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High quality carbon nanodots (C-dots) with high purity were synthesized through a mild, one-step electrochemical approach, without the assistance of any chemicals but only pure water. This high productivity method makes the synthetic process of C-dots synthesis both economical as well as environment-friendly. The as prepared C-dots are predominantly multi-layer graphene oxide, with luminescence and high up-conversion photoluminescence (emission of light at shorter wavelengths than the excitation wavelength). Meanwhile, C-dots showed peroxidise mimetic function and visible-light-sensitive photocatalytic activity for methyl orange degradation. In addition, a novel photocatalyst (TiO(2)/C-dots) was obtained by combining C-dots with TiO(2) through an easy hydrothermal method. Remarkably, TiO(2)/C-dots exhibited an excellent visible-light photocatalytic activity.

approach to fabricate 1.64 µm-thin black-gold fi lms on any elastomeric sheet (latex rubber, Eco-fl ex, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), etc.) resulting in highly stretchable strain sensors. The ultrathin sensors could detect strains as small as 0.01% and as large as 350%, simultaneously with a typical GF of 6.9-9.9, a fast response (<22 ms). We observed negligible loadingunloading signal changes over 5000 cycles. The superior sensing performances enabled real-time monitoring of a wide range of human motions (fore arm muscle movement, cheek motions, throat muscle stretching, and fi nger fl exion extension as well as human radial artery pulse).The fabrication process of AuNWs strain sensors is illustrated in Figure 1 a. First, a AuNWs solution (10 mg mL −1 ) was prepared following the previously published protocol. [ 38 ] Second, a latex rubber sheet was sandwiched between a fl at glass slide and a polyimide mask with a rectangular opening (25 × 5 mm 2 ). Then AuNWs solution (100 µL) was dropcasted onto the open area of polyimide mask and dried. After removing the glass slide and polyimide mask, a conductive AuNWs strip fi lm was obtained with a typical sheet resistance of 2.03 ± 0.95 MΩ.The AuNWs strip-fabrication approach was general, which could be extended to a variety of other polymeric substrates (PET, Eco-fl ex, PDMS, nitrile rubber, etc.) with uniform deposition and strong adhesion (Figure 1 b). After electrically wiring the AuNWs strip with two conductive threads, a skin-attachable and highly stretchable strain sensor was obtained (Figure 1 c). The conductive AuNWs fi lms were about 1.64 µm in thickness (Figure 1 c, top right), and with a top surface of nanowire-entangling and bundling morphologies resembling polymeric chains (Figure 1 c, bottom right).The thin AuNWs fi lms exhibited outstanding mechanical stretchability up to 300% without any observable cracking or fi lm detachment from latex rubber (Movie 1, Supporting Information). It also showed exceptional electrical conductivity recovery, superior to their corresponding sputter-coated gold fi lm or silver nanowires fi lm (Figure 1 d). The electrical resistance of AuNWs fi lm increased gradually and smoothly as the strain increased and recovered gradually and smoothly to the original conductivity as the strain was revered back to 0%. Such a fully reversible process was observed under a dynamic strain of 0%-100%-0% and almost no hysteresis was observed (Figure 1 d). In contrast, the sputter coated gold fi lm became completely insulative when the strain was over 30%, and remained insulative even when the strain was removed (0% strain) (Figure 1 e). It was also observed that irreversible cracks formed during stretching.Further investigation on silver nanowires (AgNWs) fi lm prepared by drop casting showed that its conductivity was lost Highly stretchable strain sensors will be key components in future wearable electronics with broad applications ranging from electronic skins, [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] intelligent human/machine interactions, [ 11,12 ]...

A bio-inspired flexible pressure sensor is generated with high sensitivity (50.17 kPa(-1)), quick responding time (<20 ms), and durable stability (negligible loading-unloading signal changes over 10 000 cycles). Notably, the key resource of surface microstructures upon sensor substrates results from the direct molding of natural mimosa leaves, presenting a simple, environment-friendly and easy scale-up fabrication process for these flexible pressure sensors.

Water-soluble fluorescent N-doped carbon dots (NCDs) were synthesized by a facile one-pot ultrasonic reaction between glucose and ammonium hydroxide. Besides exhibiting strong luminescence in the visible-to-near infrared range, the obtained NCDs displayed clear upconversion photoluminescence properties. Moreover, the NCDs showed excellent photocatalytic property in the photodegradation of methyl orange under visible light.

Over the past two decades, the solid–electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer that forms on an electrode’s surface has been believed to be pivotal for stabilizing the electrode’s performance in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, more and more researchers currently are realizing that the metal-ion solvation structure (e.g., Li+) in electrolytes and the derived interfacial model (i.e., the desolvation process) can affect the electrode’s performance significantly. Thus, herein we summarize recent research focused on how to discover the importance of an electrolyte’s solvation structure, develop a quantitative model to describe the solvation structure, construct an interfacial model to understand the electrode’s performance, and apply these theories to the design of electrolytes. We provide a timely review on the scientific relationship between the molecular interactions of metal ions, anions, and solvents in the interfacial model and the electrode’s performance, of which the viewpoint differs from the SEI interpretations before. These discoveries may herald a new, post-SEI era due to their significance for guiding the design of LIBs and their performance improvement, as well as developing other metal-ion batteries and beyond.

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Formation of bacterial biofilms on dental implant material surfaces (titanium) may lead to the development of peri-implant diseases influencing the long term success of dental implants. In this study, a novel Cu-bearing titanium alloy (Ti-Cu) was designed and fabricated in order to efficiently kill bacteria and discourage formation of biofilms, and then inhibit bacterial infection and prevent implant failure, in comparison with pure Ti. Results from biofilm based gene expression studies, biofilm growth observation, bacterial viability measurements and morphological examination of bacteria, revealed antimicrobial/antibiofilm activities of Ti-Cu alloy against the oral specific bacterial species, Streptococcus mutans and Porphyromonas gingivalis. Proliferation and adhesion assays with mesenchymal stem cells, and measurement of the mean daily amount of Cu ion release demonstrated Ti-Cu alloy to be biocompatible. In conclusion, Ti-Cu alloy is a promising dental implant material with antimicrobial/antibiofilm activities and acceptable biocompatibility.