Rechargeable aqueous zinc‐ion batteries (ZIBs) have garnered tremendous attention in the field of next energy storage devices due to their high safety, low cost, abundant resources, and eco‐friendliness. As an important component of the zinc‐ion battery, the electrolyte plays a vital role in the electrochemical properties, since it will provide a pathway for the migrations of the zinc ions between the cathode and anode, and determine the ionic conductivity, electrochemically stable potential window, and reaction mechanism. In this Minireview, a brief introduction of electrochemical principles of the aqueous ZIBs is discussed and the recent advances of various aqueous electrolytes for ZIBs, including liquid, gel, and multifunctional hydrogel electrolytes are also summarized. Furthermore, the remaining challenges and future directions of electrolytes in aqueous ZIBs are also discussed, which could provide clues for the following development.

The co-insertion of dual ions can often offer

Magnetic personality: The incorporation of a bulky auxiliary ligand in β‐diketone‐based dysprosium(III) single‐ion magnets (SIMs) remarkably increases the anisotropic barriers, representing a promising route toward the design of higher‐anisotropic‐barrier SIMs (see scheme).

Smart self‐protection is essential for addressing safety issues of energy‐storage devices. However, conventional strategies based on sol‐gel transition electrolytes often suffer from unstable self‐recovery performance. Herein, smart separators based on thermal‐gated poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) hydrogel electrolytes were developed for rechargeable zinc‐ion batteries (ZIBs). Such PNIPAM‐based separators not only display a pore structure evolution from opened to closed states, but also exhibit a surface wettability transition from hydrophilic to hydrophobic behaviors when the temperature rises. This behavior can suppress the migration of electrolyte ions across the separators, realizing the self‐protection of ZIBs at high temperatures. Furthermore, the thermal‐gated behavior is highly reversible, even after multiple heating/cooling cycles, because of the reversibility of temperature‐dependent structural evolution and hydrophilic/hydrophobic transition. This work will pave the way for designing thermal‐responsive energy‐storage devices with safe and controlled energy delivery.

By changing the ratio of reactants, two mononuclear Dy complexes, [Dy(phen)(acac)(3)] (1) and [Dy(phen)(2)(NO(3))(2)(acac)]·H(2)O (2) have been synthesized and structurally characterized. In 1, a Dy atom bearing square-antiprism coordination geometry exhibits SMM behaviour, while compound 2 with a bicapped-square-antiprism geometry does not show such SMM properties. The different magnetic behaviours seen in 1 and 2 are probably due to a different coordination environment and ligand field around the Dy(III) ions. The results proved the important influence of the structural environment of a SMM on its magnetic behaviour.

Three new zinc(II) complexes: [Zn(2)(L(1))(2)Cl(2)](ClO(4))(2)·C(2)H(5)OH (1) and [ZnL(2)X(4)]·2CH(3)CN (X = Br for 2, Cl for 3), utilizing two new and interrelated di-nucleating polypyridyl ligands (L(1), L(2)), have been synthesized and characterized by using various physico-chemical techniques. The interactions of three complexes with CT-DNA have been explored by using absorption, emission and CD spectral methods, which reveal that three complexes bind to CT-DNA by partial intercalation binding modes. Notably, in the presence of H(2)O(2) as a revulsant or an activator, the cleavage abilities of all complexes are obviously enhanced. The hydrolytic mechanism was demonstrated by adding standard radical scavengers and anaerobic reaction. Further, the protein binding ability has been monitored by quenching of tryptophan emission in the presence of complexes using BSA as a model protein. The quenching mechanisms of BSA by the complexes are static procedures. In addition, the in vitro cytotoxicity of the complexes on three human tumor cells lines (HeLa, MCF-7 and RL952) and the apoptosis-inducing activity of were assessed by MTT, Clonogenic assay, Hoechst 33342 staining, Cell cycle and Annexin V binding experiments.

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Two structurally related flexible bis(imidazole) ligands, N,N′-(1,1-methyl)bis(imidazole) (L 1 ) and N,N′-(1,4-butanediyl)bis(imidazole) (L 2 ) reacted with Ag I , Cu II , Zn II , and Cd II salts under hydrothermal conditions (except for 2 at room temperature), resulted in the formation of eight novel metal-organic coordination architectures, from one-dimensional (1D) chain to three-dimensional (3D) network structures:, and {[Zn(L 2 ) 2 ](ClO 4 ) 2 } n (8). All complexes have been structurally characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis. In 1, the Ag I centers are two-coordinate with linear geometry and L 1 ligands bridge the Ag I centers to form 1D single helical chains. 2 and 7 have 1D double chain structures with the central metal ions being six-coordinated by four discrete L 1 and two apical ligands (water molecules for 2 and N 3for 7). 3 and 4 are isostructural two-dimensional (2D) (4,4) networks with square planar Cu II centers. 5 and 6 also are isostructural with CdSO 4 -like 3D framework structures. In 8, the Zn II ions are tetrahedral, and each L 2 ligand links two Zn II ions to form a 1D double chain.