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Highlights NaTFSI/SUL:OTE:FEC facilitates the formation of S, N-rich, dense and robust cathode–electrolyte interphase on NaNMF cathode, which improves the cycling stability under high voltage. By utilizing NaTFSI/SUL:OTE:FEC, the Na||NaNMF batteries achieved an impressive retention of 81.15% after 400 cycles at 2 C with the cutoff voltage of 4.2 V. The study offers a reference for the utilization of sulfolane-based electrolytes in sodium-ion batteries (SIBs), while the nonflammability of the NaTFSI/SUL:OTE:FEC enhances the safety of SIBs. Sodium-ion batteries hold great promise as next-generation energy storage systems. However, the high instability of the electrode/electrolyte interphase during cycling has seriously hindered the development of SIBs. In particular, an unstable cathode–electrolyte interphase (CEI) leads to successive electrolyte side reactions, transition metal leaching and rapid capacity decay, which tends to be exacerbated under high-voltage conditions. Therefore, constructing dense and stable CEIs are crucial for high-performance SIBs. This work reports localized high-concentration electrolyte by incorporating a highly oxidation-resistant sulfolane solvent with non-solvent diluent 1H, 1H, 5H-octafluoropentyl-1, 1, 2, 2-tetrafluoroethyl ether, which exhibited excellent oxidative stability and was able to form thin, dense and homogeneous CEI. The excellent CEI enabled the O3-type layered oxide cathode NaNi 1/3 Mn 1/3 Fe 1/3 O 2 (NaNMF) to achieve stable cycling, with a capacity retention of 79.48% after 300 cycles at 1 C and 81.15% after 400 cycles at 2 C with a high charging voltage of 4.2 V. In addition, its nonflammable nature enhances the safety of SIBs. This work provides a viable pathway for the application of sulfolane-based electrolytes on SIBs and the design of next-generation high-voltage electrolytes.

Both Th17/Treg cell imbalance and dendritic cells (DCs) play critical roles in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease pathogenesis from cigarette smoke. Previous studies have shown that DC-derived exosomes (DCexos) can polarize CD4 T cells toward either Th17 or Treg phenotypes. However, the role of SIRT1 in regulating DCexos-mediated immune responses under cigarette smoke extract (CSE) exposure, and its association with autophagy and necroptosis, remains unclear. In this study, we assessed the expression of silent information regulator 2 homolog 1 (SIRT1), autophagy markers (ATG16L1, LC3B, and p62/SQSTM1), and necroptosis markers (ZBP1, RIPK3, MLKL, Caspase-8, and Caspase-3) in DCs following CSE exposure. Additionally, we evaluated the effect of a SIRT1 activator (SRT1720) on CSE-exposed DCexos and its ability to polarize CD4 T cells toward Th17 and Treg subsets. DCs were generated from bone marrow-derived mononuclear cells isolated from C57BL/6J mice and assigned to three groups: control DCs, CSE-exposed DCs, and SRT1720-treated CSE-exposed DCs. The ability of each group's exosomes to polarize CD4 T cells was assessed using a mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR). SIRT1 expression in CSE-exposed DCs decreased in a time-dependent manner (all < 0.05). Expression of ATG16L1 and p62 was also reduced, while LC3B expression was increased under CSE-exposed (all < 0.01). Expression of ZBP1, RIPK3, MLKL, Caspase-8, and Caspase-3 was elevated following CSE exposure (all < 0.01). Th17 cell frequencies were increased in the CSE-exposed DC-derived exosomes/MLR group compared to the controls ( < 0.01), while Treg frequencies were decreased ( < 0.01). Autophagy could be improved and the necroptosis could be reduced in the SRT1720-treated CSE-exposed DCs (all < 0.01). Additionally, Th17 cell polarization reduced and Treg cell differentiation increased in the SRT1720-treated CSE-exposed DC-derived exosomes/MLR group compared to the CSE-exposed group (all < 0.01). CSE exposure induces an imbalance in Th17/Treg polarization through a process mediated by DCexos that entails reduced SIRT1 expression, increased necroptosis, and dysregulated autophagy. SIRT1 activation by SRT1720 can attenuate these effects by restoring immune balance and modulating cell death and survival pathways in DCs under CSE exposure.

(Mo) is a model pathogen causing rice blast resulting in yield and economic losses world-wide. CK2 is a constitutively active, serine/threonine kinase in eukaryotes, having a wide array of known substrates, and involved in many cellular processes. We investigated the localization and role of MoCK2 during growth and infection. BLAST search for MoCK2 components and targeted deletion of subunits was combined with protein-GFP fusions to investigate localization. We found one CKa and two CKb subunits of the CK2 holoenzyme. Deletion of the catalytic subunit CKa was not possible and might indicate that such deletions are lethal. The CKb subunits could be deleted but they were both necessary for normal growth and pathogenicity. Localization studies showed that the CK2 holoenzyme needed to be intact for normal localization at septal pores and at appressorium penetration pores. Nuclear localization of CKa was however not dependent on the intact CK2 holoenzyme. In appressoria, CK2 formed a large ring perpendicular to the penetration pore and the ring formation was dependent on the presence of all CK2 subunits. The effects on growth and pathogenicity of deletion of the b subunits combined with the localization indicate that CK2 can have important regulatory functions not only in the nucleus/nucleolus but also at fungal specific structures such as septa and appressorial pores.

An FeCoCrNi high-entropy alloy (HEA) was deformed at ambient temperature and cryogenic temperatures down to 4.2 K. Phase transformation from a face-centered cubic (FCC) structure to a hexagonal close-packed (HCP) structure occurred during cryogenic deformation. Lowering the temperature promotes the transformation. Atomic-scale structural characterisation suggested that the formation of the HCP structure was achieved via the glide of Shockley partial dislocations on every other $ {\\{ 111\\} _{{\\rm FCC}}} $ plane. Due to the kinetic limitation, the occurrence of this transformation was limited even though theoretical investigations predicted lower free energy of the HCP phase than that of the FCC phase in the HEA.

X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) investigations have been carried out to decode the influence of stacking-fault energy (SFE) on the accommodation of large shear deformation in Cu-Al alloys subjected to one-pass equal-channel angular pressing. XRD results exhibit that the microstrain and density of dislocations initially increased with the reduction in the SFE, whereas they sharply decreased with a further decrease in SFE. By systematic TEM observations, we noticed that the accommodation mechanism of intense shear strain was gradually transformed from dislocation slip to deformation twin when SFE was lowered. Meanwhile, twin intersections and internal twins were also observed in the Cu-Al alloy with extremely low SFE. Due to the large external plastic deformation, microscale shear bands, as an inherent deformation mechanism, are increasingly significant to help carry the high local plasticity because low SFE facilitates the formation of shear bands.

Different from the conventional energy distribution network, which solely relies on energy distribution, the novel distribution system gradually exhibits a complex and interconnected form of various resources, such as source network load storage. These resources possess characteristics of “multi-point, wide area, and small amount” distribution. Investigating the potential for wide-area voltage regulation by using distributed resources like renewable energy power generation, distributed energy storage, and flexible loads is crucial for constructing a highly integrated source network load storage in the new type of distribution system. This paper proposes a novel data-driven method for optimizing control of wide-area voltage through distributed power network load storage resources. By comprehensively and cooperatively controlling renewable energy power generation, energy storage systems, and flexible loads, this approach enhances the quality of wide-area voltage in the distribution network while ensuring optimal utilization of energy storage capacity and minimizing network losses. The effectiveness and advanced nature of this method are demonstrated by applying it to an urban distribution network example. Compared to traditional voltage regulation methods, this approach aligns better with the requirements for voltage regulation in the new type of distribution network.

Understanding the mechanism of particle-based crystallization is a formidable problem due to the complexity of macroscopic and interfacial forces driving particle dynamics. The oriented attachment (OA) pathway presents a particularly challenging phenomenon because it occurs only under select conditions and involves a precise crystallographic alignment of particle faces often from distances of several nanometers. Despite the progress made in recent years in understanding the driving forces for particle face selectivity and alignment, questions about the competition between ion-by-ion crystallization, near-surface nucleation, and OA remain. This study examines hydrothermal conditions leading to apparent OA for hematite using three initial particle morphologies with various exposed faces. All three particle types formed single-crystal or twinned one-dimensional (1D) chain-like structures along the [001] direction driven by the attractive interactions between (001) faces and repulsive interactions between other pairs of hematite faces. Moreover, simulations of the potential of mean force for iron species and scanning transmission electron microscopy (S/TEM) imaging confirm that the formation of 1D chains is a result of the attachment of independently nucleated particles and does not follow the near-surface nucleation or ion-by-ion crystallization pathways. These results highlight that strong face specificity along one crystallographic direction can render OA to be independent of initial particle morphology.

Facet engineering to expose specific surfaces has received rapid growth attention to promote the photocatalytic performance. In this work, we reported that BaZrO3 nanocrystals with {001}/{011} facets and corresponding higher reducing capacity could effectively improve the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution in pure water. The tuned electronic band structure arising from exposed specific {001}/{011} facets and the higher surface area are the main reasons to promote photocatalytic activity. The conduction band bottom for BaZrO3 nanocrystals with {001}/{011} facets synthesized by solvothermal method (denoted as BZO-HT) is about 0.31 eV higher than that of sample prepared by hydrothermal reaction (denoted as BZO-H). During the evaluation of photocatalytic activity in pure water, the H2 production rate for BZO-HT (27.80 μmol/g/h) is 9.4 times and six times higher than BZO-H and commercial BaZrO3 (denoted as BZO-C), respectively. This work provides a reference for other facets-related photocatalysts’ design for pure water reduction or splitting.

The phenomena of pronounced electron-electron and electron-phonon interactions in one-dimensional (1D) systems are ubiquitous, which are well described by frameworks of Luttinger liquid, Peierls instability and concomitant charge density wave. However, the experimental observation of strong phonon-phonon coupling in 1D was not demonstrated. Herein we report the first observation of strong phonon-phonon coupling in 1D condensed matters by using double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWNTs), representative 1D van der Waals crystals, with combining the spectroscopic and microscopic tools as well as the ab initio density functional theory (DFT) calculations. We observe uncharted phonon modes in one commensurate and three incommensurate DWNT crystals, three of which concurrently exhibit strongly-reconstructed electronic band structures. Our DFT calculations for the experimentally observed commensurate DWNT (7,7) @ (12,12) reveal that this new phonon mode originates from a (nearly) degenerate coupling between two transverse acoustic eigenmodes (ZA modes) of constituent inner and outer nanotubes having trigonal and pentagonal rotational symmetry along the nanotube circumferences. Such coupling strongly hybridizes the two phonon modes in different shells and leads to the formation of a unique lattice motion featuring evenly distributed vibrational amplitudes over inner and outer nanotubes, distinct from any known phonon modes in 1D systems. All four DWNTs that exhibit the pronounced new phonon modes show small chiral angle twists, closely matched diameter ratios of 3/5 and decreased frequencies of new phonon modes with increasing diameters, all supporting the uncovered coupling mechanism. Our discovery of strong phonon-phonon coupling in DWNTs open new opportunities for engineering phonons and exploring novel phonon-related phenomena in 1D condensed matters.

2D Janus TMDC layers with broken mirror symmetry exhibit giant Rashba splitting and unique excitonic behavior. For their 1D counterparts, the Janus nanotubes possess curvature, which introduce an additional degree of freedom to break the structural symmetry. This could potentially enhance these effects or even give rise to novel properties. In addition, Janus MSSe nanotubes (M=W, Mo), with diameters surpassing 40 Å and Se positioned externally, consistently demonstrate lower energy states than their Janus monolayer counterparts. However, there have been limited studies on the preparation of Janus nanotubes, due to the synthesis challenge and limited sample quality. Here we first synthesized MoS2 nanotubes based on SWCNT-BNNT heterostructure and then explored the growth of Janus MoSSe nanotubes from MoS2 nanotubes with the assistance of H2 plasma at room temperature. The successful formation of the Janus structure was confirmed via Raman spectroscopy, and microscopic morphology and elemental distribution of the grown samples were further characterized. The synthesis of Janus MoSSe nanotubes based on SWCNT-BNNT enables the further exploration of novel properties in Janus TMDC nanotubes.