The Role of Interfaces in Polyethylene/Metal‐Oxide Nanocomposites for Ultrahigh‐Voltage Insulating Materials

Recent progress in the development of polyethylene/metal‐oxide nanocomposites for extruded high‐voltage direct‐current (HVDC) cables with ultrahigh electric insulation properties is presented. This is a promising technology with the potential of raising the upper voltage limit in today's underground/submarine cables, based on pristine polyethylene, to levels where the loss of energy during electric power transmission becomes low enough to ensure intercontinental electric power transmission. The development of HVDC insulating materials together with the impact of the interface between the particles and the polymer on the nanocomposites electric properties are shown. Important parameters from the atomic to the microlevel, such as interfacial chemistry, interfacial area, and degree of particle dispersion/aggregation, are discussed. This work is placed in perspective with important work by others, and suggested mechanisms for improved insulation using nanoparticles, such as increased charge trap density, adsorption of impurities/ions, and induced particle dipole moments are considered. The effects of the nanoparticles and of their interfacial structures on the mechanical properties and the implications of cavitation on the electric properties are also discussed. Although the main interest in improving the properties of insulating polymers has been on the use of nanoparticles, leading to nanodielectrics, it is pointed out here that larger microscopic hierarchical metal‐oxide particles with high surface porosity also impart good insulation properties. The impact of the type of particle and its inherent properties (purity and conductivity) on the nanocomposite dielectric and insulating properties are also discussed based on data obtained by a newly developed technique to directly observe the charge distribution on a nanometer scale in the nanocomposite.     

Structural Design and Electronic Modulation of Transition‐Metal‐Carbide Electrocatalysts toward Efficient Hydrogen Evolution

As the key of hydrogen economy, electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reactions (HERs) depend on the availability of cost‐efficient electrocatalysts. Over the past years, there is a rapid rise in noble‐metal‐free electrocatalysts. Among them, transition metal carbides (TMCs) are highlighted due to their structural and electronic merits, e.g., high conductivity, metallic band states, tunable surface/bulk architectures, etc. Herein, representative efforts and progress made on TMCs are comprehensively reviewed, focusing on the noble‐metal‐like electronic configuration and the relevant structural/electronic modulation. Briefly, specific nanostructures and carbon‐based hybrids are introduced to increase active‐site abundance and to promote mass transportation, and heteroatom doping and heterointerface engineering are encouraged to optimize the chemical configurations of active sites toward intrinsically boosted HER kinetics. Finally, a perspective on the future development of TMC electrocatalysts is offered. The overall aim is to shed some light on the exploration of emerging materials in energy chemistry.     

High‐Speed Colloidal Quantum Dot Photodiodes via Accelerating Charge Separation at Metal–Oxide Interface

With ever‐growing technological demands in the imaging sensor industry for autonomous driving and augmented reality, developing sensors that can satisfy not only image resolution but also the response speed becomes more challenging. Herein, the focus is on developing a high‐speed photosensor capable of obtaining high‐resolution, high‐speed imaging with colloidal quantum dots (QDs) as the photosensitive material. In detail, high‐speed QD photodiodes are demonstrated with rising and falling times of τ_r = 28.8 ± 8.34 ns and τ_f = 40 ± 9.81 ns, respectively, realized by fast separation of electron–hole pairs due to the action of internal electric field at the QD interface, mainly by the interaction between metal oxide and the QD's ligands. Such energy transfer relations are analyzed and interpreted with time‐resolved photoluminescence measurements, providing physical understanding of the device and working principles.     

Coordination Polymers Derived General Synthesis of Multishelled Mixed Metal‐Oxide Particles for Hybrid Supercapacitors

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) or coordination polymers (CPs) have been used as precursors for synthesis of materials. Unlike crystalline MOF, amorphous CP is nonspecific to metal cation species, therefore its composition can be tuned easily. Here, it is shown that amorphous CP can be used as general synthesis precursors of highly complex mixed metal oxide shells. As a proof of concept, Ni? Co coordination polymer spheres are first synthesized and subsequently transformed into seven‐layered Ni? Co oxide onions by rapid thermal oxidation. This approach is very versatile and can be applied to produce ternary and quaternary metal oxide onions with tunable size and composition. The Ni? Co oxide onions exhibit exceptional charge storage capability in aqueous electrolyte with high specific capacitance (≈1900 F g^?1 at 2 A g^?1), good rate capability, and ultrahigh cycling stability (93.6% retention over 20 000 cycles). A hybrid supercapacitor against graphene/multishelled mesoporous carbon sphere shows a high energy density of 52.6 Wh kg^?1 at a power density of 1604 W kg^?1 (based on active materials weight), as well as remarkable cycling stability.     

A General and Straightforward Route to Noble Metal‐Decorated Mesoporous Transition‐Metal Oxides with Enhanced Gas Sensing Performance

Controllable and efficient synthesis of noble metal/transition‐metal oxide (TMO) composites with tailored nanostructures and precise components is essential for their application. Herein, a general mercaptosilane‐assisted one‐pot coassembly approach is developed to synthesize ordered mesoporous TMOs with agglomerated‐free noble metal nanoparticles, including Au/WO₃, Au/TiO₂, Au/NbO_x, and Pt/WO₃. 3‐mercaptopropyl trimethoxysilane is applied as a bridge agent to cohydrolyze with metal oxide precursors by alkoxysilane moieties and interact with the noble metal source (e.g., HAuCl₄ and H₂PtCl₄) by mercapto (? SH) groups, resulting in coassembly with poly(ethylene oxide)‐b‐polystyrene. The noble metal decorated TMO materials exhibit highly ordered mesoporous structure, large pore size (≈14–20 nm), high specific surface area (61–138 m² g^?1), and highly dispersed noble metal (e.g., Au and Pt) nanoparticles. In the system of Au/WO₃, in situ generated SiO₂ incorporation not only enhances their thermal stability but also induces the formation of ε‐phase WO₃ promoting gas sensing performance. Owning to its specific compositions and structure, the gas sensor based on Au/WO₃ materials possess enhanced ethanol sensing performance with a good response (R_air/R_gas = 36–50 ppm of ethanol), high selectivity, and excellent low‐concentration detection capability (down to 50 ppb) at low working temperature (200 °C).     

Synthetic Control of Kinetic Reaction Pathway and Cationic Ordering in High‐Ni Layered Oxide Cathodes

Nickel‐rich layered transition metal oxides, LiNi_1?x (MnCo)_x O₂ (1?x ≥ 0.5), are appealing candidates for cathodes in next‐generation lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs) for electric vehicles and other large‐scale applications, due to their high capacity and low cost. However, synthetic control of the structural ordering in such a complex quaternary system has been a great challenge, especially in the presence of high Ni content. Herein, synthesis reactions for preparing layered LiNi_0.7Mn_0.15Co_0.15O₂ (NMC71515) by solid‐state methods are investigated through a combination of time‐resolved in situ high‐energy X‐ray diffraction and absorption spectroscopy measurements. The real‐time observation reveals a strong temperature dependence of the kinetics of cationic ordering in NMC71515 as a result of thermal‐driven oxidation of transition metals and lithium/oxygen loss that concomitantly occur during heat treatment. Through synthetic control of the kinetic reaction pathway, a layered NMC71515 with low cationic disordering and a high reversible capacity is prepared in air. The findings may help to pave the way for designing high‐Ni layered oxide cathodes for LIBs.     

Nanoscale Correlations between Metal–Insulator Transition and Resistive Switching Effect in Metallic Perovskite Oxides

Strongly correlated perovskite oxides are a class of materials with fascinating intrinsic physical functionalities due to the interplay of charge, spin, orbital ordering, and lattice degrees of freedom. Among the exotic phenomena arising from such an interplay, metal–insulator transitions (MITs) are fundamentally still not fully understood and are of large interest for novel nanoelectronics applications, such as resistive switching‐based memories and neuromorphic computing devices. In particular, rare‐earth nickelates and lanthanum strontium manganites are archetypical examples of bandwidth‐controlled and band‐filling‐controlled MIT, respectively, which are used in this work as a playground to correlate the switching characteristics of the oxides and their MIT properties by means of local probe techniques in a systematic manner. These findings suggest that an electric‐field‐induced MIT can be triggered in these strongly correlated systems upon generation of oxygen vacancies and establish that lower operational voltages and larger resistance ratios are obtained in those films where the MIT lies closer to room temperature. This work demonstrates the potential of using MITs in the next generation of nanoelectronics devices.