Sn Whiskers from Ti2 SnC Max Phase: Bridging Dual-Functionality in Electromagnetic Attenuation.

In the ever-evolving landscape of complex electromagnetic (EM) environments, the demand for EM-attenuating materials with multiple functionalities has grown. 1D metals, known for their high conductivity and ability to form networks that facilitate electron migration, stand out as promising candidates for EM attenuation. Presently, they find primary use in electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding, but achieving a dual-purpose application for EMI shielding and microwave absorption (MA) remains a challenge. In this context, Sn whiskers derived from the Ti2 SnC MAX phase exhibit exceptional EMI shielding and MA properties. A minimum reflection loss of -44.82 dB is achievable at lower loading ratios, while higher loading ratios yield efficient EMI shielding effectiveness of 42.78 dB. These qualities result from a delicate balance between impedance matching and EM energy attenuation via adjustable conductive networks; and the enhanced interfacial polarization effect at the cylindrical heterogeneous interface between Sn and SnO2 , visually characterized through off-axis electron holography, also contributes to the impressive performance. Considering the compositional diversity of MAX phases and the scalable fabrication approach with environmental friendliness, this study provides a valuable pathway to multifunctional EM attenuating materials based on 1D metals.

Robust and Flame-Retardant Zylon Aerogel Fibers for Wearable Thermal Insulation and Sensing in Harsh Environment.

The exceptional lightweight, highly porous, and insulating properties of aerogel fibers make them ideal for thermal insulation. However, current aerogel fibers face limitations due to their low resistance to harsh environments and a lack of intelligent responses. Herein, a universal strategy for creating polymer aerogel fibers using crosslinked nanofiber building blocks is proposed. This approach combines controlled proton absorption gelation spinning with a heat-induced crosslinking process. As a proof-of-concept, Zylon aerogel fibers that exhibited robust thermal stability (up to 650 °C), high flame retardancy (limiting oxygen index of 54.2%), and extreme chemical resistance are designed and synthesized. These fibers possess high porosity (98.6%), high breaking strength (8.6 MPa), and low thermal conductivity (0.036 W m-1 K-1 ). These aerogel fibers can be knotted or woven into textiles, utilized in harsh environments (-196-400 °C), and demonstrate sensitive self-powered sensing capabilities. This method of developing aerogel fibers expands the applications of high-performance polymer fibers and holds great potential for future applications in wearable smart protective fabrics.

Cost-effectiveness analysis of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes biomarkers guiding chemotherapy de-escalation in early triple-negative breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: To accelerate the clinical translation of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) biomarkers for guiding chemotherapy de-escalation in early-stage triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), cost-effectiveness evidence is essential but has not been investigated. We intend to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of using TILs to guiding chemotherapy de-escalation in patients with early-stage TNBC from the perspective of the Chinese health service system. METHODS: The hybrid decision-tree-Markov model was designed to compare the cost-effectiveness of cytotoxic chemotherapy guided by whether TILs assay was performed in 50-year-old female patients with early-stage TNBC over a lifetime horizon. In Strategy (1), if TILs testing was performed, patients with TILs values exceeding 30% could be spared from chemotherapy. In Strategy (2), where no TILs testing was performed, all patients were administered chemotherapy following China's clinical practices. Based on the algorithm built by Guyot, the individual patient data were reconstructed from the published Kaplan-Meier curves, and the survival functions were calculated by parametric methods. Cost estimates were valued in Chinese yuan (as per rates in 2022). RESULTS: In 50-year-old female patients with early-stage TNBC, Strategy (1), which employs TILs testing to guide cytotoxic chemotherapy yielded an additional 0.47 quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and saved 40,976 yuan, with an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of -87,182.98 yuan per QALY gained compared with Strategy (2). This indicates that compared with Strategy (2), Strategy (1) is the dominant scheme. The results were sensitive to utility parameters, discount rates, and treatment costs after relapse. At a willingness-to-pay threshold of 85,700 yuan (based on GDP per capita) per QALY, the probability of TILs being cost-effective was almost 100%. CONCLUSIONS: The application of biomarkers (TILs) to guide decisions for chemotherapy de-escalation is a cost-effective strategy for early-stage TNBC patients and deserves to be widely promoted in clinical practice.

Multifunctional MXene/C Aerogels for Enhanced Microwave Absorption and Thermal Insulation.

Two-dimensional transition metal carbides and nitrides (MXene) have emerged as promising candidates for microwave absorption (MA) materials. However, they also have some drawbacks, such as poor impedance matching, high self-stacking tendency, and high density. To tackle these challenges, MXene nanosheets were incorporated into polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers and subsequently assembled into a three-dimensional (3D) network structure through PAN carbonization, yielding MXene/C aerogels. The 3D network effectively extends the path of microcurrent transmission, leading to enhanced conductive loss of electromagnetic (EM) waves. Moreover, the aerogel's rich pore structure significantly improves the impedance matching while effectively reducing the density of the MXene-based absorbers. EM parameter analysis shows that the MXene/C aerogels exhibit a minimum reflection loss (RLmin) value of - 53.02 dB (f = 4.44 GHz, t = 3.8 mm), and an effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) of 5.3 GHz (t = 2.4 mm, 7.44-12.72 GHz). Radar cross-sectional (RCS) simulations were employed to assess the radar stealth effect of the aerogels, revealing that the maximum RCS reduction value of the perfect electric conductor covered by the MXene/C aerogel reaches 12.02 dB m2. In addition to the MA performance, the MXene/C aerogel also demonstrates good thermal insulation performance, and a 5-mm-thick aerogel can generate a temperature gradient of over 30 °C at 82 °C. This study provides a feasible design approach for creating lightweight, efficient, and multifunctional MXene-based MA materials.

Novel 2D/2D 1T-MoS2/Ti3C2Tz heterostructures for high-voltage symmetric supercapacitors.

Electrode materials play a crucial role in the electrochemical performance of supercapacitors (SCs). In recent years, 1T-MoS2 and MXene have been extensively studied as potential electrode materials. However, 1T-MoS2 suffers from the metastable property, rigorous synthesis process, and nanosheet restacking issue, while the specific capacitance of MXene is restricted, limiting their supercapacitor performance. To fully exploit the advantages of both materials and address their respective problems, 1T-MoS2/Ti3C2Tz 2D/2D heterostructures are synthesized through a simple hydrothermal method. The existence of heterojunctions is confirmed by XPS and TEM. The different ratios between MoS2 and Ti3C2Tz are investigated, and the electrochemical test is carried out in a "water-in-salt" electrolyte (20 mol kg-1 LiCl). The results demonstrate that the heterostructures exhibit enhanced electrochemical performance. The optimized ratio of 1T-MoS2/Ti3C2Tz is 2 : 1, and the specific capacitance reaches 250 F g-1 at 1 A g-1 with a wide potential window of -0.9 to 0.5 V vs. Ag/AgCl. The capacitance retention is 82.3% (at 10 A g-1) after 5000 cycles, and the average coulombic efficiency (ACE) was 99.96%. Assembled into symmetric SCs (SSCs), the energy density of 12.0 W h kg-1 at a power density of 139.9 W kg-1 is achieved with a high voltage of 1.4 V. It also has 82.6% capacitance retention and 99.95% ACE after 5000 cycles at 5 A g-1. This work is expected to stimulate novel research towards the wide application of 2D/2D heterostructures in SCs.

Durability of Plant Fiber Composites for Structural Application: A Brief Review.

Environmental sustainability and eco-efficiency stand as imperative benchmarks for the upcoming era of materials. The use of sustainable plant fiber composites (PFCs) in structural components has garnered significant interest within industrial community. The durability of PFCs is an important consideration and needs to be well understood before their widespread application. Moisture/water aging, creep properties, and fatigue properties are the most critical aspects of the durability of PFCs. Currently, proposed approaches, such as fiber surface treatments, can alleviate the impact of water uptake on the mechanical properties of PFCs, but complete elimination seems impossible, thus limiting the application of PFCs in moist environments. Creep in PFCs has not received as much attention as water/moisture aging. Existing research has already found the significant creep deformation of PFCs due to the unique microstructure of plant fibers, and fortunately, strengthening fiber-matrix bonding has been reported to effectively improve creep resistance, although data remain limited. Regarding fatigue research in PFCs, most research focuses on tension-tension fatigue properties, but more attention is required on compression-related fatigue properties. PFCs have demonstrated a high endurance of one million cycles under a tension-tension fatigue load at 40% of their ultimate tensile strength (UTS), regardless of plant fiber type and textile architecture. These findings bolster confidence in the use of PFCs for structural applications, provided special measures are taken to alleviate creep and water absorption. This article outlines the current state of the research on the durability of PFCs in terms of the three critical factors mentioned above, and also discusses the associated improvement methods, with the hope that it can provide readers with a comprehensive overview of PFCs' durability and highlight areas worthy of further research.

In-Situ Growth of ZnO Whiskers on Ti2ZnC MAX Phases.

ZnO whiskers have many applications, such as in medical and photocatalysis fields. In this study, an unconventional preparation approach is reported, realizing the in-situ growth of ZnO whiskers on Ti2ZnC. The weak bonding between the layer of Ti6C-octahedron and the Zn-atom layers leads to the easy extraction of Zn atoms from Ti2ZnC lattice points, resulting in the formation of ZnO whiskers on the Ti2ZnC surface. This is the first time that ZnO whiskers have been found to grow in-situ on Ti2ZnC substrate. Further, this phenomenon is amplified when the size of the Ti2ZnC grains is mechanically reduced by ball-milling, which bodes a promising route to prepare ZnO in-situ on a large scale. Additionally, this finding can also help us better understand the stability of Ti2ZnC and the whiskering mechanism of MAX phases.

Lithium storage performance and mechanism of nano-sized Ti2InC MAX phase.

Fine powders of MAX phases (a family of layered carbides/nitrides) have been showing great promise in energy storage applications. A feasible method of obtaining nano-sized MAX phase particles is critical to realizing the practical application of the vast MAX phase family in more technologically important fields. Herein, ball milling, a commercial and feasible method, is employed to prepare nano-sized Ti2InC, which delivers a high specific capacity of 590 mA h g-1 after 500 cycles and maintains 574.4 mA h g-1 after 600 cycles at 0.1 A g-1 when used as a lithium storage anode. Compared with other methods (e.g., partial etching), decreasing the size of Ti2InC particles by ball milling can preserve the exfoliated indium (In) atoms, which have great volumetric and gravimetric capacities. In situ XRD analysis indicates that the capacity of the nano-sized Ti2InC primarily comes from the lithiation of elemental In exfoliated from Ti2InC, and in particular, the exfoliated In atoms by ball milling can increase the initial capacity. The lithiation/delithiation cycle can effectively activate and even exfoliate the Ti2InC grains, which accounts for the increasing capacity upon cycling.

Hyperelastic Kevlar Nanofiber Aerogels as Robust Thermal Switches for Smart Thermal Management.

Aerogels, the lightest artificial solid materials characterized by low density and thermal conductivity, high porosity, and large specific surface area, have attracted increasing interest. Aerogels exhibit single-mode thermal insulation properties regardless of the surrounding temperature. In this study, hyperelastic Kevlar nanofiber aerogels (HEKAs) are designed and fabricated by a slow-proton-release-modulating gelation and thermoinduced crosslinking strategy. The method does not use crosslinking agents and endows the ultralow-density (4.7 mg cm-3 ) HEKAs with low thermal conductivity (0.029 W m-1 K-1 ), high porosity (99.75%), high thermal stability (550 °C), and increased compression resilience (80%) and fatigue resistance. Proofs of the concept of the HEKAs acting as on-off thermal switches are demonstrated through experiments and simulations. The thermal switches exhibit a rapid thermal response speed of 0.73 °C s-1 , high heat flux of 2044 J m-2 s-1 , and switching ratio of 7.5. Heat dissipation can be reversibly switched on/off more than fifty times owing to the hyperelasticity and fatigue resistance of the HEKAs. This study suggests a route to fulfill the hyperelasticity of highly porous aerogels and to tailor heat flux on-demand.

Lightweight and flexible PAN@PPy/MXene films with outstanding electromagnetic interference shielding and Joule heating performance.

Lightweight and flexible multifunctional materials with excellent electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding and Joule heating performances are highly demanded for smart and wearable electronics. In this work, polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofiber films are prepared by electrospinning and then coated with polypyrrole (PPy) via vapor deposition, yielding a continuous three-dimensional (3D) conductive network of PAN@PPy. Ti3C2Tx MXene nanosheets with high electrical conductivity are sprayed on the PAN@PPy film to enhance its EMI shielding performance. The as-prepared PAN@PPy/MXene films (55 µm thick) exhibit a high EMI shielding effectiveness (SE) of 32 dB, achieving an extraordinarily high normalized surface-specific SE (SSE/t) of up to 17 534.5 dB cm2 g-1 from 8.2 to 12.4 GHz; simultaneously, the temperatures of PAN@PPy/MXene films can be driven up to 170.5 °C at an input voltage of 4 V, and exhibit fast-response, stable, and long-term Joule heating performance. The high SSE/t and efficient Joule heating ability of the films bode potential applications in smart and wearable devices.

Predictive and prognostic values of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes in breast cancers treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy: A meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: This meta-analysis assessed the predictive and prognostic value of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) treated breast cancer and an optimal threshold for predicting pathologic complete response (pCR). METHODS: A systematic search of PubMed, EMBASE and Web of Science electronic databases was conducted to identify eligible studies published before April 2022. Either a fixed or random effects model was applied to estimate the pooled hazard ratio (HR) and odds ratio (OR) for prognosis and predictive values of TILs in breast cancer patients treated with NACT. The study is registered with PROSPERO (CRD42020221521). RESULTS: A total of 29 published studies were eligible. Increased levels of TILs predicted response to NACT in HER2 positive breast cancer (OR = 2.54 95%CI, 1.50-4.29) and triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) (OR = 3.67, 95%CI, 1.93-6.97), but not for hormone receptor (HR) positive breast cancer (OR = 1.68, 95 %CI, 0.67-4.25). A threshold of 20% of H & E-stained TILs was associated with prediction of pCR in both HER2 positive breast cancer (P = 0.035) and TNBC (P = 0.001). Moreover, increased levels of TILs (either iTILs or sTILs) were associated with survival benefit in HER2-positive breast cancer and TNBC. However, an increased level of TILs was not a prognostic factor for survival in HR positive breast cancer (pooled HR = 0.64, 95%CI: 0.03-14.1, P = 0.78). CONCLUSIONS: Increased levels of TILs were associated with increased rates of response to NACT and improved prognosis for the molecular subtypes of TNBC and HER2-positive breast cancer, but not for patients with HR positive breast cancer. A threshold of 20% TILs was the most powerful outcome prognosticator of pCR.

MXene-Derived Tin O2 n- 1 Quantum Dots Distributed on Porous Carbon Nanosheets for Stable and Long-Life Li-S Batteries: Enhanced Polysulfide Mediation via Defect Engineering.

The application of Li-S batteries has been hindered by the shuttling behavior and sluggish reaction kinetics of polysulfides. Here an effective polysulfide immobilizer and catalytic promoter is developed by proposing oxygen-vacancy-rich Tin O2 n -1 quantum dots (OV-Tn QDs) decorated on porous carbon nanosheets (PCN), which are modulated using Ti3 C2 Tx MXene as starting materials. The Tn QDs not only confine polysulfides through strong chemisorption but also promote polysulfide conversion via redox-active catalysis. The introduction of oxygen vacancies further boosts the immobilization and conversion of polysulfides by lowering the adsorption energy and shortening the bond lengths. The PCN provides a physical polysulfide confinement as well as a flexible substrate preventing OV-Tn QDs from aggregation. Moreover, the two building blocks are conductive, thereby effectively improving the electron/charge transfer. Finally, the ultrasmall size of QDs along with the porous structure endows OV-Tn QDs@PCN with large specific surface area and pore volume, affording adequate space for S loading and volume expansion. Therefore, the OV-Tn QDs@PCN/S delivers a high S loading (79.1 wt%), good rate capability (672 mA h g-1 at 2 C), and excellent long-term cyclability (88% capacity retention over 1000 cycles at 2 C). It also exhibits good Li+ storage under high S-mass loading and lean electrolyte.

Genome-Wide Analysis of the C2 Domain Family in Soybean and Identification of a Putative Abiotic Stress Response Gene GmC2-148.

Plant C2 domain proteins play essential biological functions in numerous plants. In this study, 180 soybean C2 domain genes were identified by screening. Phylogenetic relationship analysis revealed that C2 domain genes fell into three distinct groups with diverged gene structure and conserved functional domain. Chromosomal location analysis indicated that C2 domain genes mapped to 20 chromosomes. The transcript profiles based on RNA-seq data showed that GmC2-58, GmC2-88, and GmC2-148 had higher levels of expression under salt, drought, and abscisic acid (ABA) treatments. GmC2-148, encoding a cell membrane-localized protein, had the highest level of response to various treatments according to real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) analysis. Under salt and drought stresses, the soybean plants with GmC2-148 transgenic hairy roots showed delayed leaf rolling, a higher content of proline (Pro), and lower contents of H2O2, O2- and malondialdehyde (MDA) compared to those of the empty vector (EV) plants. The results of transgenic Arabidopsis in salt and drought treatments were consistent with those in soybean treatments. In addition, the soybean plants with GmC2-148 transgenic hairy roots increased transcript levels of several abiotic stress-related marker genes, including COR47, NCDE3, NAC11, WRKY13, DREB2A, MYB84, bZIP44, and KIN1 which resulted in enhanced abiotic stress tolerance in soybean. These results indicate that C2 domain genes are involved in response to salt and drought stresses, and this study provides a genome-wide analysis of the C2 domain family in soybean.

Ti3C2Tx nanosheet wrapped core-shell MnO2 nanorods @ hollow porous carbon as a multifunctional polysulfide mediator for improved Li-S batteries.

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries are regarded as potential next-generation energy storage systems due to their high theoretical energy densities. However, the dissolution of lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) upon cycling can result in severe capacity degradation. Achieving high rate capabilities with good cycling stability remains a huge obstacle for the practical implementation of Li-S batteries. Here we developed a novel, multifunctional, hierarchical structure by self-assembling core-shell MnO2 nanorods @ hollow porous carbon with 2D Ti3C2Tx nanosheets, labelled as MCT, as an efficient polysulfide mediator for Li-S cathodes. The integration of the polar MnO2 core and hollow porous carbon shell captures LiPSs two ways: physical confinement and chemisorption. The conductive Ti3C2Tx nanosheets construct a continuous and conductive network, which not only promotes charge transfer and ion diffusion but also boosts LiPS adsorption and conversion. Based on these merits, the MCT/S cathode delivers good rate capability (688 mA h g-1 at 2.0C) and outstanding long-term cyclability (0.044% capacity decay per cycle over 600 cycles at 2.0C).

A multidimensional nanostructural design towards electrochemically stable and mechanically strong hydrogel electrodes.

Electrically conductive hydrogels are polymeric composites that combine electroactive fillers with hydrogel networks. They offer an electrically conductive pathway for electron transfer and provide an interconnected framework for ion diffusion, as well as an extended active interface for redox reactions, being ideal frameworks to design and construct flexible electrodes. In this work, we integrate nanoscale building blocks into a unique ternary (1, 2 and 3 dimensional) hydrogel architecture, where conductive polymer polypyrrole (PPy) nanofibers (1D) and MXene nanosheets (2D) are uniformly dispersed in polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) matrixes (3D). 1D nanofibers and 2D nanosheets were found to greatly increase the mechanical properties of the hydrogel hosts, demonstrating a remarkable tensile strength of 10.3 MPa and a large elongation over 380%. Moreover, the as-fabricated hierarchical structure effectively promotes electrolyte diffusion, exhibiting exceptional capacitive characteristics, including a high gravimetric specific capacitance of 614 F g-1 (at 1 A g-1) and an unprecedented cycling stability (100% capacitance retention over 10 000 cycles). A solid-state supercapacitor is assembled based on these MXene/PPy-PVA hydrogels, which demonstrates an efficient approach to the fabrication of wearable energy storage devices.

LncRNA SNHG8 promotes proliferation and invasion of gastric cancer cells by targeting the miR-491/PDGFRA axis.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of long non-coding small nucleolar RNA host gene 8 (SNHG8) on the proliferation and invasion of gastric cancer (GC). The GC tissues and adjacent normal tissues from 30 patients were collected. Human GC cell lines, including AGS, SGC-7901, MKN-1, and BGC-803 and normal human gastric epithelial cell line GES-1 were purchased and cultured. The Cell Counting Kit-8 and Western blots were used to access cell proliferation, and platelet-derived growth factor receptor α (PDGFRA) expression, respectively. qRT-PCR was used to evaluate the expression of SNHG8 and miRNA-491. A transwell assay was applied to evaluate cell invasion. This study illustrated that SNHG8 expression was upregulated in GC tissues, as well as in cell lines. Moreover, knockdown of SNHG8 inhibited GC cell proliferation and invasion. Significantly, we determined that miRNA-491 was not only downregulated in stomach cancer but also inhibited GC cell progression induced by SNHG8. Further investigation demonstrated that SNHG8 promoted the proliferation and invasion of GC cells by targeting the miR-491/PDGFRA axis. LncRNA SNHG8 promoted the proliferation and invasion of GC cells by targeting the miR-491/PDGFRA axis, which might provide new insight for potential therapeutic strategies for GC in the future.

Dexmedetomidine pretreatment attenuates isoflurane-induced neurotoxicity via inhibiting the TLR2/NF-κB signaling pathway in neonatal rats.

Isoflurane is a commonly used inhalational anesthetic that can induce neurotoxicity, while Dexmedetomidine (Dex) has significant neuroprotective effects. In our study, we explored the effects of Dex on isoflurane-induced neurotoxicity through the TLR2/NF-κB signaling pathway. Seven-day old neonatal Sprague-Dawley rats pretreated with 25, 50, 75 µg/kg Dex were exposed to 0.75% isoflurane for 6 h. Spatial learning and memory abilities were detected by Morris water maze test. Ultrastructure of hippocampal neurons, neuronal apoptosis, and the levels of TLR2/NF-κB signaling pathway-related factors were determined. Besides, TLR2 agonist Pam3CSK4 or NF-κB inhibitor BAY11-7082 was injected to further validate the involvement of TLR2/NF-κB signaling following Dex treatment. Consequently, we found isoflurane inhalation resulted in increased cell apoptosis, inflammation and TLR2/NF-κB signaling pathway activation, and decreased PSD95 expression and spatial learning and memory abilities. Dex led to decreased inflammation, improved neuronal structure and viability in rats as well as enhanced spatial learning and memory abilities of rats, and it inactivated the TLR2/NF-κB signaling pathway. Additionally, Pam3CSK4 injection reversed the protective effects of Dex on isoflurane-induced neurotoxicity. In conclusion, this study provided evidence that Dex could alleviate isoflurane-induced neurotoxicity through inhibition of the TLR2/NF-κB signaling pathway. The findings may offer novel insights for the clinical usage of anesthetics.

Preparation and Properties of Wall Coatings with Calcined Shell Powder as Fillers.

Using as thermal reflection coating fillers is a significant recycle method for the largely available by-product of shell powders in aquaculture. However, the organics in the shell powder harm its reflection ability. To enhance the thermal reflection performance of the shell powder filled coatings, in this work, the calcined shell powders were used to fill coatings, and the performance of the coatings filled by the calcined shell powders under different temperatures was comparably investigated. Experimental results indicate that after calcination at 400 °C, the organics in the shell powders are removed, whereas the crystal structure of the calcium carbonate is maintained and its particles are refined, leading to an increase in its reflectance. Calcination at temperatures higher than 400 °C deteriorates the properties of the shell powder, due to the sintering of the calcium carbonate particles. The coatings filled by shell powder calcinated at 400 °C deliver the best cooling effect and comparable scouring resistance.

Adsorption of Transition Metals on Black Phosphorene: a First-Principles Study.

Black phosphorene is a novel two-dimensional material which has unique properties and wide applications. Using first-principles calculations, we investigated the adsorption behavior of 12 different transition metals (TMs; Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Ru, Rh, Pd, Ag, Os, Ir, Pt, and Au) on phosphorene. Our results showed that all of the adsorption systems have a large binding energy. The Fe-, Co-, and Au-phosphorene systems display magnetic states with magnetic moments of 2, 1, and 0.96 µB, respectively, which means that these systems are magnetic semiconductors. Adsorption of oxygen molecules on TM-phosphorene was also investigated. Interestingly, all the O2-(TM-phosphorene) systems, except O2-(Pd-phosphorene), can elongate the O-O bond, which is critical to their application as catalysts in the oxidation of CO. We also found that the adsorption of O2 molecules enables the O2-(Fe-, Ni-, Cu-, Ir-, Rh-, Ag-, and Au-phosphorene) systems to become magnetic semiconductors, and it allows O2-(Co-phosphorene) to display half-metallic state. Our results are expected to have important implications for phosphorene-based catalysis and spintronics.

Fabrication of Lithiophilic Copper Foam with Interfacial Modulation toward High-Rate Lithium Metal Anodes.

Although metallic lithium is regarded as an ideal anode material for high-energy-density batteries, the low cycling efficiency and safety issues hinder its practical application. In this study, a three-dimensional (3D) lithium composite anode was developed through infusing molten lithium inside the Cu foam anchored by ZnO nanoparticles. The introduced ZnO layer provides the driving force for infusion, leading to the spontaneous wetting of molten lithium. Benefiting from well-confined preloaded lithium in the Cu network, the anode displays ultralow internal resistance and stabilized interface. The fabricated anode for the symmetric cell shows extraordinarily low overpotential at high current densities (15, 33, and 50 mV at 3, 5, and 8 mA cm-2 after 100 cycles, respectively). When paired with Li4Ti5O12 electrode, the half-type cell demonstrates superior rate capability and long-term cycling stability after 1000 cycles at an ultrahigh rate of 10C. To the best of our knowledge, this anode shows the lowest overpotential and the highest rate capacity ever reported for 3D design anodes, confirming their great potential as lithium metal anodes.