Engineering oxygen vacancy-rich Co3O4 nanowire as high-efficiency and durable bifunctional electrocatalyst for overall alkaline water splitting

A novel kind of vacancy-rich nanowire arrays were prepared by reducing rough Co₃O₄ nanowires with NaBH₄ solution on 3D nickel foam at room temperature for overall water splitting. Co₃O₄/NF treated by NaBH₄ for 10 min was highly active for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and simultaneously efficient for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) with the need of the overpotentials of 240 and 132 mV to drive 10 mA·cm^-2 in alkaline media, respectively. Furthermore, the electrocatalysts as both cathode and anode in a two-electrode system presented excellent durability for over 60 h at 10 mA·cm^-2, maintaining the cell voltage of merely 1.63 V. This work provides new methods and ideas for the preparation of transition metal oxide bifunctional electrocatalysts rich in oxygen vacancies.     

HCP晶体中溶质原子异常快速扩散现象的机制

根据本文提出的转换溶质原子－空位复合体扩散的机制，估算了ＨＣＰ晶体中某些具有异常快速扩散现象的溶质原子的扩散系数，结果表明复合体扩散机制可以很好地解释此现象。     

固溶条件对一种新型亚稳β钛合金时效响应的影响

根据近临界钼当量和多元强化原则设计了一种新型亚稳β钛合金（Ti-B20），以室温拉伸性能和显微组织为主要考察内容研究了固溶处理对这种新合金时效响应的影响。结果表明：在同样的时效条件下，该合金的抗拉伸强度随着固溶温度的升高而升高，而固溶后水淬比空冷能产生更高的硬化效应，分析结果揭示了该合金独特的时效响应来自于其亚稳β相较低的稳定性和过剩空位对析出的共同作用。     

Electrical properties of La0.6Sr0.4Co1-yFeyO3 cathode material

The electrical properties of La0.6Sr0.4Co1-yFeyO3 （LSCF, y=0-1.0） cathode materials were measured by DC four probes, X-ray photo-electron spectrum （XPS） was also introduced to determine the chemical state of Co, F.e ions in LSCF. It is found that the electrical conductivity of each sample has a maximum value with increasing temperature. XPS analysis shows that Co ion has three different chemical states, corresponding to two with Fe ion. The analyses indicates that the small-polaron hopping mechanism dominates the electron conduction at low temperature, while at high temperature, the three factors such as the thermally activated disproportionation of Co^3＋ ions into Co^2＋ and Co^4＋ pairs, the ionic compensation of oxygen vacancies formed at high temperatures, and Fe^4＋ ions charge compensation preferential to Co^4＋, all contribute to electrical conduction.     

SiO_2/Al_2O_3 RATIO OF HYDRATED SODIUM ALUMINOSILICATE IN ALUMINA PRODUCTION

ＳｉＯ２／Ａｌ２Ｏ３ＲＡＴＩＯＯＦＨＹＤＲＡＴＥＤＳＯＤＩＵＭＡＬＵＭＩＮＯＳＩＬＩＣＡＴＥＩＮＡＬＵＭＩＮＡＰＲＯＤＵＣＴＩＯＮ①ＤｅｎｇＨｏｎｇｍｅｉ，ＺｅｎｇＷｅｎｍｉｎｇ，ＣｈｅｎＮｉａｎｙｉＳｈａｎｇｈａｉＩｎｓｔｉｔｕｔｅｏｆＭｅｔａｌｕ...     

Fe-Al合金中与Al反位置原子弛豫有关的内耗峰

利用内耗方法对Fe47Al53合金中Al反位置原子的运动特征进行了研究,在410℃附近观察到了一个与合金热历史相关的弛豫型内耗峰.在快冷样品中内耗峰高度明显高于慢冷样品时内耗峰的高度;而对于快冷样品,升温测量时内耗峰高度又明显高于随后的降温测量时内耗峰的高度,内耗峰高度表明该内耗峰与快冷时残留的缺陷有关.由于该内耗峰激活能为1.88 eV,与Fe47Al53合金中Fe空位的迁移能相当,因而该峰应产生于应力诱导下Al反位置原子在Fe空位之间的运动.     

Electrochemically Induced Crystalline-to-Amorphous Transition of Dinuclear Polyoxovanadate for High-Rate Lithium-Ion Batteries

Polyoxometalates are intriguing high-capacity anode materials for alkali-metal-ion storage due to their multi-electron redox capabilities and flexible structure. However, their poor electrical conductivity and high working voltage severely restrict their practical application. Herein, the dinuclear polyoxovanadate Sr₂V₂O₇·H₂O with unusually high electrical conductivity is reported as a promising anode material for lithium-ion batteries. During the initial lithiation process, the Sr₂V₂O₇·H₂O anode experiences an electrochemically induced crystalline-to-amorphous transition. The resulting amorphous structure provides high redox activity and fast reaction kinetics via reversible V^4.9+/V^2.8+ redox couple through the intercalation mechanism. Furthermore, when coupled with the LiFePO₄ cathode, the strong V O bonds of the amorphous anode provide excellent structural stability, with the full-cell capable of performing >12 000 cycles with a capacity retention of 72%. Another advantage of Sr_2xV₂O_7-δ·yH₂O (0.5 ≤ x ≤ 1.0) is its composition adjustability, which enables delicately regulating the Sr vacancy content without destroying the structure. The defect Sr_2xV₂O_7-δ·yH₂O (x = 0.5) electrodes show significantly improved specific capacity and rate capability without sacrificing other key properties, delivering a high specific capacity of 479 mAh g^-1 at 0.1 mA cm^-2 and 41.9% of its capacity in 2 min. Overall, the preliminary study points the way forward for the facile preparation of high-quality polyoxometalates for advanced energy storage applications and beyond.     

Local Electronic Structure Modulation Enables Fast-Charging Capability for Li-Rich Mn-Based Oxides Cathodes With Reversible Anionic Redox Activity

Anionic and cationic redox chemistries boost ultrahigh specific capacities of Li-rich Mn-based oxides cathodes (LRMO). However, irreversible oxygen evolution and sluggish kinetics result in continuous capacity decay and poor rate performance, restricting the commercial fast-charging cathodes application for lithium ion batteries. Herein, the local electronic structure of LRMO is appropriately modulated to alleviate oxygen release, enhance anionic redox reversibility, and facilitate Li⁺ diffusion via facile surface defect engineering. Concretely, oxygen vacancies integrated on the surface of LRMO reduce the density of states of O 2p band and trigger much delocalized electrons to distribute around the transition metal, resulting in less oxygen release, enhancing reversible anionic redox and the MnO₆ octahedral distortion. Besides, partially reduced Mn and lattice vacancies synchronously stimulate the electrochemical activity and boost the electronic conductivity, Li⁺ diffusion rate, and fast charge transfer. Therefore, the modified LRMO exhibits enhanced cyclic stability and fast-charging capability: a high discharging capacity of 212.6 mAh·g⁻¹ with 86.98% capacity retention after 100 cycles at 1 C is obtained and to charge to its 80%, SOC is shortened to 9.4 min at 5 C charging rate. This work will draw attention to boosting the fast-charging capability of LRMO via the local electronic structure modulation.     

A Phase Engineering Strategy of Perovskite-Type ZnSnO3:Nd for Boosting the Sonodynamic Therapy Performance

The sensitization performance of sonosensitizers plays a key role in the sonodynamic therapy (SDT) effect. Herein, ZnSnO₃:Nd nanoparticles with R3c phase/amorphous heterogeneous structure are developed by phase engineering strategy and applied as an ideal sonosensitizer. In the crystalline perovskite-type ZnSnO₃:Nd, the substitution of the Zn²⁺ with Nd³⁺ causes the O 2p non-bonded state to move toward the Fermi level, which optimizes the band structure for ultrasound sensitization by reducing bandgap. Meanwhile, the unequal charge substitution can also form electron traps and oxygen vacancies to shorten the electron migration distance, which accelerates the electron–hole separation and inhibits carrier recombination, thus improving the acoustic sensitivity. Moreover, the dangling bonds exposed on the surface of amorphous ZnSnO₃:Nd provide more active sites, and the localized states of the amorphous phase may also promote carrier separation, resulting in synergistic SDT effect. In particular, the Zn²⁺ released from ZnSnO₃:Nd in the acidic tumor microenvironment (TME) reduces the adenosine triphosphate production by inhibiting the electron transport chain , which promotes the tumor cell apoptosis through destroying the redox balance of TME. Combining the inherent second near infrared and computed tomography imaging capabilities, this ZnSnO₃:Nd nanoplatform shows a promising perspective in clinic SDT field.     

Vacancy Manipulation Induced Optimal Carrier Concentration,Band Convergence and Low Lattice Thermal Conductivity in Nano-Crystalline SnTe Yielding Superior Thermoelectric Performance

Synergetic optimization of electrical and thermal transport properties is achieved for SnTe-based nano-crystalline materials. Gd doping is able to suppress the Sn vacancy, which is confirmed by positron annihilation measurements and corresponding theoretical calculations. Hence, the optimal hole carrier concentration is obtained, leading to the improvement of electrical transport performance and simultaneous decrease of electronic thermal conductivity. In addition, the incremental density of states effective mass m* in SnTe is realized by the promotion of the band convergence via Gd doping, which is further confirmed by the band structure calculation. Hence, the enhancement of the Seebeck coefficient is also achieved, leading to a high power factor of 2922 µW m⁻¹ K⁻² for Sn_0.96Gd_0.04Te at 900 K. Meanwhile, substantial suppression of the lattice thermal conductivity is observed in Gd-doped SnTe, which is originated from enhanced phonon scattering by multiple processes including mass and strain fluctuations due to the Gd doping, scattering of grain boundaries, nano-pores, and secondary phases induced by Gd doping. With the decreased phonon mean free path and reduced average phonon group velocity, a rather low lattice thermal conductivity is achieved. As a result, the synergetic optimization of the electric and thermal transport properties contributes to a rather high ZT value of ≈1.5 at 900 K, leading to the superior thermoelectric performance of SnTe-based nanoscale polycrystalline materials.