We report a new class of Zn anodes modified by a three-dimensional nanoporous ZnO architecture (Zn@ZnO-3D), which can accelerate the kinetics of Zn2+ transfer and deposition, inhibit dendrite growth, and reduce the side-reactions.

Aqueous zinc‐ion batteries are largely restricted by the unsatisfactory performance of zinc (Zn) anodes, including their poor stability and irreversibility. In particular, the mechanism behind the electrochemical contrast caused by the surface crystal plane, which is a decisive factor of the electrochemical characteristics of the hostless Zn anode, is still relatively indistinct. Hence, new insight into a novel anode with a surface‐preferred (002) crystal plane is provided. The interfacial reaction and morphology evolution are revealed by theoretical analysis and post‐mortem/operando experimental techniques, indicating that Zn anodes with more exposed (002) basal planes exhibit free dendrites, no by‐products, and weak hydrogen evolution, in sharp contrast to the (100) plane. These features benefit the Zn (002) anode by enabling a long cyclic life of more than 500 h and a high average coulombic efficiency of 97.71% for symmetric batteries, along with delivering long cycling stability and reversibility with life spans of over 2000 cycles for full batteries. This work provides new insights into the design of high‐performance Zn anodes for large‐scale energy storage and can potentially be applied to other metal anodes suffering from instability and irreversibility.

The development of low-cost and high-safety zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) has been extensively discussed and reviewed in recent years, but the work on comprehensive discussion and perspective in developing zinc-ion electrolytes...

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Herein, a novel fluorescence sensor based on g-C3N4 nanosheet-MnO2 sandwich nanocomposite has been developed for rapid and selective sensing of glutathione (GSH) in aqueous solutions, as well as living cells. The graphitic-phase C3N4 (g-C3N4) nanosheet used here is a new type of carbon-based nanomaterial with high fluorescence quantum yield and high specific surface area. We demonstrate a facile one-step approach for the synthesis of a g-C3N4 nanosheet-MnO2 sandwich nanocomposite for the first time. The fluorescence of g-C3N4 nanosheet in this nanocomposite is quenched, which attributing to fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) from a g-C3N4 nanosheet to the deposited MnO2. Upon the addition of GSH, MnO2 is reduced to Mn(2+), which leads to the elimination of FRET. As a result, the fluorescence of g-C3N4 nanosheet is restored. Importantly, the chemical response of the g-C3N4-MnO2 nanocomposite exhibits great selectivity toward GSH relative to other electrolytes and biomolecules. Under the optimal conditions, the detection limit of 0.2 μM for GSH in aqueous solutions can be reached. Furthermore, the g-C3N4-MnO2 nanocomposite is confirmed to be membrane-permeable and have low cytotoxicity. Moreover, we successfully apply this sensor for visualizing and monitoring change of the intracellular GSH in living cells. Moreover, the proposed sensor shows satisfying performance, such as low cost, easy preparation, rapid detection, good biocompatibility, and turn-on fluorescence response.