Showing papers in "Advanced Functional Materials in 2020"
634 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the performance of transparent wood is optimized toward an energy effcient window material that possesses the following attributes: 1) high optical transmittance (≈91%), comparable to that of glass; 2) high clarity with low haze; 3) high toughness (3.03 MJ m−3); 4) low thermal conductivity (0.19 W m−1 K−1) that is more than 5 times lower than glass; and 5) low carbon emissions and scaling capabilities due to its compatibility with industryadopted rotary cutting methods.
Abstract: The energy used for regulating building temperatures accounts for 14% of the primary energy consumed in the U.S. One-quarter of this energy is leaked through ineffcient glass windows in cold weather. The development of transparent composites could potentially provide affordable window materials with enhanced energy effciency. Transparent wood as a promising material has presented desirable performances in thermal and light management. In this work, the performance of transparent wood is optimized toward an energy effcient window material that possesses the following attributes: 1) high optical transmittance (≈91%), comparable to that of glass; 2) high clarity with low haze (≈15%); 3) high toughness (3.03 MJ m−3) that is 3 orders of magnitude higher than standard glass (0.003 MJ m−3); 4) low thermal conductivity (0.19 W m−1 K−1) that is more than 5 times lower than that of glass. Additionally, the transparent wood is a sustainable material, with low carbon emissions and scaling capabilities due to its compatibility with industryadopted rotary cutting methods. The scalable, high clarity, transparent wood demonstrated in current work can potentially be employed as energy effcient and sustainable windows for signifcant environmental and economic benefts.
541 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a highly viscoelastic polyvinyl butyral film, functioning as an artificial solid/electrolyte interphase (SEI), is homogeneously deposited on the Zn surface via a simple spin-coating strategy.
Abstract: Zn metal has been regarded as the most promising anode for aqueous batteries due to its high capacity, low cost, and environmental benignity. Zn anode still suffers, however, from low Coulombic efficiency due to the side reactions and dendrite growth in slightly acidic electrolytes. Here, the Zn plating/stripping mechanism is thoroughly investigated in 1 m ZnSO4 electrolyte, demonstrating that the poor performance of Zn metal in mild electrolyte should be ascribed to the formation of a porous by-product (Zn4SO4(OH)6·xH2O) layer and serious dendrite growth. To suppress the side reactions and dendrite growth, a highly viscoelastic polyvinyl butyral film, functioning as an artificial solid/electrolyte interphase (SEI), is homogeneously deposited on the Zn surface via a simple spin-coating strategy. This dense artificial SEI film not only effectively blocks water from the Zn surface but also guides the uniform stripping/plating of Zn ions underneath the film due to its good adhesion, hydrophilicity, ionic conductivity, and mechanical strength. Consequently, this side-reaction-free and dendrite-free Zn electrode exhibits high cycling stability and enhanced Coulombic efficiency, which also contributes to enhancement of the full-cell performance when it is coupled with MnO2 and LiFePO4 cathodes.
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TL;DR: In vivo experiments prove that the hydrogels have good hemostasis of skin trauma and high killing ratio for methicillin‐resistant staphylococcus aureus and achieve better wound closure and healing of skin incision than medical glue and surgical suture.
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TL;DR: An overview on the state‐of‐the‐art antimicrobial nanosized metal‐based compounds is provided, including metal and metal oxide nanoparticles as well as transition metal nanosheets, and their biomedical applications such as catheters, implants, medical delivery systems, tissue engineering, and dentistry.
TL;DR: PtCu3 nanocages are first reported as acting as a sonosensitizer with highly efficient ROS generation under ultrasound irradiation, and can act as horseradish peroxidase‐like nanozymes, catalyzing the decomposition of H2O2 into •OH under acidic conditions for CDT.
TL;DR: In this article, the Leverhulme Trust (RPG-2016-047) and the NarrowbandSSL EC Grant Agreement No: 838885 have been used to support the work of the authors of this paper.
Abstract: We thank the Leverhulme Trust (RPG-2016-047) for the financial support. S.S. acknowledges sup-port from the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship (NarrowbandSSL EC Grant Agree-ment No: 838885). Computational resources have been provided by the Consortium des Equipements de Calcul Inten-sif (CECI), funded by the Fonds de la Recherche Scientifiques de Belgique (F.R.S.-FNRS) under Grant No. 2.5020.11, as well as the Tier-1 supercomputer of the Federation Wallonie-Bruxelles, infrastructure funded by the Walloon Region under the grant agreement n1117545. DB is a FNRS Research Director.
TL;DR: In this article, 3D interconnected networks of 1T-MoS2/Ti3C2 MXene heterostructures are constructed by magneto-hydrothermal synthesis, and the electrochemical storage mechanisms are investigated.
Abstract: 2D/2D heterostructures can combine the collective advantages of each 2D material and even show improved properties from synergistic effects. 2D Transition metal carbide Ti3C2 MXene and 2D 1T-MoS2 have emerged as attractive prototypes in electrochemistry due to their rich properties. Construction of these two 2D materials, as well as investigation about synergistic effects, is absent due to the instability of 1T-MoS2. Here, 3D interconnected networks of 1T-MoS2/Ti3C2 MXene heterostructure are constructed by magneto-hydrothermal synthesis, and the electrochemical storage mechanisms are investigated. Improved extra capacitance is observed due to enlarged ion storage space from a synergistically interplayed effect in 3D interconnected networks. Outstanding rate performance is realized because of ultrafast electron transport originating from Ti3C2 MXene. This work provides an archetype to realize excellent electrochemical properties in 2D/2D heterostructures.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors highlight the novel and exciting antifouling techniques while simultaneously assessing their performance and practical feasibility, and highlight some of the most promising antifoul-resistant, release and degradation-degrading coatings.
Abstract: While nature has optimized its antifouling strategies over millions of years, synthetic antifouling coatings have not yet reached technological maturity. For an antifouling coating to become technically feasible, it should fulfill many requirements: high effectiveness, long-term stability, durability, ecofriendliness, large-scale applicability, and more. It is therefore not surprising that the search for the perfect antifouling coating has been going on for decades. With the discovery of metal-based antifouling paints in the 1970s, fouling was thought to be a problem of the past, yet its untargeted toxicity led to serious ecological concern, and its use became prohibited. As a response, research shifted focus toward a biocompatible alternative: polymer-based antifouling coatings. This has resulted in numerous advanced and innovative antifouling strategies, including fouling-resistant, fouling-release, and fouling-degrading coatings. Here, these novel and exciting discoveries are highlighted while simultaneously assessing their antifouling performance and practical feasibility.
TL;DR: In this article, a hierarchical carbon fiber (CF)@MXene@MoS2 (CMM) core-sheath synergistic structure with tunable and efficient microwave absorption (MA) properties is fabricated by introducing self-assembled Ti3C2Tx MXene on the surface of CF and subsequent anchoring of MoS2.
Abstract: Microcosmic 3D hierarchical structural design has proved to be an effective strategy to obtain high‐performance microwave absorbers, although the treatments to low‐dimensional cells in monolithic framework are usually based on semiempirical rules. In this work, a hierarchical carbon fiber (CF)@MXene@MoS2 (CMM) core‐sheath synergistic structure with tunable and efficient microwave absorption (MA) properties is fabricated by introducing self‐assembled Ti3C2Tx MXene on the surface of CF and subsequent anchoring of MoS2. By the synergistic effects from the MXene sheath increasing the conductive loss and MoS2 at the outermost layer improving the impedance matching, the MA performance of CMM can be effectively regulated and optimized: the optimal reflection loss is −61.51 dB with a thickness of 3.5 mm and the maximum effective absorption bandwidth covers the whole Ku‐band with 7.6 GHz at 2.1 mm. Meanwhile, the whole X‐band absorption can also be achieved with specific MoS2 loading at an optimized thickness.
TL;DR: The transition metal phosphides (TMPs) possess a series of advantages, such as high conductivity, earth-abundance reserves, and good physicochemical properties, therefore arousing wide attention as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Developing highly efficient and stable electrocatalysts plays an important role in energy‐related electrocatalysis fields. Transition‐metal phosphides (TMPs) possess a series of advantages, such as high conductivity, earth‐abundance reserves, and good physicochemical properties, therefore arousing wide attention. In this review, the electrochemical activity origin of TMPs, allowing the rational design and construction of phosphides toward various energy‐relevant reactions is first discussed. Subsequently, their unique energy‐related electrocatalysis nature toward hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), oxygen evolution reaction (OER), oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR), carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO2RR), nitrogen reduction reaction (NRR), urea oxidation reaction (UOR), methanol oxidation reaction (MOR), and others is highlighted. Then, the TMPs’ synthetic strategies are analyzed and summarized systematically. Finally, the existing key issues, countermeasures, and the future challenges of TMPs toward efficient energy‐related electrocatalysis are briefly discussed.
TL;DR: In this paper, a review of the potential of layered transition metal oxides and Prussian blue analogs as cathode materials for SIBs is presented, with a brief outlook on future prospects.
Abstract: With the unprecedentedly increasing demand for renewable and clean energy sources, the sodium-ion battery (SIB) is emerging as an alternative or complementary energy storage candidate to the present commercial lithium-ion battery due to the abundance and low cost of sodium resources. Layered transition metal oxides and Prussian blue analogs are reviewed in terms of their commercial potential as cathode materials for SIBs. The recent progress in research on their half cells and full cells for the ultimate application in SIBs are summarized. In addition, their electrochemical performance, suitability for scaling up, cost, and environmental concerns are compared in detail with a brief outlook on future prospects. It is anticipated that this review will inspire further development of layered transition metal oxides and Prussian blue analogs for SIBs, especially for their emerging commercialization.