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Titanium nitride (TiN) decorated N-doped titania (N-TiO2) composite (TiN/N-TiO2) is fabricated via an in situ nitridation using a hydrothermally synthesized TiO2 and melamine (MA) as raw materials. After the optimization of the reaction condition, the resultant TiN/N-TiO2 composite delivers a hydrogen evolution activity of up to 703 μmol/h under the full spectrum irradiation of Xe-lamp, which is approximately 2.6 and 32.0 times more than that of TiO2 and TiN alone, respectively. To explore the underlying photocatalytic mechanism, the crystal phase, morphology, light absorption, energy band structure, element composition, and electrochemical behavior of the composite material are characterized and analyzed. The results indicate that the superior activity is mainly caused by the in situ formation of plasmonic TiN and N-TiO2 with intimate interface contact, which not only extends the spectral response range, but also accelerates the transfer and separation of the photoexcited hot charge carrier of TiN. The present study provides a fascinating approach to in situ forming nonmetallic plasmonic material/N-doped TiO2 composite photocatalysts for high-efficiency water splitting.

In recent years, the demand for wearable devices has promoted the research of flexible thermoelectric generators. Herein, this work reports a facile method to prepare the flexible Ag2Se/polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) composite films. The Ag2Se nanorods are synthesized by the template method and then mixed with PVP solution to form the composite film optimized by the content of Ag2Se. The maximum power factor of the film is 16.18 µW m−1 K−2 at 320 K, and the thermoelectric generator (TEG) has an output voltage and power of 5.49 mV and 55.57 nW at a temperature difference of 40 K, respectively. Moreover, the Ag2Se/PVP film has good flexibility and can withstand multiple bending, the electrical conductivity reaching 89.8% and 76 % at 500 and 1000, respectively. PVP has an excellent protective capabilities effect so that the TE performance can remain stable in 40 days, and then the electrical conductivity only drops to 89 % of the initial value at 50 days. This work provides an effective method for preparing wearable thermoelectric devices, which can be extended to other composite materials.

In this study, flexible thermoelectric tin selenide (SnSe)/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) composite films have been fabricated by the vacuum filtration method, and their thermoelectric properties were investigated. The electrical conductivities of the composite films have a tendency to decrease with an increase in the SnSe content, while their Seebeck coefficients have an inverse tendency. The electrical conductivities decrease gradually with an increase in temperature, while the Seebeck coefficients show a tendency to increase first and then decrease with the increase in temperature. The maximum power factor (PF = S2σ) of the composite film is obtained when the SnSe content is 10 wt%, which is 24.42 μW m−1 K−2 at 353 K. Besides, the 10 wt% SnSe/PEDOT:PSS film exhibited excellent stability with only a 9% increase in resistance after 1000 bends under a bending radius of 4 mm. When the temperature gradient is 50 K, a flexible thermoelectric generator fabricated by 3 legs of the 10 wt% SnSe/PEDOT:PSS film has an open-circuit voltage and maximum output electrical power of 3.2 mV and 13.73 nW, respectively, which demonstrates a great potential application to power wearable flexible electronic devices.

In order to explore a new electrocatalyst (or its precursor) for oxygen evolution reaction (OER), much attention has recently been given to the alternative engineering strategy for fabricating a novel nanofilm electrode with high efficiency and long duration. We herein use a two-step electrodeposition method to prepare a series of nanofilm electrodes containing Ni, Co, P, and Se on carbon cloth. After a suitable electrochemical activation process through cyclic voltammetry, the resultant binder-free NiCoP–NiCoSe₂ nano-bilayer films are transformed from compact layer(s) to porous nanoparticle ones composed by NiCo hydroxides and a small amount of NiCo oxyhydroxides and thus exhibit a striking electrocatalytic activity (lower to 243 mV overpotential for 10 mA cm–²) and excellent stability (80 h) for OER. The rougher surface, well-suited electronic structure originated from the Ni/Co codoping and the rational integration of NiCoP and NiCoSe₂ are important factors for the excellent OER performance of the NiCoP–NiCoSe₂ film after the electrochemical activation process. In addition, the results on overall water splitting reveal that the NiCoP–NiCoSe₂ film is also promising in the practical application of energy conversion and storage.

In this study, flexible thermoelectric tin selenide (SnSe)/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) composite films have been fabricated by the vacuum filtration method, and their thermoelectric properties were investigated. The electrical conductivities of the composite films have a tendency to decrease with an increase in the SnSe content, while their Seebeck coefficients have an inverse tendency. The electrical conductivities decrease gradually with an increase in temperature, while the Seebeck coefficients show a tendency to increase first and then decrease with the increase in temperature. The maximum power factor (PF =

Flexible multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)-10 wt% tin selenide (SnSe)/poly (3,4- ethylene dioxythiophene): poly (styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT: PSS)/5 vol% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) (MSPPD) composite films were fabricated by vacuum filtration method, and their thermoelectric properties were investigated. When the electrical conductivity (σ) and Seebeck coefficient (S) of these composite films with different contents of MWCNTs were measured at different temperatures, σ had an increasing tendency with the increase of MWCNTs content while S would decrease gradually. MWCNTs would improve carrier concentration (n) and mobility (μ) of SnSe/PEDOT: PSS film simultaneously because of MWCNTs with high electrical conductivity and carrier mobility. The maximum power factor PF of 59.35 μWm-1K-2 had been obtained for MSPPD10 composite film at 393 K. The MSPPD10 composite film exhibited ex-cellent flexibility, σ decreased only to 86% of its initial stage after bending 1000 cycles using a rod with a radius of 4 mm. A flexible thermoelectric (TE) generator consisting of 5 legs MSPPD10 could generate an open-circuit voltage of 3.73 mV and maximum output power of 14.74 nW when the temperature gradient was 39 K. This research shows that MWCNTs have great potential to enhance the thermoelectric performance of flexible SnSe/PEDOT: PSS composite films for wearable devices.

The self-supporting and flexible Cu2S/poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene):-poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) composite thermoelectric films were prepared by vacuum filtration method. The effects of Cu2S content and the pressure of cold-pressing on the thermoelectric properties of composite films were studied. The electrical conductivities of Cu2S/PEDOT:PSS composite films would decrease with the increase of Cu2S content and temperature, while the Seebeck coefficients had an inverse tendency. At the same time, the electrical conductivities and Seebeck coefficients of the Cu2S/PEDOT:PSS composite films will decrease and increases with the increase of temperature, respectively. The maximum power factor (PF) of composite films was 56.15 μWm-1K-2 when Cu2S content was 10 wt% at 393 K. After cold-pressing at 2 MPa or 4 MPa, the PF of 10 wt% composite film was enhanced by two times. The resistance of the cold-pressed composite film would rise only 10 % after bending 1000 cycles under a bending radius of 4 mm, showing good flexibility. The open-circuit voltage and maximum output power were 2.3 mV and 23.06 nW for the TE generator fabricated by four strips of cold-pressed 10 wt% composite film at the temperature difference of 30 K, respectively, which has a good potential to power the low-power consumption wearable electronic devices.

Endometriosis is associated with inflammatory reaction, and reactive oxidative species (ROS) are highly pro-inflammatory factors. Mitochondria are responsible for the production of ROS and energy. However, little is known about how mitochondria regulate ROS generation and energy metabolism in endometriosis. In our study, we investigated mitochondrial structure and function of ectopic endometrial stromal cells (ESCs) in ovarian endometriosis. We found mitochondria in ectopic ESCs generated more ROS and energy than controlled groups. Mitochondrial superoxide dismutase (SOD2), as an antioxidant enzyme, was found highly expressed in ectopic endometrium compared with normal endometrium. Due to its antioxidant role, SOD2 promoted the development of endometriosis by maintaining functional mitochondria to support high energetic metabolism of ectopic ESCs. We also showed that SOD2 promoted cell proliferation and migration in ovarian endometriosis. Inhibiting SOD2 expression reduced proliferation and migration of ectopic ESCS, and increased cell apoptosis. Therefore, understanding the role of mitochondrial dysfunction and SOD2 in ovarian endometriosis may provide new strategies to treat this disease.