Wearable sensors are increasingly finding their way into applications of kinesthetic sensing, personal health monitoring, and smart prosthetics/robotics. A graphene-based composite fiber sensor with a "compression spring" structure is fabricated, featuring the ability of detecting multiple kinds of deformation. This fiber sensor is integrated into wearable sensors for monitoring human activities and intricate movements of robotics successfully.

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Electroreduction of carbon dioxide into higher-energy liquid fuels and chemicals is a promising but challenging renewable energy conversion technology. Among the electrocatalysts screened so far for carbon dioxide reduction, which includes metals, alloys, organometallics, layered materials and carbon nanostructures, only copper exhibits selectivity towards formation of hydrocarbons and multi-carbon oxygenates at fairly high efficiencies, whereas most others favour production of carbon monoxide or formate. Here we report that nanometre-size N-doped graphene quantum dots (NGQDs) catalyse the electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide into multi-carbon hydrocarbons and oxygenates at high Faradaic efficiencies, high current densities and low overpotentials. The NGQDs show a high total Faradaic efficiency of carbon dioxide reduction of up to 90%, with selectivity for ethylene and ethanol conversions reaching 45%. The C2 and C3 product distribution and production rate for NGQD-catalysed carbon dioxide reduction is comparable to those obtained with copper nanoparticle-based electrocatalysts.

Cu nanowires hold great promise for the fabrication of low-cost transparent electrodes. However, their current synthesis is mainly performed in aqueous media with poor nanowire dispersibility. We report herein the novel synthesis of ultralong single-crystalline Cu nanowires with excellent dispersibility, providing an excellent candidate material for high-performance transparent electrode fabrication.

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Various morphologies of single‐crystal Cu2O such as cube, octahedron, {110} truncated octahedron, and microrhombic dodecahedron with {110} surfaces are prepared in high yield through a facile solution‐based one‐step reduction method in an alkaline H2O/ethanol/oleic acid system in the presence of d‐(+)‐glucose. The formation mechanism of these microcrystals has been clarified as the synergic effect of oriented attachment and ripening mechanism.

A high sensitivity and large stretchability are desirable for strain sensors in wearable applications. However, these two performance indicators are contradictory, since the former requires a conspicuous structural change under a tiny strain, whereas the latter demands morphological integrity upon a large deformation. Developing strain sensors with both a high sensitivity (gauge factor (GF) > 100) and a broad strain range (>50%) is a considerable challenge. Herein, a unique Ti 3 C 2 T x MXene nanoparticle-nanosheet hybrid network is constructed. The migration of nanoparticles leads to a large resistance variation while the wrapping of nanosheet bridges the detached nanoparticles to maintain the connectivity of the conductive pathways in a large strain region. The synergetic motion of nanoparticles and nanosheets endows the hybrid network with splendid electrical-mechanical performance, which is reflected in its high sensitivity (GF > 178.4) over the entire broad range (53%), the super low detection limit (0.025%), and a good cycling durability (over 5000 cycles). Such high performance endows the strain sensor with the capability for full-range human motion detection.