Among these studies, the plasmon-induced effects on light, energy and carrier at the metal/semiconductor contact interface play the decisive role in the performance of the hybrid nanostructures. Here, we aim to timely summarize recent systematical progresses on the investigations of the working mechanisms and infl uencing factors of plasmon-induced electromagnetic fi eld enhancement, plasmonic hot electron generation/injection, and energy transfer effects at the metal/semiconductor interface, as well as the strategies developed for controlling and utilizing these interfacial effects for specifi c applications of the metal/semiconductor nanocomposites. For other various aspects of plasmonic energy conversion, such as plasmon-induced hot electron generation at nanoparticle/metal-oxide interfaces [ 2g ] and the effects of plasmonic dephasing/geometry on solar energy harvesting, [ 2h ] interested readers are recommended to learn previous excellent reviews (Ref.[2] and references therein). Plasmon-Induced Interfacial Electromagnetic Field EnhancementDue to the plasmonic resonance properties of metal nanostructures, a powerful ability of metallic nanostructures is to concentrate light into deep-subwavelength volumes. In this section, we focus an overview on plasmon-induced light manipulation at the metal/semiconductor interface, a crucial factor for plasmonic enhancement applications of metal/semiconductor heterostructures, which was unfortunately neglected in a few previous excellent reviews [ 1a,b ] where only light concentration and manipulation by intrinsic nanometallic structures have been summarized. Coupling Between Plasmonic Metals and Dielectric SemiconductorsIn metal/semiconductor heterostructures, the intrinsic plasmon-induced light scattering effect of plasmonic metals can scatter light into the underlying semiconductor layer, especially for metallic nanoparticles with large sizes (>50 nm). [ 3 ] In addition to this fact, the screening effect of dielectric semiconductors could affect the intrinsic plasmon resonance of plasmonic nanostructures, which could be used for enhancing light concentration at the metal/semiconductor interface. In detail, Plasmonic manipulation of light in metal/semiconductor heterostructures is a powerful tool that exploits extraordinary optical properties of metallic nanostructures to concentrate and control light at the nanometer scale. Here, recent progresses in the mechanism and strategies developed for the control of plasmon-induced optical fi eld distribution, hot electron injection and energy transfer at the metal/semiconductor heterostructure interface are discussed. This is of crucial importance to the selection of matched materials, the design of optimized device architectures and the future development of effi cient fabrication technologies for plasmon-enhanced photocatalytic and photovoltaic applications.

Summary To achieve safe, long lifetime, and high‐performance lithium‐ion batteries, a battery thermal management system (BTMS) is indispensable. This is especially required for enabling fast charging‐discharging and in aggressive operating conditions. In this research, a new type of battery cooling system based on thermal silica plates has been designed for prismatic lithium‐ion batteries. Experimental and simulations are combined to investigate the cooling capability of the BTMS associated to different number of cooling channels, flow rates, and flow directions while at different discharge C‐rates. Results show that the maximum temperature reached within the battery decreases as the amount of thermal silica plates and liquid channels increases. The flow direction had no significant influence on the cooling capability. While the performance obviously improves with the increase in inlet flow rate, after a certain threshold, the gain reduces strongly so that it does not anymore justify the higher energy cost. Discharged at 3 C‐rate, an inlet flow rate of 0.1 m/s was sufficient to efficiently cool down the system; discharged at 5 C‐rate, the optimum inlet flow rate was 0.25 m/s. Simulations could accurately reproduce experimental results, allowing for an efficient design of the liquid‐cooled BTMS.

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Summary Some potential safety risks for lithium ion battery such as overheating, combustion, and explosion occurred in practical application may cause accidents of electric vehicles. Phase change material (PCM)‐based thermal management system was demonstrated as a feasible approach. However, the batteries have to endure various environment and climate, which would not work normally under cold area. Especially when the surrounding temperature falls to below 10°C, which can bring about the energy and power of Li‐ion batteries rapidly reducing. In this study, a coupling heating strategy of the PCM‐based batteries module with 2 heat sheets at low temperature was proposed for batteries module and cannot only balance the temperature among different batteries in the module but also ensure to pre‐heat the batteries module at low temperature. The experiment displayed that 7% of EG in paraffin‐based composite PCMs was the best proportion for batteries module, considering both fluidity and thermal conductivity factors. In addition, the temperature difference of PCM‐based batteries module was 2.82°C, while that of the air‐based one was 14.49°C, which was 5 times more than former, exhibiting an excellent performance in balancing temperature uniformly, and was beneficial for prolonging the lifespan of batteries. The coupling heating strategy‐based PCM with heat sheets provided as an extremely promising technology for lithium batteries module at low temperature.

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Two dimensional polymers have emerged in recent years as useful materials for the development of catalysts for future energy demand. However, the synthesis of ultrathin organic two dimensional polymers is still limited and further development is necessary. Here we present the synthesis of nanometer-thick two-dimensional (2D) porphyrin polymer nanodisks via the exfoliation of covalent organic frameworks, and evaluate their performance in the hydrogen evolution reaction under irradiation with broadband light. The nanodisks are synthesized through the simultaneous axial coordination of pyridines and metal ions to produce 2D porphyrin nanodisks of 1 nm average thickness. Importantly, the polymer composite with platinum-reduced graphene oxide exhibits hydrogen evolution activity upon irradiation with visible and NIR light. These results represent the use of 2D ultrathin polymer nanodisks derived from covalent organic frameworks in heterogeneous photocatalytic processes.