Structure designing and morphology control can lead to high performance pseudocapacitive materials for supercapacitors. In this work, we have designed interlinked multiphase Fe-doped MnO2 nanostructures (α-MnO2/R-MnO2/ε-MnO2) to enhance the electrochemical properties by a facile method. These hierarchical hollow microspheres assembled by interconnected nanoflakes, and with plenty of porous nanorods radiating from the spherical shells were hydrothermally obtained. The supercapacitor electrode prepared from the unique construction exhibits outstanding specific capacitance of 267.0 F g(-1) even under a high mass loading (∼5 mg cm(-2)). Obviously improved performances compared to pure MnO2 are also demonstrated with a good rate capability, high energy density (1.30 mW h cm(-3)) and excellent cycling stability of 100% capacitance retention after 2000 cycles at 2 A g(-1). The synergistic effects of alternative crystal structures, appropriate crystallinity and optimal morphology are identified to be responsible for the observations. This rational multiphase composite strategy provides a promising idea for materials scientists to design and prepare scalable electrode materials for energy storage devices.

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Macleaya cordata (Willd) R. Br. is a medicinal plant. The most important bioactive compounds of M. cordata are alkaloids that have many biological activities including antifungal, anti‐inflammatory, and antitumor. In this study, an ionic‐liquid‐modified high‐speed counter‐current chromatography method was established to obtain alkaloids from the fruits of M. cordata. The conditions of ionic‐liquid‐modified high‐speed counter‐current chromatography, including solvent systems, the content of ionic liquid (1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate [C4mim][BF4]), and the posttreatment of the ionic liquid, were investigated. Five alkaloids protopine, allocryptopine, sanguinarine, 8‐O‐demethylchelerythrine, and chelerythrine were separated from the extract of the fruits using a high speed counter‐current chromatography with two‐phase solvent system composed of dichloromethane/methanol/0.3 mol/L hydrochloric acid aqueous solution/[C4mim][BF4] (4:2:2:0.015, v/v). Their purities were 96.33, 95.56, 97.94, 96.22, and 97.90%, respectively. The results indicated that a small amount of ionic liquids as modifier of the two‐phase solvent system could shorten the separation time and improve the separation efficiency of the alkaloids from the fruits. The ionic‐liquid‐modified high‐speed counter‐current chromatography would provide a feasible way for highly effective separation of alkaloids from natural products.

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Due to the metastable property and arduous preparation, to control the size and shape of intermediate Sn 3 O 4 nanocrystals to tune functional properties still poses great challenge, and the physical and chemical properties are not fully investigated. Here, we report a simple one-pot template-free hydrothermal route to fabricate Sn 3 O 4 flower-like hierarchical structures self-assembled by aligned high-density nanoslices. In order to explore the growth mechanism, a series of samples with various hydrothermal time were prepared and examined by FESEM and Raman. Results show that the hydrothermal time influences the phases and morphology of the final products. Particularly, a sensor based on these Sn 3 O 4 was implemented to investigate the potential of Sn 3 O 4 for the ethanol detection, revealing that this material reacts to ethanol in a linear way with high response yet at lower temperature (190 ∘ C) than that of the well-known SnO 2 . Also, this intermediate tin oxide with rational control over dimension and morphology provides new opportunities for practical applications in gas sensing towards other reducing gases.

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