Interdisciplinary Materials最新文献

Exploiting high-capacity cathode materials with superior reliability is vital to advancing the commercialization of sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). Layered oxides, known for their eco-friendliness, adaptability, commercial viability, and significant recent advancements, are prominent cathode materials. However, electrochemical cycling over an extended period can trigger capacity fade, voltage hysteresis, structural instability, and adverse interface reactions which shorten the battery life and cause safety issues. Thus, it is essential to require an in-depth understanding of degradation mechanisms of layered oxides. In this review, the crystal and electronic structures of layered oxides are revisited first, and a renewed understanding is also presented. Three critical degradation mechanisms are highlighted and deeply discussed for layered oxides, namely Jahn–Teller effect, phase transition, and surface decomposition, which are directly responsible for the inferior electrochemical performances. Furthermore, a comprehensive overview of recently reported modification strategies related to degradation mechanisms are proposed. Additionally, this review discusses challenges in practical application, primarily from a degradation mechanism standpoint. Finally, it outlines future research directions, offering perspectives to further develop superior layered cathode materials for SIBs, driving the industrialization of SIBs.

Compositions and morphologies of Pt-based electrocatalysts have great impact on the electrocatalytic activity and stability of oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Herein, we report a novel design of one-dimensional (1D) Pt–Pd dendritic nanotubular heterostructures (DTHs) by controlling the degree of Pt²⁺-Pt reduction reaction and Pd-Pt galvanic replacement reaction with uniform Pd nanowires as sacrificial templates. The obtained Pt–Pd bimetallic DTHs catalyst exhibited uniform and dense Pt dendritic nanobranches on the surface of 1D hollow Pt–Pd alloy nanotubes, possessing superior catalytic activity for ORR compared to state-of-the-art commercial Pt/C catalysts. Typically, the Pt₄Pd DTHs catalyst showed efficient mass activity (MA, 1.05 A mg_Pt⁻¹) and specific activity (SA, 1.25 mA cm_Pt⁻²) at 0.9 V (vs. RHE), and the catalyst exhibited high stability with 90.4% MA retention after 20 000 potential cycles. The Pt–Pd bimetallic DTHs configuration combines the advantages of 1D hollow nanostructures and dense Pt dendritic nanobranches, which results in rich electrochemical active surface sites, fast charge transport, and multiple dendritic anchoring points contact on carbon support, thus boosting its catalytic activity and stability towards electrocatalysis.

Precise recognition and specific interactions between biomolecules are key prerequisites for ensuring the performance of all actives within living organisms. The convergence of biomolecular recognition systems into synthetic materials could endow the materials with high specificity and biological sensitivity; this, in turn, enables precise drug release, monitoring or detection of important biomolecules, and cell manipulation through targeted capture or release of specific biomolecules. Meanwhile, from the perspective of materials science, the application of conventional polymers in practical biological systems poses several challenges, such as low responsiveness and sensitivity, inadequate targetability, insufficient anti-interference capacities, and unsatisfactory biocompatibility. These problems could be partly attributed to the polymers' weak discrimination abilities toward target biomolecules in the presence of interfering substances with high abundance. In particular, the proposition of “precision medicine” project raises higher demands for the design of biomaterials in terms of their precision and targetability. Therefore, there is an urgent demand for the development of new-generation biomaterials with precise recognition and sensitive responsiveness comparable to biomacromolecules. This promotes a new research direction of biomolecule-responsive polymers and their diverse applications. This review focuses on the origin and construction of biomolecule-responsive polymers, as well as their attractive applications in drug delivery systems, bio-detection, bio-sensing, separation, and enrichment, as well as regulating cell adhesion.

Plastics are a ubiquitous and growing presence in our lives, with chlorinated plastics, like polyvinyl chloride (PVC), playing a pivotal role due to their superior qualities. However, the disposal and recycling of these materials present significant challenges. The chlorine content can harm catalysts, corrode equipment, and create dangerous pollutants, making the management of chlorinated plastic waste a critical issue in recycling efforts. There is a pressing need for green, effective, and atom-efficient methods to handle this waste responsibly. This review explores the potential for converting chlorinated plastic waste into valuable resources. We examine four key areas for upcycling and reusing PVC waste, including innovative separation techniques, leveraging the PVC molecular structure, and recycling the chlorine and carbon components inherent in PVC. By offering a thorough analysis of current recycling strategies and highlighting existing solutions, our review aims to inform and inspire further research in this crucial field, pushing towards more sustainable waste management practices.

Traditionally, it is relatively easy to process metal materials and polymers (plastics), while ceramic and inorganic semiconductor materials are hard to process, due to their intrinsic brittleness caused by directional covalent bonds or the strong electrostatic interactions among ionic species. The brittleness of semiconductor materials, which may degrade their functional performance and cause catastrophic failures, has excluded them from many application scenarios. The exploration on room-temperature ductile semiconductors has been a long pursuit of mankind for fabricating deformable and more robust electronics. Guided by this goal, researchers have already found that the plasticity of brittle semiconductors can be enhanced by size effects, which include fewer pre-existing micro-cracks and increased dislocation activity, charge characteristics, and defect density. It has also been explored that a few quasi-layered/van der Waals semiconductors can have exceptional room-temperature metal-like plasticity, enabled by the relatively weak interlayer bonding and easy interlayer gliding. More recently, intrinsic exceptional plasticity has been found in a group of all-inorganic perovskites (CsPbX₃, X = Cl, Br and I), which can be morphed into distinct morphologies through multislip at room temperature, without affecting their functional properties and bandgap energy. Based on the above research status, in this review, we will discuss and present the relevant works on the plasticity found in inorganic semiconductors and the proposed deformation mechanisms. The potential applications and bottlenecks of plastic semiconductors in manufacturing next-generation deformable electronic/optoelectronic devices and energy systems will also be discussed.

Solid-state lithium metal batteries are considered to be the next generation of energy storage systems due to the high energy density brought by the use of metal lithium anode and the safety features brought by the use of solid electrolytes (SEs). Unfortunately, besides the safety features, using SEs brings issues of interfacial contact of lithium anode and electrolytes. Recently, to realize the application of solid-state lithium metal batteries, significant achievements have been made in the interface engineering of solid-state batteries, and various new strategies have been proposed. In this review, from the interface failure perspective of solid-state lithium metal batteries, we summarize failure mechanisms in terms of poor physical contact, weak chemical/electrochemical stability, continuing contact degradation, and uncontrollable lithium deposition. We then focused on the latest strategies for solving interface issues, including advancing in improving the physical solid–solid contact, increasing the electrochemical/chemical stability, restraining continuing contact degradation, and controlling homogeneous lithium deposition. The ultimate and paramount future developing directions of solid-state lithium metal battery interface engineering are proposed.

The significant advancement of high-power densification and miniaturization in modern electronic devices has attracted increasing attention to effective thermal management. The primary objective of thermal management is to transfer excess heat from electronics to the outside environment through the use of thermal conductive materials. The anisotropic thermally conductive films (TCFs) based on two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials exhibit outstanding controlled heat transfer capability, which effectively removes hotspots along the in-plane direction and provides thermal insulation along the cross-plane direction. However, a comprehensive review of anisotropic TCFs is rarely reported. Herein, we first discuss the intrinsic anisotropic thermal conductivity of 2D nanomaterials for preparing TCFs. Then, the preparation methods and anisotropic thermal conductivity of TCFs have been summarized and discussed. Furthermore, we conclude with the practical applications of TCFs for anisotropy thermal management. Finally, a conclusion of the challenges and outlook of TCFs is provided to promote their development in future scientific research.

Inside Front Cover: In the review of doi:10.1002/idm2.12176, recent progress, mechanism, challenges, and perspectives in photocatalysis using the polar materials are summarized. As depicted in the image, under solar irradiation, the intrinsic internal electric field in polar catalysts facilitates the separation of carriers and the generation of reduction and oxidation products. Future research on photocatalysis using polar materials holds promise for significant advancements in environmental chemistry and energy engineering, leading to more efficient and sustainable energy solutions.

Inside Back Cover: The present work in doi:10.1002/idm2.12169 demonstrates a scaffoldcorrelated evolved gas bubble behavior in the gas production electrocatalysis by threedimensional printing nickel-based sulfide (3DPNS) electrodes with varying scaffold structures. The primary objective was to explore the correlation between the number of hole sides (HS) present in the electrode scaffolds and the release of gas bubbles. In the context of the alkaline hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), an increase in the number of HS was observed to lead to a faster overflow of H2 bubbles, and this acceleration was attributed to the reduced size of the overflowing bubbles. The research outcomes hold significance in advancing the design and development of catalytic electrodes.

Outside Back Cover: In the review of doi:10.1002/idm2.12177, we discussed the principle and electrochemistry of sodium-sulfur (Na-S) batteries and analyzed the critical role of heterostructured materials in addressing the inherent challenges faced by Na-S batteries. The cover image highlighted the two keywords of Na-S BATTERY and HETEROSTRUCTURE and showcased the relationship between them.