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less, further market penetration of EVs is impeded by the short driving range and long charging time of the rechargeable LIBs. [4][5][6] The United States Department of Energy has been fostering extreme fast charging (XFC) technology with a goal of 15 min recharge time to meet the EVs requirement. [7,8] They realized that the advancement of XFC technology is contingent on the development of electrode materials capable of fast charging. [9,10] However, current electrode materials, including graphite anode and metal oxide cathode, are unable to achieve the XFC technology goal without essentially sacrificing energy density and safety considerations. [11][12][13] The sluggish charge transfer and unfavorable mass transportation significantly impair the rate capability of many bulk electrode materials. [14,15] Rational design of the electrode structure and electrolyte mass transportation is essential to realize superior rate performance in the liquid electrolyte LIBs. [16][17][18][19] Spinel lithium titanate (Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 , LTO) has emerged as a promising anode material for fast charging LIBs due to its superior rate capability and safety comparing with graphite. [20][21][22] However, the LTO material still requires further optimization to meet the fast charging applications because of its low electrical There remain significant challenges in developing fast-charging materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) due to sluggish ion diffusion kinetics and unfavorable electrolyte mass transportation in battery electrodes. In this work, a mesoporous single-crystalline lithium titanate (MSC-LTO) microrod that can realize exceptional fast charge/discharge performance and excellent longterm stability in LIBs is reported. The MSC-LTO microrods are featured with a single-crystalline structure and interconnected pores inside the entire singlecrystalline body. These features not only shorten the lithium-ion diffusion distance but also allow for the penetration of electrolytes into the single-crystalline interior during battery cycling. Hence, the MSC-LTO microrods exhibit unprecedentedly high rate capability, achieving a specific discharge capacity of ≈174 mAh g −1 at 10 C, which is very close to its theoretical capacity, and ≈169 mAh g −1 at 50 C. More importantly, the porous single-crystalline microrods greatly mitigate the structure degradation during a long-term cycling test, offering ≈92% of the initial capacity after 10 000 cycles at 20 C. This work presents a novel strategy to engineer porous single-crystalline materials and paves a new venue for developing fast-charging materials for LIBs.

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Organic-rich lacustrine shales with medium−low maturity in China have considerable potential to produce oil with the aid of in-situ underground conversion technology. Two shale samples from the Qingshankou Formation in the Songliao Basin and the Chang 7 Member in the Ordos Basin were selected for semi-closed pyrolysis, and the pyrolysis products and solid residues were subjected to detailed organic geochemical analysis and focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM) analyses to elucidate the evolution of organic matter; to quantitatively and qualitatively characterize the generation, retention, and expulsion of hydrocarbons; and to explore the required optimal temperature ranges for the two shales during in situ heating. The results showed that (a) the labile organic matter in the samples was progressively converted into hydrocarbons and (b) the cumulative yield of the retained oil continuously decreased as the temperature increased, the expelled oil reached its peak value at 400−450 °C, and oil cracking into gas occurred above 350 °C. The characteristics of the oil compositions indicated that hydrocarbons are directly decomposed from kerogen in the studied lacustrine shale samples, instead of being formed by bitumen cracking. Oil retention in the artificially mature samples is associated with organic richness, and large amounts of oil retained in samples can lead to a strong charging effect in FIB-SEM images, which is expressed as strong brightness. Mass balance calculations demonstrated that the maximum values of the oil expulsion efficiency are 82.59% for the Chang 7 shale sample and 96.27% for the Qingshankou shale sample at 350 °C. Meanwhile, substantial light hydrocarbons are produced and expelled in the pyrolysis of the latter sample. During an in-situ conversion process, the optimal temperature ranges are suggested to be 400−450 °C for the Chang 7 shale and 350−425 °C for the Qingshankou shale. In these ranges, most labile organic matter can be converted into hydrocarbons, hydrocarbon expulsion efficiency is higher, and oil is characterized by appropriate mobility as well as a relatively lower secondary cracking degree.

Efficient converting of alcohols to aldehydes under visible light can be achieved on BiVO4 crystals with spatial separation of dual-cocatalysts.

Fungi play a significant role in biological corrosion of metal materials. We studied the biocorrosion of lead foils under incubation of Aspergillus niger (A. niger). Multiple techniques, for example, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFT), and Raman imaging and scanning electron microscopy (RISE), were applied in this study. SEM confirmed the normal growth of the fungus on Pb foil surface, either above or under the solid medium surface. In addition, SEM‐energy dispersive spectrometer confirmed the formation of the secondary Pb mineral particles after incubation, which had variable morphologies. DRIFT was able to show changes of compounds formed on the surface of Pb foils. However, it cannot exactly identify the mineral phase. RISE technology offered both morphological and spectral information of the formed Pb mineral. Three dominant Raman peaks at ~1,440, ~1,480, and ~1,590 cm−1 indicated that the secondary mineral was lead oxalate. Raman mapping further demonstrated the distribution of Pb oxalate architecture. This study first applied RISE to investigate the biocorrosion of metals by fungi.