOW-TEMPERATURE INTERNAL-FRICTION PEAKS IN COLD-WORKED DILUTE ALUMINIUM-COPPER SOLID SOLUTION

The composite internal friction peak(versus temperature)assumed to be consisted of a relaxation peak and a phase transformation peak previously observed in cold-worked Al-0.50wt%(0.21at%)Cu at temperatures below room temperature are now resolved into two separate peaks.Internal friotion peaks as a function of strain amplitude(the amplitude peak)are observed around the temperature region of both peaks for he first time.

Efficient Tunable All-Solid-state Pyrromethene Dye Laser Pumped by a Laser-Diode Pumped Nd:YAG Laser

Efficient and stable laser dyes pyrromethene-BF2 complexes were successfully incorporated into organically modified silicate(Ormosil)matrices via sol-gel process.Laser oscillation were easily observed in all hand-polished dye-doped Ormosils pumped by frequency-doubled radiation from a laser-diode pumped Q-switched Nd:YAG laser.A slope efficiency of 57% has been obtained from one of the dyes in Ormosil,the cavity was continuously tunable over 50nm,from 550 to 600nm.The laser output energy has only 10% reduction after 3.0×10^(4) pulses at a pump repetition rate of 30Hz and a pump intensity of 1 J/cm^(2).An efficient,all-solid-state,compact,long-lifetime,and tunable dye laser has been demonstrated.

A Polymeric/Inorganic Nanocomposite for Solid-State Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

A novel nanocomposite consisting of poly （3, 4-ethylenedioxythiophene）/poly （styre-nesulfonate） （PEDOT/PSS） and CuI was synthesized via the reduction of CuCl2 by NaI in an aqueous PEDOT/PSS solution. The CuI in the composite was pure γ-phase, as was characterized by means of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS）, X-ray diffraction （XRD） and transmission electron microscopy （TEM）. The dye-sensitized solar cell with PEDOT/PSS-CuI （15% in wt） nanocomposlte as hole-transport electrolyte exhibited a considerable photocurrent, photovoltage and energy conversion efficiency （i.e. Jsc = 0.50 mA·cm^-2, Voc = 0.44 V, η= 0.1%）.

Solid-State Reaction and Vacancy-Type Defects in Bilayer Fe/Hf Studied by the Slow Positron Beam

The positron annihilation lifetimes and the Doppler broadening by slow positron beam are measured in thin Fe films with thickness 500 nm, a thin Hf film with thickness 100 nm, and the bilayer Fe (50 nm)/Hf (50 nm) on quartz glass substrate. We have analyzed the behavior in vacancy-type defects in each layer through some deposition temperatures and annealing. It is observed that the thin Fe film, the thin Hf film, and the bilayer Fe (50 nm)/Hf (50 nm) already contain many vacancy-type defects. We have investigated the change of densities of the vacancy-carbon complex and the small vacancy-cluster with carbons, through solid-state amorphization of Fe (50 nm)/Hf (50 nm) bilayer.

Electronic States and Spatial Charge Distribution of Single Mn Impurity in Diluted Magnetic Semiconductors

The electronic and magnetic properties as well as the spatial charge distribution of single Mn impurity in Ⅲ-Ⅴ diluted magnetic semiconductors are obtained when the degeneracy of the p orbits contributed from the four nearest-neighbouring As（N） atoms is taken into account. We show that in the ground state, the Mn spin is strongly antiferromagnetically coupled to the surrounding As（N） atoms when the p - d hybridization Vpd is large and both the hole level Ev and the impurity level Ed are close to the Fermi energy. The spatial charge distribution of the Mn acceptor in the （110） plane is non-spherically symmetric, in good agreement with the recent STM images.

Mechanical Behavior and Microstructure Evolution during Tensile Deformation of Twinning Induced Plasticity Steel Processed by Warm Forgings

The mechanical behavior and microstructural evolution of an Fe-30Mn-3Al-3Si twinninginduced plasticity(TWIP)steel processed using warm forging was investigated.It is found that steel processed via warm forging improves comprehensive mechanical properties compared to the TWIP steel processed via cold rolling,with a high tensile strength(R_(m))of 793 MPa,a yield strength(R_(P))of 682 MPa,an extremely large R_(P)/R_(m)ratio as high as 0.86 as well as an excellent elongation rate of 46.8%.The microstructure observation demonstrates that steel processed by warm forging consists of large and elongated grains together with fine,equiaxed grains.Complicated micro-defect configurations were also observed within the steel,including dense dislocation networks and a few coarse deformation twins.As the plastic deformation proceeds,the densities of dislocations and deformation twins significantly increase.Moreover,a great number of slip lines could be observed in the elongated grains.These findings reveal that a much more dramatic interaction between microstructural defect and dislocations glide takes place in the forging sample,wherein the fine and equiaxed grains propagated dislocations more rapidly,together with initial defect configurations,are responsible for enhanced strength properties.Meanwhile,larger,elongated grains with more prevalently activated deformation twins result in high plasticity.

High Density 3D Carbon Tube Nanoarray Electrode Boosting the Capacitance of Filter Capacitor

Electric double-layer capacitors(EDLCs)with fast frequency response are regarded as small-scale alternatives to the commercial bulky aluminum electrolytic capacitors.Creating carbon-based nanoarray electrodes with precise alignment and smooth ion channels is crucial for enhancing EDLCs’performance.However,controlling the density of macropore-dominated nanoarray electrodes poses challenges in boosting the capacitance of line-filtering EDLCs.Herein,a simple technique to finely adjust the vertical-pore diameter and inter-spacing in three-dimensional nanoporous anodic aluminum oxide(3D-AAO)template is achieved,and 3D compactly arranged carbon tube(3D-CACT)nanoarrays are created as electrodes for symmetrical EDLCs using nanoporous 3D-AAO template-assisted chemical vapor deposition of carbon.The 3D-CACT electrodes demonstrate a high surface area of 253.0 m^(2) g^(−1),a D/G band intensity ratio of 0.94,and a C/O atomic ratio of 8.As a result,the high-density 3D-CT nanoarray-based sandwich-type EDLCs demonstrate a record high specific areal capacitance of 3.23 mF cm^(-2) at 120 Hz and exceptional fast frequency response due to the vertically aligned and highly ordered nanoarray of closely packed CT units.The 3D-CT nanoarray electrode-based EDLCs could serve as line filters in integrated circuits,aiding power system miniaturization.

Fabrication and Excellent Properties of Polyvinylidene fluoride/Graphene Composite Films as Thermal Interface Materials

The growing concern about thermal conductivityand electromagnetic shielding inelectronic equipment has promoted the development of interfacial film materials.In this work,polyvinylidene fluoride(PVDF)/graphene composite films with different graphene contents were fabricated by high-energy ball milling,cold isostatic pressing,scraping and coating,successively.High-energy ball milling is beneficial to the dispersion of graphene powder,while cold isostatic pressing can greatly enhance thermal conductivity and mechanical strength by reducing the voids in the film and increasing the contact area of graphene sheets.The thermal conductivity,tensile strength and electromagnetic shielding properties of the films were carefully investigated and compared.It was demonstrated that the thermal conductivity increased from 0.19 Wm-1.K-1 for pure PVDF to 103.9 W-m-1.K-1 for the composite film with PVDF:graphene=1:3.Meanwhile the electromagnetic shielding efficiency can reach 36.55 dB.The prepared PVDF/graphene composite films exhibit outstanding overall performance and have the potential for practical applications.

Ground State Property of LiV2O4

The spinel structure LiV2O4 is studied by local density approximation （LDA） as well as including strong correlation correction potential, i.e. the LDA＋U scheme, which concerns the strongly correlated interaction. With LDA, the orbitals of V 3d and O 2p are well separated so that it presents purely metallic heavv fermion behaviour. The total energy of ferromagnetic phase is slightly lower than that of paramagnetic phase within the LDA ap- proach. This implies that the ferromagnetic instability as a consequence of spin frustrated magnetism can be observed in experiments. The strong correlation interaction by using LDA＋U enhances the exchange splitting. The heavy-fermion feature can be derived from the sharp peak around the Fermi level from the density of states.

Influence of High-Pressure Induced Lattice Dislocations and Distortions on Thermoelectric Performance of Pristine SnTe

As a sister compound of PbTe, SnTe possesses the environmentally friendly elements. However, the pristine SnTe compounds suffer from the high carrier concentration, the large valence band offset between the L and Σpositions and high thermal conductivity. Using high-pressure and high-temperature technology, we synthesized the pristine SnTe samples at different pressures and systemically investigated their thermoelectric properties.High pressure induces rich microstructures, including the high-density dislocations and lattice distortions, which serve as the strong phonon scattering centers, thereby reducing the lattice thermal conductivity. For the electrical properties, pressure reduces the harmful high carrier concentration, due to the depression of Sn vacancies.Moreover, pressure induces the valence band convergence, reducing the energy separation between the L and Σpositions. The band convergence and suppressed carrier concentration increase the Seebeck coefficient. Thus, the power factors of pressure-sintered compounds do not deteriorate significantly under the condition of decreasing electrical conductivity. Ultimately, for a pristine SnTe compound synthesized at 5 GPa, a higher ZT value of 0.51 is achieved at 750 K, representing a 140% improvement compared to the value of 0.21 obtained using SPS. Therefore, the high-pressure and high-temperature technology is demonstrated as an effectively approach to optimize thermoelectric performance.

Local Structure Determination of Mn^(2+)-Doped Fluoride Crystals by Superhyperfine Splitting Measurements

A procedure is presented for the calculation of the Mn^(2+)-F^(-) bond length from the superhyperfine constants measured by magnetic resonance experiments.With the present technique it is possible to detect the variation of the bond length,ΔR,down to 0.01Å.The technique is sensitive enough to determine the bond length R and its variationΔR experienced when pressure or temperature changes.

Synthesis and Surface Activity of Novel Triazole-based Cationic Gemini Surfactants

The synthesis and surfactant activities of two new cationic gemini surfactants containing triazole compound as spacer were described. Their critical micelle concentrations (CMC), which are 1.8×10-4 mol/L and 3.9×10-4 mol/L respectively, are much lower than that of conventional surfactant cetyltrimethyl ammonium chloride (CTAC). In addition, compared with some gemini surfactants containing phenylene, xylylene and stilbenyl as spacer, this new kind of surfactants has good solubility in water at room temperature because of containing more hydrophilic groups or atoms in molecules.

Controlled Growth of One-Dimensional Oxide Nanomaterials

This article reviews the recent developments in the controlled growth of one-dimensional （1D） oxide nanomaterials, including ZnO, SnO2, In203, Ga203, SiOx, MgO, and Al203. The growth of 2D oxide nanomaterials was carried out in a simple chemical vapor transport and condensation system. This article will begin with a survey of nanotechnology and 1D nanomaterials achieved by many researchers, and then mainly discuss on the controlled growth of ID oxide nanomaterials with their morphologies, sizes, compositions, and microstructures controlled by altering experimental parameters, such as the temperature at the source material and the substrate, temperature gradient in the tube furnace, the total reaction time, the heating rate of the furnace, the gas flow rate, and the starting material. Their roles in the formation of various morphologies are analyzed and discussed. Finally, this review will be concluded with personal perspectives on the future research directions of this area.

Construction of Z-scheme Ag_3PO_4/Bi_2WO_6 composite with excellent visible-light photodegradation activity for removal of organic contaminants

Ag3PO4has good potential for use in photocatalytic degradation of organic contaminants.However,the activity and stability of Ag3PO4is hard to sustain because of photocorrosion and the positive potential of the conduction band of Ag3PO4.In this study,A composite consisting of Bi2WO6nanosheets and Ag3PO4was developed to curb recombination of charge carriers and enhance the activity and stability of the catalyst.Formation of a Ag3PO4/Bi2WO6composite was confirmed using X‐ray diffraction,energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy,and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy.Photoluminescence spectroscopy provided convincing evidence that compositing Bi2WO6with Ag3PO4effectively reduced photocorrosion of Ag3PO4.The Ag3PO4/Bi2WO6composite gave a high photocatalytic performance in photodegradation of methylene blue.A degradation rate of0.61min?1was achieved;this is1.3and6.0times higher than those achieved using Ag3PO4(0.47min?1)and Bi2WO6(0.10min?1),respectively.Reactive species trapping experiments using the Ag3PO4/Bi2WO6composite showed that holes,?OH,and?O2?all played specific roles in the photodegradation process.The photocatalytic mechanism was investigated and a Z‐scheme was proposed as a plausible mechanism.