Solid-state batteries have become a frontrunner in humankind’s pursuit of safe and stable energy storage systems with high energy and power density. Electrolyte materials, currently, seem to be the Achilles’ heel of solid-state batteries due to the slow kinetics and poor interfacial wetting. Combining the merits of solid inorganic electrolytes (SIEs) and solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs), inorganic/polymer hybrid electrolytes (IPHEs) integrate improved ionic conductivity, great interfacial compatibility, wide electrochemical stability window, and high mechanical toughness and flexibility in one material, having become a sought-after pathway to high-performance all-solid-state lithium batteries. Herein, we present a comprehensive overview of recent progress in IPHEs, including the awareness of ion migration fundamentals, advanced architectural design for better electrochemical performance, and a perspective on unconquered challenges and potential research directions. This review is expected to provide a guidance for designing IPHEs for next-generation lithium batteries, with special emphasis on developing high-voltage-tolerance polymer electrolytes to enable higher energy density and three-dimensional (3D) continuous ion transport highways to achieve faster charging and discharging.
light-emitting devices. Chromogenic materials and devices are widely used in smart windows and paper-like displays, particularly electrochromic materials, which can be actively and reliably controlled because they only respond to electrical stimuli. [11][12][13][14][15] Reversible metal electrodeposition device (RMED) is a novel type of electrochromic devices that can switch from transparent to opaque state by the electrodeposition of a metal layer onto the transparent electrode, and switch back to transparent state by the dissolution of the metal layer. The appearance and disappearance of the metal layer cause the color change of RMEDs. They take advantage of the unique optical properties of thin metal films with different thicknesses and morphologies to allow for excellent light modulation, thermal management, and display effects. The switchability of electrochromic devices between not only transparent and tinted states (including black, red, yellow, blue, etc.) but also the mirror state is advantageous, because this allows them to choose the optimal working mode as desired, and thus to function more effectively for multiple tasks. Owing to its high extinction coefficient, a thin metal film with a thickness of a few tens of nanometers would be completely opaque and highly reflective like bulk metals. [16] Research has also shown that the reflectance of RMEDs in the visible and infrared (IR) regions can reach ≈100% [17] and 90%, [18] respectively. Because RMEDs utilize the reversible deposition of metals to change their color, without a fixed electrochromic layer, their structure would be much simpler than that of typical electrochromic devices. The wide reflectance modulation range and simple device structure of RMEDs render them distinct from other electrochromic devices. The best performance reported for RMEDs are listed in Table 1.In the last century and the first decade of the 21th century, sustained efforts have been invested to apply the reversible electrodeposition mechanism to display devices. [19][20][21][22][23][24] In recent years, research on RMEDs has been progressing owing to their potential applications in energy-saving fields, especially in light modulation [8,[25][26][27][28] and thermal management. [18,29,30] Ag, Bi, and Cu are the most widely studied metals for reversible electrodeposition because of their high reversibility and the use of hazard-free electrolytes. The reversible electrodeposition of Au, [31] Zn, [32] Pb [8] and other metals is rarely reported due to their poor reversibility or the need for hazardous electrolytes.The reversible metal electrodeposition device (RMED) is a novel electrochromic application that utilizes the appearance and disappearance of a metal layer to achieve spectrum control. A thin metal film with a thickness of a few tens of nanometers would be highly reflective in the visible and infrared region, making it an ideal material to achieve light and heat modulation. Because of their outstanding spectrum control ability, RMEDs can be applied to displays, smart ...
hardness yet decreases ductility. [1,2] For brittle materials like ceramics, GBs are thought to perform as the "weak spots" whose strength could be orders of magnitude smaller than the pristine lattice due to a high level of preexisting stress. [3] Therefore, gaining insights into the mechanical properties of GBs is of fundamental importance, which not only pushes the development of "GB engineering" that rationally tailors materials properties by modifying GB's structure, density, and connectivity, [4,5] but also helps answer the question about how the mechanical properties of nanoscale structures are transferred to macroscopic samples.2D materials provide an ideal platform to investigate the GB fracture mechanics due to their extreme thinness and unambiguous interpretation of the atomic structure. [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] Their promising applications in high-end flexible electronic devices, [16,17] electromechanical devices, [18] and reinforcing elements in composites [19] wherein raw materials are often polycrystalline, also necessitate the understanding of fracture mechanics of GBs. Several methods have been developed to unveil the mechanical behaviors of 2D materials. Nanoindentation, which uses the tip in the atomic force microscope Grain boundaries (GBs) play a central role in the fracture of polycrystals. However, the complexity of GBs and the difficulty in monitoring the atomic structure evolution during fracture greatly limit the understanding of the GB mechanics. Here, in situ aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy and density functional theory calculations are combined to investigate the fracture mechanics in low-symmetry, polycrystalline, 2D rhenium disulfide (ReS 2 ), unveiling the distinctive crack behaviors at different GBs with atomic resolution. Brittle intergranular fracture prefers to rip through the GBs that are parallel to the Re chains of at least one side of the GBs. In contrast, those GBs, which do not align with Re chains on either side of the GBs, are highly resistant to fracture, impeding or deflecting the crack propagation. These results disclose the GB type-dependent mechanical failure of anisotropic 2D polycrystals, providing new ideas for material reinforcement and controllable cutting via GB engineering.The ORCID identification number(s) for the author(s) of this article can be found under https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202102739.
Fabrication of dual-emitting materials for H 2 S sensing under environmental and biological conditions is currently of great interest. In this work, a new chemically stable metal supramolecular complex [Zn 2 (pda) 2 (H 2 O) 3 ]•(H 2 O) 0.5 (Znpda, pda = 1,10-phenanthroline-2,9-dicarboxylic acid), with accessible uncoordinated carboxylic oxygen sites, is solvothermally synthesized. It can serve as a host in luminescent hybrid composites. By incorporating Eu 3+ and Cu 2+ in the supramolecular coordination network, we obtained the dual-emitting hybrid material Eu 3+ / Cu 2+ @Znpda, which simultaneously shows intense ligand and weak Eu 3+ emissions in HEPES buffer solution. Since H 2 S can easily chelate with Cu 2+ and recover the blocked "antenna effect" between the ligand and Eu 3+ , Eu 3+ /Cu 2+ @Znpda possesses both the turn-on and ratiomectric fluorescence response to H 2 S. Accordingly, we designed an IMPLICATION logic gate for H 2 S recognition by employing the fluorescence intensity ratio between the ligand and Eu 3+ as the output signal. In addition, Eu 3+ /Cu 2+ @ Znpda shows a fast response (<1 min) and high sensitivity (1.45 μM) to H 2 S over other interfering species in the HEPES buffer solution, highlighting its potential use for H 2 S sensing under environmental and biological conditions.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.