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Poor cyclability and rate performance are two key problems hindering the practical application of In2O3 in high power lithium-ion batteries. Herein, we report a phase transition strategy to fabricate novel In1−xZnxOy heterogeneous nanofibers with mixed phases of cubic bixbyite-type In2O3 and rhombohedral corundunm-type In2O3 to enhance the lithium ion storage ability. The one-dimensional structure shortens the path for lithium ion diffusion and electron transfer, and accommodates the large volume changes upon cycling. The introduction of rhombohedral corundunm-type In2O3 can favorably improve the electrical conductivity, provide more pathways for lithium ion diffusion, and optimize the interface interplay. The optimal In0.5Zn0.5O1.25 heterogeneous nanofibers exhibit superior cyclic stability and outstanding high-rate performance, which can be ascribed to the synergistic effects of excellent electrical conductivity, more pathways for lithium ion diffusion, and the coupling effect of heterogeneous interface. This new phase-transition induced formation of heterostructure nanofibers is enlightening in design high performance electrode materials for lithium ion batteries.

It is a challenge to effectively detect the components of a gas mixture using metal oxide sensors which are easily fabricated and inexpensive. In this work, heterostructured SnO2/MOx (i.e. M = Zn, Ga and W) nanotubes (NTs) and nanofibers (NFs) are synthesized via a one-step electrospinning technology and subsequent calcination for use in gas sensors. In specific, compared with pure SnO2 NTs, SnO2/ZnO NTs show an enhanced response to 100 ppm ethanol and acetone, while SnO2/Ga2O3 NTs show an obviously higher response to 100 ppm ethanol and SnO2/WO3 NFs show an optimal response to 100 ppm xylene. All these sensors are selective in the presence of typically interfering gases such as formaldehyde, benzene and toluene. As a proof-of-concept, sensor arrays constructed using these three sensors precisely detected the gas mixtures of ethanol, acetone and xylene by means of matrix manipulation, delivering a superior accuracy of

Lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs) are considered as one of the most promising energy storage devices owing to the high theoretical specific capacity and high theoretical specific energy, as well as natural abundance of sulfur. However, the soluble lithium polysulfide intermediates (LPSs) in electrolyte cause undesirable shuttle effect, resulting in the loss of sulfur and poor cycling stability. Herein, a novel tungsten oxide-decorated N, S co-doped carbon nanofibers (WO3@NS-CNFs) functional interlayer is applied to restrain the shuttle effect and enhance the cycling performance of LSBs. On the one hand, the uniformly distributed WO3 can provide strong chemical anchoring sites for binding the LPSs and enhance the redox reaction kinetics. On the other hand, the NS-CNFs can also serve as the polysulfide trappers and enhance the electronic conductivity of sulfur electrodes. Therefore, benefiting from the synergy effect of WO3 and NS-CNFs, the LSBs exhibit excellent cycling performance with a high initial capacity of 1444 mA h g−1 and reversible capacity of 1080 mA h g−1 after 100 cycles at 0.2 C, and superior rate capability of 946 mA h g−1 at 2 C.