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All‐solid‐state batteries (ASSBs), configured with solid electrolytes, have received considerable attention as a future energy solution across diverse sectors of modern society. Unlike conventional liquid electrolytes in particular, sulfide solid electrolytes have various advantages, such as high ionic conductivity (>10−3 S cm−1), good ductile properties, and thermal stability. Despite these advantages, the practical application of sulfide solid electrolytes in ASSBs is still limited due to their interfacial instability with commercial cathode materials. Unfortunately, the spontaneous formation of a space charge layer (SCL) at the interface between the cathode material and the solid electrolyte leads to heightened interfacial resistance, obstructing Li+ transport. To address this issue, proper interfacial engineering is still required to facilitate smooth Li+ migration across the interfaces. In this respect, various functional materials have been under exploration as buffer layers, which are intended to suppress the formation of the SCL at these interfaces. Herein, focus is given on the critical significance of these buffer layers between cathode materials and sulfide solid electrolytes in the development of ASSBs. Considering the present limitations, future research directions for next‐generation ASSBs are discussed. These insights are poised to offer valuable guidance for the strategic design and development of highly reliable ASSBs.

This review explores the challenges and advancements in the development of high‐energy lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs), particularly focusing on the electrochemical and structural stability of Ni‐rich cathode materials. Despite their potential to increase the energy density of LIBs, these cathode materials encounter issues such as irreversible phase transitions and structural degradation during cycling, which ultimately affect their electrochemical performance. Elemental doping/substitution has emerged as promising strategies to address these challenges. However, the precise mechanisms underlying their performance enhancement remain unclear. The objective is to elucidate the complex reaction mechanisms triggered by doping and substitution in Ni‐rich cathode materials by employing in situ operando analyses to uncover their effects on electrochemical behavior and structural integrity during cycling. This comprehensive investigation aims to clarify the roles of elemental dopants or substituents in the crystal structures of Ni‐rich cathode materials, thereby offering valuable insights for the structural engineering of cathode materials in high‐energy LIBs. By elucidating these intricate mechanisms, this review provides a practical roadmap for future research and significantly contributes to LIB technology by guiding material design and optimization strategies in the development of advanced LIBs.

Abstract The application of Li metal anodes in rechargeable batteries is impeded by safety issues arising from the severe volume changes and formation of dendritic Li deposits. Three‐dimensional hollow carbon is receiving increasing attention as a host material capable of accommodating Li metal inside its cavity; however, uncontrollable and nonuniform deposition of Li remains a challenge. In this study, we synthesize metal–organic framework‐derived carbon microcapsules with heteroatom clusters (Zn and Ag) on the capsule walls and it is demonstrated that Ag‐assisted nucleation of Li metal alters the outward‐to‐inward growth in the microcapsule host. Zn‐incorporated microcapsules are prepared via chemical etching of zeolitic imidazole framework‐8 polyhedra and are subsequently decorated with Ag by a galvanic displacement reaction between Ag+ and metallic Zn. Galvanically introduced Ag significantly reduces the energy barrier and increases the reaction rate for Li nucleation in the microcapsule host upon Li plating. Through combined electrochemical, microstructural, and computational studies, we verify the beneficial role of Ag‐assisted Li nucleation in facilitating inward growth inside the cavity of the microcapsule host and, in turn, enhancing electrochemical performance. This study provides new insights into the design of reversible host materials for practical Li metal batteries.

This study investigates the impact of zirconium-based KZC series crosslinkers with varying zirconium contents and the polyamine-based crosslinker (PBC) on the properties of coated paper, focusing on key performance metrics such as viscosity, wet rub and pick resistance, dry pick resistance, gloss, brightness, ink set-off, and print mottle. The findings reveal that crosslinkers’ type and concentration significantly influence the coating colors’ viscosity, with PBC demonstrating lower low shear viscosity at lower concentrations. The KZC series showed stable viscosity across a zirconium content range of 7% to 20%, and both crosslinker types enhanced wet rub resistance at higher concentrations. Notably, the KZC series, particularly KZC7, exhibited superior wet pick resistance at increased concentrations, highlighting its effectiveness in enhancing the durability of the coating layer. All crosslinkers maintained excellent dry pick resistance, ensuring robust coating performance. While gloss and brightness were generally unaffected, KZC20, which had the highest zirconium content, slightly reduced these optical properties. Ink set-off tests indicated that the KZC series performed better at lower concentrations, whereas higher concentrations led to increased ink set-off, potentially due to over-crosslinking. Print mottle remained consistent across all crosslinkers, indicating uniform coating quality. Overall, the zirconium-based KZC series significantly enhances wet resistance and maintains high performance across various properties, though it may slightly reduce gloss and brightness and increase ink set-off at higher concentrations. PBC offers a balanced performance profile, emphasizing the need for careful crosslinker type and concentration optimization to achieve the desired coating properties for specific applications. This comprehensive evaluation provides valuable insights for developing and optimizing high-performance coated papers.

The effects of torrefaction of the biopellets made from hardwood chip residue (HW), camellia oilseed cake (CO), and pruning remnants of the toothache tree (TA) and mulberry tree (MT) were evaluated. Torrefaction of the biopellets reduced the volatile matter content of biopellets by 18–58% and increased their heating value by 18–58% without negatively impacting durability or fines content. Torrefaction also reduced the initial ignition time of biopellets by 50–59% and prolonged their combustion duration by 15–24%. Regardless of the type of feedstock, all biopellets exhibited mass yields in the range of 60–80% and energy yields ranging from 80–95%. The novelty of this study lies in the application of torrefaction to already-formed biopellets, which enhances pellet quality without the need for binders, and the use of unused forest biomass and wood chip residue from pulp mills. The use of unused forest biomass and wood chip residue from pulp mills for biopellet production not only provides a sustainable and efficient method for waste utilization but also contributes to environmental conservation by reducing the reliance on fossil fuels. Overall, the torrefaction of biopellets represents a promising technology for producing high-quality solid biofuel from a variety of woody biomass feedstocks without compromising pelletizing efficiency.

The growing prevalence of disposable toilet seat covers in public restrooms stems from concerns about personal hygiene, given the direct contact between the seat and various users’ skin. To enable these disposable cover sheets to be flushed down the toilet instead of being discarded in the trash, they must possess specific properties. These include rapid water absorption for quick disintegration, strength to endure user movement or moisture on the toilet seat surface, and a comfortable texture. To address these challenges, the study investigated the disintegration characteristics of flushable cover sheets prepared under different refining conditions. Alkyl ketene dimer (AKD) was also employed to enhance water resistance, while an organic antibacterial agent was used to impart antimicrobial properties. The findings revealed that adding 0.2% AKD and 1% organic antibacterial agent to pulp stock with a freeness of about 650 mL CSF was suitable for manufacturing disposable cover sheets with disintegration characteristics like toilet tissue paper.

Lithium metal batteries (LMBs) are in the spotlight as a next‐generation battery due to their high theoretical capacity. However, LMBs still suffer from inferior cycle stability owing to dendritic lithium (Li) growth during Li plating and stripping, leading to battery explosion. To solve this problem, solid electrolytes have emerged as a promising candidate by suppressing the dendritic Li growth. Despite numerous efforts, however, many challenges, such as low ionic conductivity, air stability, space charge layer, and contact loss issues, have been encountered. This review aims to provide the current challenges and new insights of solid electrolytes and then explore optimal solutions for next‐generation solid electrolytes.

The strategic design of the cathode is a critical feature for high-performance and long-lasting reversibility of an energy storage system. In particular, the round-trip efficiency and cycling performance of nonaqueous lithium–oxygen batteries are governed by minimizing the discharge products, such as Li2O and Li2O2. Recently, a metal–organic framework has been directly pyrolyzed into a carbon frame with controllable pore volume and size. Furthermore, selective metallic catalysts can also be obtained by adjusting metal ions for outstanding electrochemical reactions. In this study, various bimetallic zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF)-derived carbons were designed by varying the ratio of Zn to Co ions. Moreover, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are added to improve the electrical conductivity further, ultimately leading to better electrochemical stability in the cathode. As a result, the optimized bimetallic ZIF–carbon/CNT composite exhibits a high discharge capacity of 16,000 mAh·g−1, with a stable cycling performance of up to 137 cycles. This feature is also beneficial for lowering the overpotential of the cathode during cycling, even at the high current density of 2,000 mA·g−1.

Abstract Batteries are a promising technology in the field of electrical energy storage and have made tremendous strides in recent few decades. In particular, lithium‐ion batteries are leading the smart device era as an essential component of portable electronic devices. From the materials aspect, new and creative solutions are required to resolve the current technical issues on advanced lithium (Li) batteries and improve their safety. Metal‐organic frameworks (MOFs) are considered as tempting candidates to satisfy the requirements of advanced energy storage technologies. In this review, we discuss the characteristics of MOFs for application in different types of Li batteries. A review of these emerging studies in which MOFs have been applied in lithium storage devices can provide an informative blueprint for future MOF research on next‐generation advanced energy storage devices.

Many researchers working on the development of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) continue to focus on the synthesis of photoanode materials with high surface area, along with high light scattering ability to enhance light harvesting efficiency (LHE). Meanwhile, dye packing density, which also impacts the LHE significantly, is often overlooked. Solvothermally synthesized anatase TiO2 nanoparticles (SANP) were obtained by a new and simple approach using a mixed solvent, ethanol and acetic acid. SANP were applied in photoanodes of DSCs using either metal-free organic dye (D149) or organometallic (N719) dyes. Dye loading (packing density) was correlated with the isoelectric point (IEP) in addition to light scattering effects were shown to determine the devices photovoltaic efficiency (PCE); specifically when compared with ones employing commercially available TiO2 nanoparticles. SANP photoanodes sensitized with D149 dye were found to be optimised at 10 µm, yielding a PCE of 6.9%, superior to for transparent or transparent + scattering films from the commercial source (5.6% and 5.9%, respectively). Furthermore, a 7.7% PCE was achieved using a SANP photoanode sensitized with N719 dye, with 7.2% seen for the transparent photoanode and 7.9% with a scattering layer. The high PCEs of of SANP devices are attributed to the high dye loading capability in addition to light scattering. A further point of interest is that even with the increased reactivity of the surface towards dye adsorption, we did not observe any significant increase in recombination with the redox mediator, presumably due to the increased dye loading providing better shielding.

This study evaluated the impact of soil modifiers on seed germination and soil quality. Mixtures of paper mill sludge (PMS) with camellia oilseed cake (CO) and peat moss (P), as well as with oilseed cake of toothache tree (TO) and peat moss (P), showed promising results as biostimulants for seed germination. The addition of PMS increased the germination index, indicating its beneficial effects on seed performance. The pH levels remained optimal, and the electrical conductivity values stayed within acceptable ranges, suggesting minimal hindrance to plant growth. The cation exchange capacity increased with PMS, enhancing nutrient availability. Composted mixtures exhibited increased phosphorus levels, contributing to soil fertility. While the organic matter content decreased after composting, the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio remained balanced. The bulk density increased after composting, potentially improving soil drainage. Overall, the TO-containing mixture demonstrated superior growth rates compared to the P. These findings support the use of PMS-based soil modifiers for enhancing seed germination and improving soil quality.

Abstract The development of lithium (Li)-metal anode is high priority research to initiate next-generation Li batteries. Applying Li-metal in practical applications as anode still has many hurdles to clear away, such as low Coulombic efficiency and capacity degradation by the continuous formation of dead Li. We demonstrate that cobalt (Co) nanoparticle incorporation in a porous carbon host anode can play a critical role in the formation of a thick lithium fluoride dominated solid-electrolyte interphase in ether-based electrolyte. As a result, the host anode containing Co nanoparticles shows excellent electrochemical performance with high Li-metal reversible capacity and even stable long-term cyclability with no dead Li formation.

Fast-charging of lithium-ion batteries is hindered by the uncontrollable plating of metallic Li on the graphite anode during cycling. Here, the authors demonstrate the fast chargeability and long cycle lifetimes via surface engineering of graphite with a cooperative biphasic MoO x –MoP x promoter.

Lithium metal batteries have recently gained tremendous attention owing to their high energy capacity compared to other rechargeable batteries. Nevertheless, lithium (Li) dendritic growth causes low Coulombic efficiency, thermal runaway, and safety issues, all of which hinder the practical application of Li metal as an anodic material. In this review, the failure mechanisms of Li metal anode are described according to its infinite volume changes, unstable solid electrolyte interphase, and Li dendritic growth. The fundamental models that describe the Li deposition and dendritic growth, such as the thermodynamic, electrodeposition kinetics, and internal stress models are summarized. From these considerations, porous carbon-based frameworks have emerged as a promising strategy to resolve these issues. Thus, the main principles of utilizing these materials as a Li metal host are discussed. Finally, we also focus on the recent progress on utilizing one-, two-, and three-dimensional carbon-based frameworks and their composites to highlight the future outlook of these materials.

Background Patients with rotator cuff tears are usually afflicted with shoulder pain and disability. However, it is unclear which factors are related to shoulder pain in patients with rotator cuff tears. This study was therefore undertaken to determine the factors correlated with shoulder pain in patients with painful rotator cuff tears, but without any history of trauma. Methods We evaluated a cohort of 745 patients with painful rotator cuff tears having no trauma history, and analyzed the relationship between pain and multiple factors including demographic data, tear characteristics, and passive range of motion. Pain was analyzed with a questionnaire concerning the visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain. Tear characteristics were determined by evaluating tear size, muscle atrophy, number of torn tendons, and presence of arthritis. Multivariate linear regression analysis and chi-squared test were applied to evaluate the relationship between the VAS for pain and variable factors. Results Shoulder pain was associated with young age (p=0.01), male sex (p=0.01) and the presence of diabetes mellitus (p0.05) also showed no correlation with VAS for pain. Conclusions Young age, male sex and the presence of diabetes mellitus correlated positively with preoperative shoulder pain in patients with painful rotator cuff tears without a trauma history. Combined treatment of pain management and risk factor correction could be helpful to control preoperative shoulder pain.

Abstract Background Our hypothesis was that minimally invasive plate osteosynthesis (MIPO) using long philos plate (LPP) would show better clinical and radiological outcomes and less complications than narrow locking compression plate (NLCP) for spiral humerus shaft fractures with or without metaphyseal fracture extension. Methods From January 2009 to May 2016, we retrospectively studied 35 patients who underwent MIPO for spiral humerus shaft fractures with or without metaphyseal fracture extension (AO classification 12 A, B, C except A3). Eighteen patients underwent MIPO with a 4.5 mm NLCP (group I) in the early period of this study, while 17 patients underwent MIPO with LPP (group II) in the later period. Range of motion (ROM), pre- and post-operative anteroposterior (AP) and lateral angulation of the fracture, operation time, amount of bleeding, and functional outcomes including American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons score, University of California at Los Angeles score, and Simple Shoulder Test score were analyzed at the final follow up. Results All patients had complete bony union and achieved satisfactory functional outcomes except 2 patients. In LPP group, better outcomes in postoperative fracture angulation on X-ray and operation time (p

Abstract Silicon (Si) based materials are highly desirable to replace currently used graphite anode for lithium ion batteries. Nevertheless, its usage is still a big challenge due to poor battery performance and scale-up issue. In addition, two-dimensional (2D) architectures, which remain unresolved so far, would give them more interesting and unexpected properties. Herein, we report a facile, cost-effective, and scalable approach to synthesize Si nanocrystals embedded 2D SiO x nanofoils for next-generation lithium ion batteries through a solution-evaporation-induced interfacial sol-gel reaction of hydrogen silsesquioxane (HSiO1.5, HSQ). The unique nature of the thus-prepared centimeter scale 2D nanofoil with a large surface area enables ultrafast Li+ insertion and extraction, with a reversible capacity of more than 650 mAh g−1, even at a high current density of 50 C (50 A g−1). Moreover, the 2D nanostructured Si/SiO x nanofoils show excellent cycling performance up to 200 cycles and maintain their initial dimensional stability. This superior performance stems from the peculiar nanoarchitecture of 2D Si/SiO x nanofoils, which provides short diffusion paths for lithium ions and abundant free space to effectively accommodate the huge volume changes of Si during cycling.