Ternary Sn–Ti–O Based Nanostructures as Anodes for Lithium Ion Batteries

SnO_x (x = 0, 1, 2) and TiO₂ are widely considered to be potential anode candidates for next generation lithium ion batteries. In terms of the lithium storage mechanisms, TiO₂ anodes operate on the base of the Li ion intercalation–deintercalation, and they typically display long cycling life and high rate capability, arising from the negligible cell volume change during the discharge–charge process, while their performance is limited by low specific capacity and low electronic conductivity. SnO_x anodes rely on the alloying–dealloying reaction with Li ions, and typically exhibit large specific capacity but poor cycling performance, originating from the extremely large volume change and thus the resultant pulverization problems. Making use of their advantages and minimizing the disadvantages, numerous strategies have been developed in the recent years to design composite nanostructured Sn–Ti–O ternary systems. This Review aims to provide rational understanding on their design and the improvement of electrochemical properties of such systems, including SnO_x–TiO₂ nanocomposites mixing at nanoscale and nanostructured Sn_xTi_1‐xO₂ solid solutions doped at the atomic level, as well as their combinations with carbon‐based nanomaterials.     

Selective semiconductor sensors for reducing and oxidizing gases

The ever-increasing need for sensors capable of detecting and monitoring toxic and flammable gases is presented and the various techniques available are introduced. Semiconductor devices based on tin dioxide, which potentially have many desirable characteristics, are discussed in detail with particular reference to the work in Swansea which has focused on the problem of selectivity.     

Hybrid Organic–Inorganic Perovskite Photodetectors

Hybrid organic–inorganic perovskite materials garner enormous attention for a wide range of optoelectronic devices. Due to their attractive optical and electrical properties including high optical absorption coefficient, high carrier mobility, and long carrier diffusion length, perovskites have opened up a great opportunity for high performance photodetectors. This review aims to give a comprehensive summary of the significant results on perovskite‐based photodetectors, focusing on the relationship among the perovskite structures, device configurations, and photodetecting performances. An introduction of recent progress in various perovskite structure‐based photodetectors is provided. The emphasis is placed on the correlation between the perovskite structure and the device performance. Next, recent developments of bandgap‐tunable perovskite and hybrid photodetectors built from perovskite heterostructures are highlighted. Then, effective approaches to enhance the stability of perovskite photodetector are presented, followed by the introduction of flexible and self‐powered perovskite photodetectors. Finally, a summary of the previous results is given, and the major challenges that need to be addressed in the future are outlined. A comprehensive summary of the research status on perovskite photodetectors is hoped to push forward the development of this field.     

Effect of aluminum doping on the high-temperature stability and piezoresistive response of indium tin oxide strain sensors

Ceramic strain sensors based on reactively sputtered indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films doped with aluminum are being considered to improve the high-temperature stability and response. Ceramic strain sensors were developed to monitor the structural integrity of components employed in aerospace propulsion systems operating at temperatures in excess of 1500 °C. Earlier studies using electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA) studies indicated that interfacial reactions between ITO and aluminum oxide increase the stability of ITO at elevated temperature. The resulting ESCA depth files showed the presence of two new indium-indium peaks at 448.85 and 456.40 eV, corresponding to the indium 3d5 and 3d3 binding energies. These binding energies are significantly higher than those associated with stoichiometric indium oxide. Based on these studies, a combinatorial chemistry approach was used to screen large numbers of possible concentrations to optimize the stability and performance of Al-doped ceramic strain sensors. Scanning electron microscopy was used to analyze the combinatorial libraries in which varying amounts of aluminum were incorporated into ITO films formed by cosputtering from multiple targets. Electrical stability and piezoresistive response of these films were compared to undoped ITO films over the same temperature range.     

Stabilizing MoS2 Nanosheets through SnO2 Nanocrystal Decoration for High‐Performance Gas Sensing in Air

The unique properties of MoS₂ nanosheets make them a promising candidate for high‐performance room temperature sensing. However, the properties of pristine MoS₂ nanosheets are strongly influenced by the significant adsorption of oxygen in an air environment, which leads to instability of the MoS₂ sensing device, and all sensing results on MoS₂ reported to date were exclusively obtained in an inert atmosphere. This significantly limits the practical sensor application of MoS₂ in an air environment. Herein, a novel nanohybrid of SnO₂ nanocrystal (NC)‐decorated crumpled MoS₂ nanosheet (MoS₂/SnO₂) and its exciting air‐stable property for room temperature sensing of NO₂ are reported. Interestingly, the SnO₂ NCs serve as strong p‐type dopants for MoS₂, leading to p‐type channels in the MoS₂ nanosheets. The SnO₂ NCs also significantly enhance the stability of MoS₂ nanosheets in dry air. As a result, unlike other MoS₂ sensors operated in an inert gas (e.g. N₂), the nanohybrids exhibit high sensitivity, excellent selectivity, and repeatability to NO₂ under a practical dry air environment. This work suggests that NC decoration significantly tunes the properties of MoS₂ nanosheets for various applications.     

Flexible Piezoelectric ZnO–Paper Nanocomposite Strain Sensor

The fabrication of a mechanically flexible, piezoelectric nanocomposite material for strain sensing applications is reported. Nanocomposite material consisting of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructures embedded in a stable matrix of paper (cellulose fibers) is prepared by a solvothermal method. The applicability of this material as a strain sensor is demonstrated by studying its real‐time current response under both static and dynamic mechanical loading. The material presented highlights a novel approach to introduce flexibility into strain sensors by embedding crystalline piezoelectric material in a flexible cellulose‐based secondary matrix.     

Highly Compressible Integrated Supercapacitor–Piezoresistance‐Sensor System with CNT–PDMS Sponge for Health Monitoring

Rapid improvement of wearable electronics stimulates the demands for the matched functional devices and energy storage devices. Meanwhile, wearable microsystem requires every parts possessing high compressibility to accommodate large‐scale mechanical deformations and complex conditions. In this work, a general carbon nanotube–polydimethylsiloxane (CNT–PDMS) sponge electrode is fabricated as the elementary component of the compressible system. CNT–PDMS sponge performs high sensitivity as a piezoresistance sensor, which is capable of detecting stress repeatedly and owns great electrochemical performance as a compressible supercapacitor which maintains stably under compressive strains, respectively. Assembled with the piezoresistance sensor and the compressible supercapacitor, such highly compressible integrated system can power and modulate the low‐power electronic devices reliably. More importantly, attached to the epidermal skin or clothes, it can detect human motions, ranging from speech recognition to breathing record, thus showing feasibility in real‐time health monitor and human–machine interfaces.     

Polystannanes: Polymers of a Molecular,Jacketed Metal–Wire Structure

Organometallic polymers comprising a backbone of covalently connected metal atoms can be regarded as molecular metal wires surrounded by a jacket of organic matter. Such polymers are rare and their materials properties are largely unexplored. Here, we report on polystannanes, (SnR₂)_n, that is, polymers with a backbone of tin atoms, which are synthesized by dehydropolymerization of dialkylstannanes (H₂SnR₂) with the catalyst [RhCl(PPh₃)₃]. The polystannanes feature reversible phase transitions into liquid‐crystalline states, remarkably, even below room temperature, and, interestingly, oriented either parallel or perpendicular to external driving forces, depending on the length of the alkyl substituents.     

Stability of industrial-grade platinum resistance thermometers in the range 77 – 273 K

The paper pays attention to stability of 10 two-lead industrial-grade 100 Ω platinum resistance thermometers used in the temperature range from 77 to 273 K. The static stability was checked by the method of storing the thermometers for about two years, the dynamic stability was tested by the method of cycling the thermometers in 25 cycles from room temperature to the temperature of liquid nitrogen. it has been found that the static instability of the thermometers ranged within + 2.5 to + 7.7 mK only one thermometer showed –2.5 K The dynamic instability ranged within –5 mK to –80 mK only one thermometer showed +35 mK.     

Dilute Al–Mn alloys for superconductor device applications

We discuss results on the superconducting and electron-transport properties of Mn-doped Al produced by sputter deposition. The critical temperature of Al has been systematically reduced to below 50 mK by doping with 1000–3000 ppm Mn. Values of the parameter are in the range of 450–500, indicating sharp normal-to-superconductor transitions. This material is thus of significant interest for both transition-edge sensors operating in the 100 mK regime and superconductor/insulator/superconductor and superconductor/insulator/normal devices, in the latter case where appropriately doped Al–Mn replaces the normal metal.     

Laser‐Induced Molybdenum Carbide–Graphene Composites for 3D Foldable Paper Electronics

Versatile and low‐cost manufacturing processes/materials are essential for the development of paper electronics. Here, a direct‐write laser patterning process is developed to make conductive molybdenum carbide–graphene (MCG) composites directly on paper substrates. The hierarchically porous MCG structures are converted from fibrous paper soaked with the gelatin‐mediated inks containing molybdenum ions. The resulting Mo₃C₂ and graphene composites are mechanically stable and electrochemically active for various potential applications, such as electrochemical ion detectors and gas sensors, energy harvesters, and supercapacitors. Experimentally, the electrical conductivity of the composite is resilient to mechanical deformation with less than 5% degradation after 750 cycles of 180° repeated folding tests. As such, the direct laser conversion of MCGs on papers can be applicable for paper‐based electronics, including the 3D origami folding structures.     

Anisotropy of Young's modulus and tensile properties in cold rolled α′ martensite Ti–V–Sn alloys

Young's modulus and tensile properties of cold rolled Ti–8 mass% V and (Ti–8 mass% V)–4 mass% Sn alloy plates consisting of α′ martensite were investigated as a function of tensile axis orientation in this work. A single phase of α′ (hcp) martensite is obtained in Ti–8 mass% V and (Ti–8 mass% V)–4 mass% Sn alloys by quenching after solution treatment. By 86% cold rolling, acicular α′ martensite microstructures change into extremely refined dislocation cell-like structure with an average size of 60 nm, accompanied with the development of cold rolling texture in which the basal plane normal is tilted from the plate normal direction (ND) toward transverse direction (TD) at angles of ±49° for Ti–8% V alloy and ±46° for (Ti–8 mass% V)–4 mass% Sn alloy. No apparent anisotropy of Young's modulus (E) is observed for as-quenched Ti–8% V (E = 76–83 GPa) and (Ti–8% V)-4%Sn (E = 69–79 GPa). In contrast, Young's modulus increases with increasing angle from the rolling direction (RD) to TD for cold rolled Ti–8% V (E = 72–94 GPa) and (Ti–8% V)–4%Sn (E = 63–85 GPa). The observed anisotropy of Young's modulus can be reasonably explained in terms of the cold rolling α′ texture.0.2% proof stress and tensile strength are independent of tensile orientation for cold rolled Ti–8% V and (Ti–8% V)–4%Sn alloys. In contrast, larger elongation to fracture is obtained in specimens deviated by 30°, 45° and 60° from RD than by 0°, 75° and 90°. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) fractographs reveal that quasi-cleavage-like fracture plane appears in 0° specimen of cold rolled Ti–8% V which shows brittle fracture and other specimens of cold rolled Ti–8% V and (Ti–8% V)–4%Sn alloys are fractured accompanied with necking and dimple formation. It is suggested from these results that brittle fracture is related to the activation of limited number of slip system and Sn addition leads to the activation of multiple slip systems.     

Elaboration and characterization of metallic foams based on tin–lead

This study is devoted to the fabrication of metallic foams based on tin–lead of various relative densities and pore sizes by means of the liquid alloy infiltration process and its characterization (mechanical behavior and microstructure). Room temperature uniaxial compression tests were carried out in order to study the influence of the size of cell and of the relative density on the behavior in compression and to interpret these relations within a framework. A characterization on a microscopic scale (metallography and hardness) is achieved in order to link the morphological and mechanical characteristics of the constitutive phases, the parameters of the process and the macroscopic mechanical behavior.