Zegao Wang

Three-dimensional CNT/graphene–sulfur hybrid sponges with high sulfur loading as superior-capacity cathodes for lithium–sulfur batteries

A facile method is presented to synthesize three-dimensional carbon nanotube/graphene–sulfur (3DCGS) sponge with a high sulfur loading of 80.1%. In the well-designed 3D architecture, the two-dimensional graphene nanosheets function as the 3D porous backbone and the one-dimensional (1D) highly conductive carbon nanotubes (CNTs) can not only significantly enhance the conductivity, but also effectively tune the mesoporous structure. Compared to the three-dimensional graphene–sulfur (3DGS) sponge without CNTs, the conductivity of 3DCGS is enhanced by 324.7%; most importantly, compared to the monomodal mesopores (with a size of 3.5 nm) formed in the 3DG, bimodal mesopores (with sizes of 3.5 and 32.1 nm) were formed in 3DCG; the bimodal mesopores, especially the newly formed 32.1 nm mesopores, provide abundant electrochemical nanoreactors, accommodate plenty of sulfur and polysulfides, and facilitate charge transportation and electrolyte penetration. The significantly enhanced conductivity and the unique bimodal-mesopore structure in 3DCGS result in its superior electrochemical performance. The reversible discharge capacity for sulfur is 1217 mA h g−1; the corresponding capacity for the whole electrode (including the 3DCGS, the conductive additive and the binder) is 877.4 mA h ge−1, which is the highest ever reported. In addition, the capacity decay is as low as 0.08% per cycle, and the high-rate capacity up to 4C is as large as 653.4 mA h g−1. The 3DCGS sponge with high sulfur loading is promising as a superior-capacity cathode for lithium–sulfur batteries.

Flexible Graphene-Based Electroluminescent Devices

For the first time, large-area CVD-grown graphene films transferred onto flexible PET substrates were used as transparent conductive electrodes in alternating current electroluminescence (ACEL) devices. The flexible ACEL device based on a single-layer graphene electrode has a turn-on voltage of 80 V; at 480 V (16 kHz), the luminance and luminous efficiency are 1140 cd/m(2) and 5.0 lm/W, respectively. The turn-on voltage increases and the luminance decreases with increasing stacked layers of graphene, which means the single-layer graphene is the best optimal choice as the transparent conductive electrode. Furthermore, it demonstrates that the graphene-based ACEL device is highly flexible and can work very well even under a very large strain of 5.4%, suggesting great potential applications in flexible optoelectronics.

Three-Dimensional Hierarchical Reduced Graphene Oxide/Tellurium Nanowires: A High-Performance Freestanding Cathode for Li–Te Batteries

Three-dimensional aerogel with ultrathin tellurium nanowires (TeNWs) wrapped homogeneously by reduced graphene oxide (rGO) is realized via a facile hydrothermal method. Featured with high conductivity and large flexibility, the rGO constructs a conductive three-dimensional (3D) backbone with rich porosity and leads to a free-standing, binder-free cathode for lithium-tellurium (Li-Te) batteries with excellent electrochemical performances. The cathode shows a high initial capacity of 2611 mAh cm(-3) at 0.2 C, a high retention of 88% after 200 cycles, and a high-rate capacity of 1083 mAh cm(-3) at 10 C. In particular, the 3D aerogel cathode delivers a capacity of 1685 mAh cm(-3) at 1 C after 500 cycles, showing pronounced long-cycle performance at high current density. The performances are attributed to the well-defined flexible 3D architecture with high porosity and conductivity network, which offers highly efficient channels for electron transfer and ionic diffusion while compromising volume expansion of Te in charge/discharge. Owing to such advantageous properties, the reported 3D rGO/tellurium nanowire (3DGT) aerogel presents promising application potentials as a high-performance cathode for Li-Te batteries.

Pure thiophene-sulfur doped reduced graphene oxide: synthesis, structure, and electrical properties

Here we propose, for the first time, a new and green ethanol-thermal reaction method to synthesize high-quality and pure thiophene-sulfur doped reduced graphene oxide (rGO), which establishes an excellent platform for studying sulfur (S) doping effects on the physical/chemical properties of this material. We have quantitatively demonstrated that the conductivity enhancement of thiophene-S doped rGO is not only caused by the more effective reduction induced by S doping, but also by the doped S atoms, themselves. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the S doping is more effective in enhancing conductivity of rGO than nitrogen (N) doping due to its stronger electron donor ability. Finally, the dye-sensitized solar cell (DSCC) employing the S-doped rGO/TiO2 photoanode exhibits much better performance than undoped rGO/TiO2, N-doped rGO/TiO2 and TiO2 photoanodes. It therefore seems promising for thiophene-S doped rGO to be widely used in electronic and optoelectronic devices.

Facile Synthesis of Single Crystal PtSe2 Nanosheets for Nanoscale Electronics

Ultrathin single crystal platinum diselenide (PtSe2 ) nanosheets are synthesized using H2 PtCl6 and Se as the precursors. The electronic properties are first investigated and exhibit p-type transport behavior with the mobility much larger than 7 cm2 V-1 s-1 . The further investigation on PtSe2 /MoS2 var der Waals p-n junction demonstrated that PtSe2 could be potentially applied in 2D electronics.

Vertically oriented few-layered HfS2 nanosheets: growth mechanism and optical properties

For the first time, large-area, vertically oriented few-layered hafnium disulfide (V-) nanosheets have been grown by chemical vapor deposition. The individual nanosheets are well [001] oriented, with highly crystalline quality. Far different from conventional van der Waals epitaxial growth mechanism for two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides, a novel dangling-bond-assisted self-seeding growth mechanism is proposed to describe the growth of V- nanosheets: difficult migration of adatoms on substrate surface results in seeds growing perpendicularly to the substrate; V- nanosheets inherit the growth direction of seeds; V- nanosheets further expand in the in-plane direction with time evolution. Moreover, the V- nanosheets show strong and broadened photons absorption from near infrared to ultraviolet; the V--based photodetector exhibits an ultrafast photoresponse time of 24 ms, and a high photosensitivity ca. 103 for 405 nm laser.

Synthesis, characterization and electrical properties of silicon-doped graphene films

Theoretical calculations have predicted that silicon doping modifies the electronic structure of graphene; however, it is difficult to synthesize high-quality silicon-doped graphene (SiG), thus the electrical properties of SiG have still remained unexplored. In this study, a monolayer SiG film was synthesized by chemical vapour deposition using triphenylsilane (C18H15Si) as a sole solid source, which provides both carbon and silicon atoms. The silicon doping content is ∼2.63 at%, and silicon atoms are incorporated into the graphene lattice with pure Si–C bonds. Furthermore, electrical studies reveal that the as-synthesized SiG film shows a typical p-type doping behaviour with a considerably high carrier mobility of about 660 cm2 V−1 s−1 at room temperature. In addition, due to the single doping structure of Si–C bonds, the SiG film can be expected to be used as an excellent platform for studying silicon doping effects on the physical and chemical properties of graphene.

Design of TiNi alloy two-way shape memory coil extension spring

Abstract This work presents a study of the development of the two-way shape memory effect (TWSME) by themomechanical training and its degradation due to working cycles in a shape memory alloys (SMAs) spring. A TWSME extension spring that could extend upon heating and contract upon cooling was obtained by constrained annealing and thermomechanical training. A stable TWSME recovery rate can reach 60–70% after training for 200 cycles. The investigation showed that constrained annealing temperature and the thermomechanical training procedure had a great effect on the TWSME. After 1000 working cycles, the TWSME recovery rate still maintained at 45% stably. The effect of the thermomechanical training on transformation characters was also investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The inverse martensitic transformation temperatures increased and martensitic transformation temperatures decreased with increasing thermomechanical training cycles, which was attributed to the dislocations introduced into the TiNi shape memory alloys.

Effect of thermomechanical training temperature on the two-way shape memory effect of TiNi and TiNiCu shape memory alloys springs

Abstract In this article, the effect of thermomechanical training temperature on the two-way shape memory effect (TWSME) of TiNiCu and TiNi alloys springs were investigated. The results showed that when the springs were thermomechanical-trained at pure martensite, there is an increase of the recovery rate to a saturated value, the maximum recovery rate was about 55% and 45% for TiNiCu and TiNi alloys, respectively. As the springs were thermomechanical-trained at pure austensite and martensite+austensite, there is an increase of the recovery rate to a maximum value and decreased with ongoing training after having passed the maximum value and the maximum TWSME recovery rate is less than that of the shape memory alloys spring-trained at pure martensite. Dislocations generated by martensite reorientation were effective in developing two-way memory effect. Since the amount of the stress-induced martensite variants is less than that of thermal-induced martensite variants, thus, the recovery rate showed a different rule with increasing thermomechanical training cycles at different training temperature.

Two-way shape memory effect of TiNi alloy coil extension springs

A two-way shape memory effect (TWSME) spring that could elongate upon heating and contract upon cooling was obtained by constrained annealing and thermo-mechanical training. The effect of heat treatment and thermomechanical training on the TWSME and the effect of training on the transformation temperatures had been studied by elongation-temperature, electrical resistance measurements and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The TWSME recovery rate of extension spring increases with increasing the training cycles and increases to a saturation value. The inverse martensitic and martensitic temperatures decreased with increasing thermo-mechanical training cycles