Highly Stable Sb/C Anode for K+ and Na+ Energy Storage Enabled by Pulsed Laser Ablation and Polydopamine Coating

Potassium- and sodium-ion batteries (PIBs and SIBs) have great potential as the next-generation energy application owing to the natural abundance of K and Na. Antimony (Sb) is a suitable alloying-type anode for PIBs and SIBs due to its high theoretical capacity and proper operation voltage; yet, the severe volume variation remains a challenge. Herein, a preparation of N-doped carbon-wrapped Sb nanoparticles (L-Sb/NC) using pulsed laser ablation and polydopamine coating techniques, is reported. As the anode for PIB and SIB, the L-Sb/NC delivers superior rate capabilities and excellent cycle stabilities (442.2 and 390.5 mA h g⁻¹ after 250 cycles with the capacity decay of 0.037% and 0.038% per cycle) at the current densities of 0.5 and 1.0 A g⁻¹, respectively. Operando X-ray diffraction reveals the facilitated and stable potassiation and sodiation mechanisms of L-Sb/NC enabled by its optimal core–shell structure. Furthermore, the SIB full cell fabricated with L-Sb/NC and Na₃V₂(PO₄)₂F₃ shows outstanding electrochemical performances, demonstrating its practical energy storage application.     

Novel Mg- and Ga-doped ZnO/Li-Doped Graphene Oxide Transparent Electrode/Electron-Transporting Layer Combinations for High-Performance Thin-Film Solar Cells (Small 22/2023)

Herein, a novel combination of Mg- and Ga-co-doped ZnO (MGZO)/Li-doped graphene oxide (LGO) transparent electrode (TE)/electron-transporting layer (ETL) has been applied for the first time in Cu₂ZnSn(S,Se)₄ (CZTSSe) thin-film solar cells (TFSCs). MGZO has a wide optical spectrum with high transmittance compared to that with conventional Al-doped ZnO (AZO), enabling additional photon harvesting, and has a low electrical resistance that increases electron collection rate. These excellent optoelectronic properties significantly improved the short-circuit current density and fill factor of the TFSCs. Additionally, the solution-processable alternative LGO ETL prevented plasma-induced damage to chemical bath deposited cadmium sulfide (CdS) buffer, thereby enabling the maintenance of high-quality junctions using a thin CdS buffer layer (≈30 nm). Interfacial engineering with LGO improved the V_oc of the CZTSSe TFSCs from 466 to 502 mV. Furthermore, the tunable work function obtained through Li doping generated a more favorable band offset in CdS/LGO/MGZO interfaces, thereby, improving the electron collection. The MGZO/LGO TE/ETL combination achieved a power conversion efficiency of 10.67%, which is considerably higher than that of conventional AZO/intrinsic ZnO (8.33%).     

Adlayer‐Free Large‐Area Single Crystal Graphene Grown on a Cu(111) Foil

To date, thousands of publications have reported chemical vapor deposition growth of “single layer” graphene, but none of them has described truly single layer graphene over large area because a fraction of the area has adlayers. It is found that the amount of subsurface carbon (leading to additional nuclei) in Cu foils directly correlates with the extent of adlayer growth. Annealing in hydrogen gas atmosphere depletes the subsurface carbon in the Cu foil. Adlayer‐free single crystal and polycrystalline single layer graphene films are grown on Cu(111) and polycrystalline Cu foils containing no subsurface carbon, respectively. This single crystal graphene contains parallel, centimeter‐long ≈100 nm wide “folds,” separated by 20 to 50 µm, while folds (and wrinkles) are distributed quasi‐randomly in the polycrystalline graphene film. High‐performance field‐effect transistors are readily fabricated in the large regions between adjacent parallel folds in the adlayer‐free single crystal graphene film.     

Targeted disruption of the Ca2+ channel beta3 subunit reduces N- and L-type Ca2+ channel activity and alters the voltage-dependent activation of P/Q-type Ca2+ channels in neurons

In comparison to the well characterized role of the principal subunit of voltage-gated Ca2+ channels, the pore-forming, antagonist-binding alpha1 subunit, considerably less is understood about how beta subunits contribute to neuronal Ca2+ channel function. We studied the role of the Ca2+ channel beta3 subunit, the major Ca2+ channel beta subunit in neurons, by using a gene-targeting strategy. The beta3 deficient (beta3-/-) animals were indistinguishable from the wild type (wt) with no gross morphological or histological differences. However, in sympathetic beta3-/- neurons, the L- and N-type current was significantly reduced relative to wt. Voltage-dependent activation of P/Q-type Ca2+ channels was described by two Boltzmann components with different voltage dependence, analogous to the "reluctant" and "willing" states reported for N-type channels. The absence of the beta3 subunit was associated with a hyperpolarizing shift of the "reluctant" component of activation. Norepinephrine inhibited wt and beta3-/- neurons similarly but the voltage sensitive component was greater for N-type than P/Q-type Ca2+ channels. The reduction in the expression of N-type Ca2+ channels in the beta3-/- mice may be expected to impair Ca2+ entry and therefore synaptic transmission in these animals. This effect may be reversed, at least in part, by the increase in the proportion of P/Q channels activated at less depolarized voltage levels.     

Chirped polarization volume grating for wide FOV and high‐efficiency waveguide‐based AR displays

We demonstrate a reflective chirped polarization volume grating as a strong contender for wide field‐of‐view augmented reality display systems. By introducing gradient pitch along the beam propagation direction, the angular bandwidth extends dramatically from 18° to 54° while keeping over 80% average efficiency and 95% peak efficiency.     

Arm movement activity based user authentication in P2P systems

Peer-to-Peer Networking and Applications - User authentication has become an essential security element that enables a wide range of applications in P2P systems for higher security and safety...     

Exploiting spatial-temporal context for trajectory based action video retrieval

Multimedia Tools and Applications - Retrieving videos with similar actions is an important task with many applications. Yet it is very challenging due to large variations across different videos....     

Quantum channel discrimination without entanglement

We address the problem of unambiguous discrimination of quantum channels (UDQC) without entanglement. As our main result, we show that even in the absence of entanglement, partial UDQC (PUDQC) can still be performed—depending on the unknown given channel. We provide a necessary and sufficient condition for PUDQC and put forth a method to perform the PUDQC once the said condition is met. We propose the performance metrics that capture the expected performance of the PUDQC independent of the specific channels to be distinguished. Finally, we perform PUDQC on several qubit channel pairs as concrete examples and derive the proposed performance metrics for these channel pairs.     

Improvement of Shipboard Landing Performance of Fixed-wing UAV Using Model Predictive Control

This paper investigates automatic UAV carrier landing using model predictive control that considers carrier deck motions. With dynamic models of a medium-altitude, long-endurance UAV and an aircraft carrier, the proposed guidance and control approach takes the relative geometry between the UAV and the carrier deck into account for safer shipboard landings. Automatic carrier landing is performed sequentially by two types of control systems. A linear quadratic regulator with an integral term is applied up to a few seconds before touchdown followed by a model predictive controller. At this time, optimal control input sequences over a certain time horizon are calculated in real time by predicting the motions of the carrier deck and the UAV. Numerical simulations are performed for a UAV and a carrier with heave motion to verify the feasibility of the proposed approach.     

Forecasting the volatility of a combined multi‐country stock index using GWMA algorithms

Globalization has increased the volatility of international financial transactions, particularly those related to international stock markets. An increase in the volatility of one country's stock market spreads throughout the globe, affecting other countries' stock markets. In particular, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plays an extremely important role in the international stock market. This paper uses the generally weighted moving average method and data from the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations, Japan's Nikkei 225, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index, and the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index to predict the performance of the Taiwan Capitalization Weighted Stock Index. This paper attempts to find the smallest prediction error using the optimal combination of generally weighted moving average model parameters and combinations of various international stock market data and compares the results to that found using the exponentially weighted moving average model to explore differences between the two types of forecasting models.