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    High-Entropy Metal-Organic Frameworks for Highly Reversible Sodium Storage
    (Weinheim : Wiley-VCH, 2021) Ma, Yanjiao; Ma, Yuan; Dreyer, Sören Lukas; Wang, Qingsong; Wang, Kai; Goonetilleke, Damian; Omar, Ahmad; Mikhailova, Daria; Hahn, Horst; Breitung, Ben; Brezesinski, Torsten
    Prussian blue analogues (PBAs) are reported to be efficient sodium storage materials because of the unique advantages of their metal-organic framework structure. However, the issues of low specific capacity and poor reversibility, caused by phase transitions during charge/discharge cycling, have thus far limited the applicability of these materials. Herein, a new approach is presented to substantially improve the electrochemical properties of PBAs by introducing high entropy into the crystal structure. To achieve this, five different metal species are introduced, sharing the same nitrogen-coordinated site, thereby increasing the configurational entropy of the system beyond 1.5R. By careful selection of the elements, high-entropy PBA (HE-PBA) presents a quasi-zero-strain reaction mechanism, resulting in increased cycling stability and rate capability. The key to such improvement lies in the high entropy and associated effects as well as the presence of several active redox centers. The gassing behavior of PBAs is also reported. Evolution of dimeric cyanogen due to oxidation of the cyanide ligands is detected, which can be attributed to the structural degradation of HE-PBA during battery operation. By optimizing the electrochemical window, a Coulombic efficiency of nearly 100% is retained after cycling for more than 3000 cycles.
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    High‐Entropy Sulfides as Electrode Materials for Li‐Ion Batteries
    (Weinheim : Wiley-VCH, 2022) Lin, Ling; Wang, Kai; Sarkar, Abhishek; Njel, Christian; Karkera, Guruprakash; Wang, Qingsong; Azmi, Raheleh; Fichtner, Maximilian; Hahn, Horst; Schweidler, Simon; Breitung, Ben
    High-entropy sulfides (HESs) containing 5 equiatomic transition metals (M), with different M:S ratios, are prepared by a facile one-step mechanochemical approach. Two new types of single-phase HESs with pyrite (Pa-3) and orthorhombic (Pnma) structures are obtained and demonstrate a homogeneously mixed solid solution. The straightforward synthesis method can easily tune the desired metal to sulfur ratio for HESs with different stoichiometries, by utilizing the respective metal sulfides, even pure metals, and sulfur as precursor chemicals. The structural details and solid solution nature of HESs are studied by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, electron energy loss spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy, and Mössbauer spectroscopy. Since transition metal sulfides are a very versatile material class, here the application of HESs is presented as electrode materials for reversible electrochemical energy storage, in which the HESs show high specific capacities and excellent rate capabilities in secondary Li-ion batteries.
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    P2-type layered high-entropy oxides as sodium-ion cathode materials
    (Bristol : IOP Science, 2022) Wang, Junbo; Dreyer, Sören L; Wang, Kai; Ding, Ziming; Diemant, Thomas; Karkera, Guruprakash; Ma, Yanjiao; Sarkar, Abhishek; Zhou, Bei; Gorbunov, Mikhail V; Omar, Ahmad; Mikhailova, Daria; Presser, Volker; Fichtner, Maximilian; Hahn, Horst; Brezesinski, Torsten; Breitung, Ben; Wang, Qingsong
    P2-type layered oxides with the general Na-deficient composition NaxTMO2 (x < 1, TM: transition metal) are a promising class of cathode materials for sodium-ion batteries. The open Na+ transport pathways present in the structure lead to low diffusion barriers and enable high charge/discharge rates. However, a phase transition from P2 to O2 structure occurring above 4.2 V and metal dissolution at low potentials upon discharge results in rapid capacity degradation. In this work, we demonstrate the positive effect of configurational entropy on the stability of the crystal structure during battery operation. Three different compositions of layered P2-type oxides were synthesized by solid-state chemistry, Na0.67(Mn0.55Ni0.21Co0.24)O2, Na0.67(Mn0.45Ni0.18Co0.24Ti0.1Mg0.03)O2 and Na0.67(Mn0.45Ni0.18Co0.18Ti0.1Mg0.03Al0.04Fe0.02)O2 with low, medium and high configurational entropy, respectively. The high-entropy cathode material shows lower structural transformation and Mn dissolution upon cycling in a wide voltage range from 1.5 to 4.6 V. Advanced operando techniques and post-mortem analysis were used to probe the underlying reaction mechanism thoroughly. Overall, the high-entropy strategy is a promising route for improving the electrochemical performance of P2 layered oxide cathodes for advanced sodium-ion battery applications.
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    Applications of MXenes in human-like sensors and actuators
    (New York, NY [u.a.] : Springer, 2022) Pang, Jinbo; Peng, Songang; Hou, Chongyang; Wang, Xiao; Wang, Ting; Cao, Yu; Zhou, Weijia; Sun, Ding; Wang, Kai; Rümmeli, Mark H.; Cuniberti, Gianaurelio; Liu, Hong
    Human beings perceive the world through the senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, space, and balance. The first five senses are prerequisites for people to live. The sensing organs upload information to the nervous systems, including the brain, for interpreting the surrounding environment. Then, the brain sends commands to muscles reflexively to react to stimuli, including light, gas, chemicals, sound, and pressure. MXene, as an emerging two-dimensional material, has been intensively adopted in the applications of various sensors and actuators. In this review, we update the sensors to mimic five primary senses and actuators for stimulating muscles, which employ MXene-based film, membrane, and composite with other functional materials. First, a brief introduction is delivered for the structure, properties, and synthesis methods of MXenes. Then, we feed the readers the recent reports on the MXene-derived image sensors as artificial retinas, gas sensors, chemical biosensors, acoustic devices, and tactile sensors for electronic skin. Besides, the actuators of MXene-based composite are introduced. Eventually, future opportunities are given to MXene research based on the requirements of artificial intelligence and humanoid robot, which may induce prospects in accompanying healthcare and biomedical engineering applications. [Figure not available: see fulltext.]
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    Applications of nanogenerators for biomedical engineering and healthcare systems
    (Weinheim : Wiley, 2021) Wang, Wanli; Pang, Jinbo; Su, Jie; Li, Fujiang; Li, Qiang; Wang, Xiaoxiong; Wang, Jingang; Ibarlucea, Bergoi; Liu, Xiaoyan; Li, Yufen; Zhou, Weijia; Wang, Kai; Han, Qingfang; Liu, Lei; Zang, Ruohan; Rümmeli, Mark H.; Li, Yang; Liu, Hong; Hu, Han; Cuniberti, Gianaurelio
    The dream of human beings for long living has stimulated the rapid development of biomedical and healthcare equipment. However, conventional biomedical and healthcare devices have shortcomings such as short service life, large equipment size, and high potential safety hazards. Indeed, the power supply for conventional implantable device remains predominantly batteries. The emerging nanogenerators, which harvest micro/nanomechanical energy and thermal energy from human beings and convert into electrical energy, provide an ideal solution for self‐powering of biomedical devices. The combination of nanogenerators and biomedicine has been accelerating the development of self‐powered biomedical equipment. This article first introduces the operating principle of nanogenerators and then reviews the progress of nanogenerators in biomedical applications, including power supply, smart sensing, and effective treatment. Besides, the microbial disinfection and biodegradation performances of nanogenerators have been updated. Next, the protection devices have been discussed such as face mask with air filtering function together with real‐time monitoring of human health from the respiration and heat emission. Besides, the nanogenerator devices have been categorized by the types of mechanical energy from human beings, such as the body movement, tissue and organ activities, energy from chemical reactions, and gravitational potential energy. Eventually, the challenges and future opportunities in the applications of nanogenerators are delivered in the conclusive remarks. The combination of nanogenerator and biomedicine have been accelerating the development of self‐powered biomedical devices, which show a bright future in biomedicine and healthcare such as smart sensing, and therapy.
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    A fiber optic-nanophotonic approach to the detection of antibodies and viral particles of COVID-19
    (Berlin : de Gruyter, 2020) Rajil, Navid; Sokolov, Alexei; Yi, Zhenhuan; Adams, Garry; Agarwal, Girish; Belousov, Vsevolod; Brick, Robert; Chapin, Kimberly; Cirillo, Jeffrey; Deckert, Volker; Delfan, Sahar; Esmaeili, Shahriar; Fernández-González, Alma; Fry, Edward; Han, Zehua; Hemmer, Philip; Kattawar, George; Kim, Moochan; Lee, Ming-Che; Lu, Chao-Yang; Mogford, Jon; Neuman, Benjamin; Pan, Jian-Wei; Peng, Tao; Poor, Vincent; Scully, Steven; Shih, Yanhua; Suckewer, Szymon; Svidzinsky, Anatoly; Verhoef, Aart; Wang, Dawei; Wang, Kai; Yan, Lan; Zheltikov, Aleksei; Zhu, Shiyao; Zubairy, Suhail; Scully, Marlan
    Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House Coronavirus Task Force coordinator, told NBC News on "Meet the Press"that "[T]he U.S. needs a 'breakthrough' in coronavirus testing to help screen Americans and get a more accurate picture of the virus' spread."We have been involved with biopathogen detection since the 2001 anthrax attacks and were the first to detect anthrax in real-time. A variation on the laser spectroscopic techniques we developed for the rapid detection of anthrax can be applied to detect the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Corona Virus-2 (SARS-CoV-2 virus). In addition to detecting a single virus, this technique allows us to read its surface protein structure. In particular, we have been conducting research based on a variety of quantum optical approaches aimed at improving our ability to detect Corona Virus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) viral infection. Indeed, the detection of a small concentration of antibodies, after an infection has passed, is a challenging problem. Likewise, the early detection of disease, even before a detectible antibody population has been established, is very important. Our team is researching both aspects of this problem. The paper is written to stimulate the interest of both physical and biological scientists in this important problem. It is thus written as a combination of tutorial (review) and future work (preview). We join Prof. Federico Capasso and Editor Dennis Couwenberg in expressing our appreciation to all those working so heroically on all aspects of the COVID-19 problem. And we thank Drs. Capasso and Couwenberg for their invitation to write this paper. © 2020 Navid Rajil et al., published by De Gruyter, Berlin/Boston 2020.