Nanowires supporting propagating surface plasmons can function as nanowaveguides to realize the light guiding with field confinement beyond the diffraction limit, providing fundamental building blocks for nanophotonic integrated circuits. This review covers the recent developments of plasmon waveguiding in nanowires, mainly including plasmon waveguiding in metal nanowires, coupling of nanowire plasmons and emitters, hybrid nanowire waveguides and plasmonic gain, and nanowire photonic devices. We first introduce the main techniques for fabricating metal nanowires, the plasmon modes in metal nanowires and the excitation/detection methods. We then discuss the fundamental properties of plasmon propagation and emission, including zigzag, chiral and spin-dependent propagation, mode conversion, loss and propagation length, group velocity, terminal emission, and leaky radiation. Then the interactions between nanowires and emitters are reviewed, especially the coupling of single nanowires and single quantum emitters. Finally, we briefly introduce the hybrid nanowire waveguide composed of a semiconductor nanowire and a metal film with an intervening thin insulator and highlight a few nanophotonic devices based on plasmonic nanowire networks or plasmonic-photonic hybrid nanowire structures.

Intractable hurdles of low Coulombic efficiency and dendritic Li formation during a repeated deposition/stripping process hinder the commercial use of  Li metal anode for next-generation battery systems. Achieving uniform Li nucleation is one of the effective strategies to address these issues, and it is of practical importance to realize this on a commercial Cu current collector that is lithiophobic. Herein, we design a nanostructured Ag lithiophilic layer on a Cu foil via an electroless plating process for a Li metal current collector. The deposition of lithiophilic Ag particles that are homogeneously distributed on the Cu foil can reduce the nucleation overpotential, realizing uniform Li nucleation and subsequently flat Li plating. As a result, a stable cycle stability of up to 360 h (1 mA cm–2) and an average Columbic efficiency of 94.5% for 100 cycles (1 mA cm–2) are achieved. Furthermore, CuAg full cells with LiFePO4 as a cathode exhibit good cycle performances and low polarization voltage. This approach provides another facile way for a stable lithium metal anode.

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A new process is optimized and presented for the recovery and regeneration of LiFePO4 from spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs).

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The TOC includes a TEM image of the Sn4P3 nanotops, the brief reaction mechanism, and the electrochemical performance.

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Objectives:The aim of this study was to evaluate the epidemiology of tooth wear in Beijing and to establish appropriate preventive measures.Materials and Methods:This cross-sectional analysis involved a questionnaire survey conducted for 1,812 individuals aged 12–74 years in Beijing. Subjects were local residents living in the region for >6 months before the survey. Subjects were evaluated using clinical examinations with the basic erosive wear examination index and a self-administered questionnaire. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS software.Results:The prevalence of maxillary tooth wear was 84.9% for the molars, 68.9% for the premolars, 74.1% for the canines and 97% for the incisors. In the mandible, the corresponding prevalence rates were 85.2%, 59.3%, 78.6% and 97.4%, respectively. The occlusal, incisal and cervical surfaces showed more frequent wear compared with the other surfaces. Age, acidic beverages, xerostomia and brushing habits were identified as risk factors for tooth wear (P<0.05).Conclusions:Tooth wear is common in Beijing. Specific preventive measures should be recommended for individuals reporting excessive consumption of fruits and/or acidic beverages, and those with xerostomia. In particular, incisor wear should be carefully monitored in individuals of all age groups.