This is the first review on potassium–sulfur (K–S) batteries (KSBs), which are emerging metal battery (MB) systems. Since KSBs are quite new, there are fundamental questions regarding the electrochemistry of S‐based cathode and of K metal anode, as well as the holistic aspects of full‐cell performance. The manuscript begins with a critical discussion regarding the potassium–sulfur electrochemistry and on how it differs from the much better‐known lithium–sulfur. Cathodes are discussed next, focusing on the role of sulfur structure, carbon host chemistry and porosity, and electrolytes in establishing the reversible potassium sulfide K2Sn phase sequence, the parasitic polysulfide shuttle, pulverization‐driven capacity fade, etc. Following is a discussion of solid‐state electrolytes (SSEs), including of hybrid solid–liquid systems that show much promise. Potassium metal anodes are then critically reviewed, emphasizing electrolyte reactions to form stable versus unstable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI), covering the current understanding of potassium dendrites, and highlighting the deep‐eutectic K–Na alloying approaches for room temperature liquid anodes. The manuscript concludes with K–S batteries, focusing on cell architectures and providing quantitative performance comparisons as master plots. Unanswered scientific/technological questions are identified, emerging research opportunities are discussed, and potential experimental and simulation‐based studies that can unravel these unknowns are proposed.
The objective of this study was to investigate the associations between selenium exposure and cancer risk. We identified 69 studies and applied meta-analysis, meta-regression and dose-response analysis to obtain available evidence. The results indicated that high selenium exposure had a protective effect on cancer risk (pooled OR = 0.78; 95%CI: 0.73–0.83). The results of linear and nonlinear dose-response analysis indicated that high serum/plasma selenium and toenail selenium had the efficacy on cancer prevention. However, we did not find a protective efficacy of selenium supplement. High selenium exposure may have different effects on specific types of cancer. It decreased the risk of breast cancer, lung cancer, esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, and prostate cancer, but it was not associated with colorectal cancer, bladder cancer, and skin cancer.
Herein, we demonstrate a simple strategy to boost the photocatalytic performance of BiOI by introducing oxygen defects into the BiOI. The oxygen-deficient BiOI exhibits superior photocatalytic performance for the degradation of formaldehyde gas. The enhancement of photocatalytic activity is due to the enhanced separation and migration efficiency of photogenerated electrons and holes.
Defect engineering is regarded as one of the most active projects to regulate the chemical and physical properties of materials, which is expected to improve the photocatalytic performance of the materials. Herein, oxygen vacancies and IO3- doping are introduced into BiOI nanosheets via adding NaH2PO2, which can impact the charge carrier dynamics of BiOI photocatalysts, such as its excitation, separation, trap, and transfer. These oxygen-deficient BiOI nanosheets display excellent photocatalytic activities for degradation of gaseous formaldehyde and methyl orange under visible light irradiation, which are 5 and 3.5 times higher than the BiOI samples, respectively. Moreover, the oxygen-deficient BiOI also have superior cycling stability and can be used for practical application. This work did not only develop an effective strategy for fabricating oxygen vacancies but also offer a deep insight into the role of oxygen vacancies in enhancing photocatalysis.
Rational design of nanostructured electrode materials is highly desired for developing high‐performance lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs). Encapsulating electrode materials in reduced graphene oxide (rGO) shows great potential for manipulation of physicochemical properties at the atomic level, promoting remarkable electrochemical properties. Here, a controllable strategy is proposed to synthesize a “pomegranate‐like” 3D rGO encapsulated lithium titanate composite (CT‐rGO@LTO). The experimental results demonstrate the enriched oxygen vacancies in LTO and the electronic interactions at the interface between LTO and rGO. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations confirm the charge redistribution in the CT‐rGO@LTO composite, establishing a strong electric field with oxygen vacancies. Furthermore, the extra active sites in rGO for Li‐ion storage are investigated via in situ Raman tests. Benefiting from the oxygen vacancies and the electric‐field effect, the CT‐rGO@LTO electrode delivers excellent cycling stability with a capacity retention of 87.1% after 1500 cycles at 5 C. Moreover, the CT‐rGO@LTO electrode is adopted to assemble a full cell with a LiCoO2 cathode, which also displays superior rate capability with capacities of 139.4 and 109.7 mA h g−1 at 0.5 and 10 C, respectively. This work provides profound insights of fabricating high‐performance electrode materials for advanced energy storage.
Aqueous zinc-based batteries (AZBs) attract tremendous attention due to the abundant and rechargeable zinc anode. Nonetheless, the requirement of high energy and power densities raises great challenge for the cathode development. Herein we construct an aqueous zinc ion capacitor possessing an unrivaled combination of high energy and power characteristics by employing a unique dual-ion adsorption mechanism in the cathode side. Through a templating/activating co-assisted carbonization procedure, a routine protein-rich biomass transforms into defect-rich carbon with immense surface area of 3657.5 m2 g−1 and electrochemically active heteroatom content of 8.0 at%. Comprehensive characterization and DFT calculations reveal that the obtained carbon cathode exhibits capacitive charge adsorptions toward both the cations and anions, which regularly occur at the specific sites of heteroatom moieties and lattice defects upon different depths of discharge/charge. The dual-ion adsorption mechanism endows the assembled cells with maximum capacity of 257 mAh g−1 and retention of 72 mAh g−1 at ultrahigh current density of 100 A g−1 (400 C), corresponding to the outstanding energy and power of 168 Wh kg−1 and 61,700 W kg−1. Furthermore, practical battery configurations of solid-state pouch and cable-type cells display excellent reliability in electrochemistry as flexible and knittable power sources.
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