Expanding the Temperature Range for Stable Aqueous Batteries: Strategies, Mechanisms and Perspectives
DOI: 10.1039/D4EE05304D, Review ArticleXianwei Fu, Ruijuan Shi, Ye Liu, Xiaoxiao He, Qian Li, Yan Zhang, Yong Zhao, Shilong Jiao
Aqueous batteries (ABs) based on water-containing electrolytes are intrinsically safe and serve as promising candidates for the grid-scale energy storage and power supplies of wearable electronics. The severe temperature fluctuations...
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Scalable Copper Current Collectors with Precisely Engineered Lithiophilic Alloy “Skins” for Durable Lithium-Metal Batteries
DOI: 10.1039/D4EE05862C, Paper Open Access   This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported Licence.Huiqun Wang, Yuxiang Mao, Peng Xu, Yu Ding, Huiping Yang, Jian-Feng Li, Yu Gu, Jiajia Han, Li Zhang, Bingwei Mao
Depositing a uniform lithium metal layer on a highly conductive current collector (CC) is essential for the development of next-generation Li metal batteries (LMBs). However, poor cycling stability, low Coulombic...
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Sodium cluster-driven safety concerns of sodium-ion batteries
DOI: 10.1039/D4EE05509H, PaperJiaping Niu, Junyuan Dong, Xiaohu Zhang, Lang Huang, Guoli Lu, Xiaolei Han, Jinzhi Wang, Tianyu Gong, Zheng Chen, Jingwen Zhao, Guanglei Cui
This study reveals that quasi-metallic sodium clusters in hard carbon possess an electron state density even higher than that of metallic sodium, making them more susceptible to triggering thermal runaway compared to lithium in graphite.
To cite this article before page numbers are assigned, use the DOI form of citation above.
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Repairing the interfacial defect via preferable adsorption of ytterbium enables high-utilization and dendrite-free Zn metal anode
DOI: 10.1039/D4EE05382F, PaperLong Jiang, Zhenyue Xing, Yanfen Liu, Xiaodong Shi, Le Li, Yangyang Liu, Bingan Lu, Jiang Zhou
Dendrite growth and spontaneous corrosion of zinc (Zn) metal anodes pose significant challenges for their application in grid-scale energy storage, primarily due to the instability of the bulk phase characterized...
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A Highly Efficient Electrolysis System Enabled by Direct Impedance Matching Between Charge Migration Triboelectric Nanogenerator and Series Connected Electrolysers
DOI: 10.1039/D4EE05522E, PaperYu Deng, Qian Qin, Wencong He, Hengyu Guo, Jie Chen
As an electromechanical conversion technology, triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) are widely used in water electrolysis for hydrogen production. Nevertheless, the impedance mismatch between TENGs and conventional electrolysers significantly reduces energy utilization...
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Tue 04 Mar 14:00: Towards a Faster Finality Protocol for Ethereum - RESCHEDULED
Ethereum’s Gasper consensus protocol typically requires 64 to 95 slots—the units of time during which a new chain extending the previous one by one block is proposed and voted—to finalize, even under ideal conditions with synchrony and honest validators. This exposes a significant portion of the blockchain to potential reorganizations during changes in network conditions, such as periods of asynchrony.
In this talk, I will introduce 3SF, a novel consensus protocol that addresses these limitations. With 3SF, finality is achieved within just three slots after a proposal, drastically reducing the exposure to reorganizations. This presentation will explore the motivation, design, and implications of 3SF, offering a new perspective on the future of Ethereum’s consensus protocol.
Paper: https://arxiv.org/abs/2411.00558
- Speaker: Luca Zanolini, Ethereum Foundation
- Tuesday 04 March 2025, 14:00-15:00
- Venue: Webinar & GN06, Computer Laboratory, William Gates Building..
- Series: Computer Laboratory Security Seminar; organiser: Tina Marjanov.
Thu 13 Feb 14:00: Embryo-scale reverse genetics at single cell resolution reveals lineage-specific modules underlying cranial development Host - Ben Steventon
The Saunders lab is interested in understanding the interplay between a cell’s developmental history, function, and its flexibility to change. We use zebrafish as a model system to explore the limits of cell fate specification. By combining scalable single cell RNA -sequencing methods, lineage tracing, and genetic tools, we aim to study these complex developmental processes at multiple scales (molecular, cellular, organismal). We leverage single-animal barcoding strategies to enable quantification of molecular and cellular phenotypes in whole developing embryos, with the ultimate goal of understanding how animals overcome genetic and environmental perturbations and how this underlies morphological evolution.
Host - Ben Steventon
- Speaker: Professor Lauren Saunders from Centre for Organismal Studies, Heidelberg University
- Thursday 13 February 2025, 14:00-15:00
- Venue: Part II room, Department of Genetics and Zoom.
- Series: Genetics Seminar ; organiser: Caroline Newnham.
Tue 04 Feb 14:00: Researchers‘ experiences with vulnerability disclosures
Vulnerabilities are becoming more and more prevalent in scientific research. Researchers usually wish to publish their research and, before that, have the vulnerabilities acknowledged and fixed, contributing to a secure digital world. However, the vulnerability disclosure process is fraught with obstacles, and handling vulnerabilities is challenging as it involves several parties (vendors, companies, customers, and community). We want to shed light on the vulnerability disclosure process and develop guidelines and best practices, serving vulnerability researchers as well as the affected parties for better collaboration in disclosing and fixing vulnerabilities.
We collected more than 1900 research papers published at major scientific security conferences and analyzed how disclosures are reported, finding inconsistent reporting, as well as spotty acknowledgments and fixes by affected parties. We then conducted semi-structured interviews with 21 security researchers with a broad range of expertise who published their work at scientific security conferences and qualitatively analyzed the interviews.
We discovered that the main problem starts with even finding the proper contact to disclose. Bug bounty programs or general-purpose contact email addresses, often staffed by AI or untrained personnel, posed obstacles to timely and effective reporting of vulnerabilities.
Experiences with CERT (entities supposed to help notify affected parties and facilitate coordinated fixing of vulnerabilities) were inconsistent, some extremely positive, some disappointing. Our interviewees further talked about lawsuits and public accusations from the vendors, developers, colleagues, or even the research community. Successful disclosures often hinge on researcher experience and personal contacts, which poses personal and professional risks to newer researchers.
We’re working on making our collected best practices and common pitfalls more widely known both to researchers and industry, for more cooperative disclosure experiences.
Bio: Yasemin Acar (she/her) is a professor of computer science at Paderborn University, Germany, and a research assistant professor at The George Washington University. She focuses on human factors in computer security. Her research centers humans, their comprehension, behaviors, wishes and needs. She aims to better understand how software can enhance users’ lives without putting their data at risk. Her recent focus has been on human factors in secure development, investigating how to help software developers implement secure software development practices. Her research has shown that working with developers on these issues can resolve problems before they ever affect end users. Her research has won distinguished paper awards at IEEE Security and Privacy and USENIX Security, as well as a NSA best cyber security paper competition. Her web page: https://yaseminacar.de.
- Speaker: Yasemin Acar, Paderborn University
- Tuesday 04 February 2025, 14:00-15:00
- Venue: Webinar & FW11, Computer Laboratory, William Gates Building..
- Series: Computer Laboratory Security Seminar; organiser: Tina Marjanov.
Fri 14 Feb 14:00: Anomalous fluctuations in stochastic cellular automata
Anomalous fluctuations are phenomena where hydrodynamic fluctuations in the system behave in a way that violates usual expectations, e.g. typical fluctuations that are Gaussian. It was discovered recently that certain many-body systems exhibit such fluctuations, and one of the most notable examples is the isotropic spin-1/2 Heisenberg chain whose spin transport shows a surprising “partial” Kardar-Parisi-Zhang (KPZ) physics. Such partial KPZ behaviour has been also experimentally confirmed using superconducting qubits, where it was observed that the higher spin cumulants behave in a way that is not controlled by any known KPZ sub universality class (e.g. GUE or Baik-Rains). In this talk, I will introduce a hydrodynamic framework based the ballistic macroscopic fluctuation theory to describe anomalous fluctuations and apply it to a class of stochastic cellular automata. The cellular automata, which have been solved microscopically, conserve a charge and it has been demonstrated that the charge fluctuations in these systems and the spin fluctuations in the easy-axis Heisenberg chain are both anomalous with the same non-Gaussian probability distribution function. I will show how our approach successfully reproduces the known typical and large charge fluctuations in the systems and explain how one can understand the phenomena hydrodynamically in systems with a Z_2 charge.
- Speaker: Takato Yoshimura, Oxford
- Friday 14 February 2025, 14:00-15:30
- Venue: TCM Seminar Room.
- Series: Theory of Condensed Matter; organiser: Gaurav.
Thu 06 Feb 11:30: Cracking in Drying Films
Abstract not available
- Speaker: Alex Routh, IEEF and Chem Eng
- Thursday 06 February 2025, 11:30-12:30
- Venue: Open Plan Area, Institute for Energy and Environmental Flows, Madingley Rise CB3 0EZ.
- Series: Institute for Energy and Environmental Flows (IEEF); organiser: Catherine Pearson.
Mon 15 Sep 11:00: LMB Seminar - Title TBC
Abstract not available
- Speaker: Alan Brown, Harvard Medical School
- Monday 15 September 2025, 11:00-12:00
- Venue: In person in the Max Perutz Lecture Theatre (CB2 0QH) and via Zoom link https://mrc-lmb-cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/99625598840?pwd=tiFsd5DQ5nqRyGefhp24MlXakfaa9L.1.
- Series: MRC LMB Seminar Series; organiser: Scientific Meetings Co-ordinator.
Tue 18 Feb 14:00: Physical-Layer Security of Satellite Communications Links
In recent years, building and launching satellites has become considerably cheaper, making satellite systems more accessible to an expanding user base. This accessibility has led to a diverse array of applications—such as navigation, communications, and earth observation—that depend on satellites. However, hardware limitations and operational considerations often render cryptographic solutions impractical for these systems. Furthermore, the availability of low-cost software-defined radios has made signal capture, injection, and interference attacks more attainable for a wider range of potential attackers.
Therefore, mitigations must be developed for satellites that have already been launched without adequate protections in place. This talk introduces some of our research into how satellite systems are vulnerable, as well as ways to protect these systems.
Bio: Simon Birnbach is a Senior Research Associate and a Royal Academy of Engineering UK IC Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Systems Security Lab of Professor Ivan Martinovic in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Oxford. He specialises in the security of cyber-physical systems, with a focus on smart home, aviation, and aerospace security.
- Speaker: Simon Birnbach, University of Oxford
- Tuesday 18 February 2025, 14:00-15:00
- Venue: Webinar & GN06, Computer Laboratory, William Gates Building..
- Series: Computer Laboratory Security Seminar; organiser: Tina Marjanov.
Thu 15 May 14:00: Creation of Chemical Complexity via Controlled Functionalization of Organoboron Compounds
Novel reactivities of organoboron compounds have been identified as a source for creating new chemical spaces with functional value. Previously uncharted approaches of activation including, non-covalent interactions, electrochemical redox processes, and photoexcitation have been exploited for the functionalization of organoboron compounds. Combined experimental and computational studies provide insight into the fundamental understanding of the process. Special emphasis of the research program has been devoted to the formation of products with stereochemically-enriched C(sp3) center.
References [1] Go, S. Y.; Chung, H.; Shin, S. J.; An, S.; Youn, J. H.; Im, T. Y.; Kim, J. Y.; Chung, T. D.; Lee, H. G. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2022, 144, 9149. [2] Roh, B.; Farah, A. O.; Kim, B.; Feoktistova, T.; Moller, F.; Cheong, P. H.; Lee, H. G. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2023, 145, 7075. [3] Koo, J.; Kim, W.; Jhun, B. H.; Park, S.; Song, D.; You, Y.; Lee, H. G. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2024, 146, 22874.
- Speaker: Prof Hong Geun Lee (Seoul National University)
- Thursday 15 May 2025, 14:00-15:00
- Venue: Dept. of Chemistry, Pfizer Lecture Theatre.
- Series: Synthetic Chemistry Research Interest Group; organiser: Jasmine Mitchell.
Tue 11 Feb 14:00: Designing Counter Strategies against Online Harms
Common mitigation strategies to combat harmful speech online, such as reporting and blocking, are often insufficient as they are reactive, involve unethical human labour and impose censorship. This explores alternative counter strategies such as a quarantining tool and automated counterspeech generator. Quarantining online hate speech and disinformation like a computer virus gives power to the individual user, while a counterspeech generator is specifically designed to produce diverse counter responses to different forms of online harm. Both strategies can protect users from harm and significantly ease the burden of human counterspeakers. The talk will explore the benefits as well as current shortcomings of these strategies and discuss necessary further developments.
- Speaker: Stefanie Ullmann, University of Cambridge
- Tuesday 11 February 2025, 14:00-15:00
- Venue: Webinar & FW11, Computer Laboratory, William Gates Building..
- Series: Computer Laboratory Security Seminar; organiser: Tina Marjanov.
Wed 05 Feb 11:15: Emergent phenomena in nanosculpted devices of quantum materials
Electrons typically traverse a conductive medium in a diffusive manner, resulting in a linear relationship between the measured voltage and applied current – known as Ohm’s law. However, violations of Ohm’s law may be found when the inherent symmetries of the underlying system are broken. Examples include the sliding motion of density waves; ballistic or hydrodynamic electron transport; or the symmetry-breaking realised by lattice or magnetic order. Focused ion beam (FIB) fabrication methods enable precise nanoscale devices to be fashioned from high-quality single crystalline materials, ideal for exploring these nonlinear phenomena. Such nanoengineering offers vast potential for the investigation of both fundamental physics and the development novel quantum devices. In this talk, I will introduce three specific examples. Firstly, we will explore the current-induced sliding motion of a skyrmion lattice in Gd2PdSi3 and the resulting emergent electrodynamics, which originate from a time-dependent Berry phase. Secondly, I will highlight our latest breakthrough to develop FIB fabrication of three dimensional nanostructures, in the form of helical-shaped devices of the high-mobility Weyl magnet CoSn2S2. By breaking inversion symmetry on the length scale of the electron mean free path, we observe large nonreciprocal transport, resulting in a switchable diode effect. Finally, if time permits, I will discuss the possibility to fabricate highly symmetrical devices, which allows the probing of symmetry breaking along multiple directions of a material simultaneously – in this case exploited to study signatures of p-wave magnetism in Gd3Ru4Al12.
- Speaker: Max Birch - RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science
- Wednesday 05 February 2025, 11:15-12:00
- Venue: Mott Seminar Room (531), Cavendish Laboratory, Department of Physics.
- Series: Quantum Matter Seminar; organiser: Mads Fonager Hansen.
Biocrust-Inspired Interface Layer with Dual Functions towards Highly Reversible Zinc Metal Anode
DOI: 10.1039/D4EE06048B, PaperHuanyu Li, Yu Li, Mingquan Liu, Ziyin Yang, Yuteng Gong, Ji Qian, Ripeng Zhang, Ying Bai, Feng Wu, Chuan Wu
The commercialization of aqueous zinc-ion batteries is still challenging due to the terrible dendrite growth and serious side reactions occurring at anode surface. In-situ construction of solid electrolyte interfaces (SEI)...
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Tailoring Buried Interface and Minimizing Energy Loss Enable Efficient Narrow and Wide Bandgap Inverted Perovskite Solar Cells by Aluminum Glycinate Based Organometallic Molecule
Aluminum glycinate-based organometallic molecule is used to tailor buried interface and minimize interface-driven energy loss, which realizes high efficiencies of 26.74% and 20.71% for 1.55 and 1.785 eV bandgap perovskite solar cells, respectively.
Abstract
Rational regulation of Me-4PACz/perovskite interface has emerged as a significant challenge in the pursuit of highly efficient and stable perovskite solar cells (PSCs). Herein, an organometallic molecule of aluminum glycinate (AG) that contained amine (-NH2) and aluminum hydroxyl (Al-OH) groups is developed to tailor the buried interface and minimize interface-driven energy losses. The Al-OH groups selectively bonded with unanchored O═P-OH and bare NiO-OH to optimize the surface morphology and energy levels, while the -NH2 group interacted specifically with Pb2+ to retard perovskite crystallization, passivate buried Pb-related defects, and release residual interface stress. These interactions facilitate the interface carrier extraction and reduce interface-driven energy losses, thereby realizing a balanced charge carrier transport. Consequently, AG-modified narrow bandgap (1.55 eV) PSC demonstrates an efficiency of 26.74% (certified 26.21%) with a fill factor of 86.65%; AG-modified wide bandgap (1.785 eV) PSC realizes 20.71% champion efficiency with excellent repeatability. These PSCs maintain 91.37%, 91.92%, and 92.00% of their initial efficiency after aging in air atmosphere, the nitrogen-filled atmosphere at 85 °C, and continuously tracking at the maximum power-point under one-sun illumination (100 mW cm−2) for 1200 h, respectively.
Trace Dual‐Crosslinkable Additives Enable Direct Microlithography for Enhanced Organic Electrochemical Transistors
High-resolution patterning is crucial for advancing organic electronics, enabling miniaturization and high-density integration. A dual crosslinking strategy is developed using a polyrotaxane supramolecular crosslinker (PR) in polybenzodifurandione (PBFDO). At trace loading levels (<0.1 wt%), PR enhances patterning precision (<1 µm) and electrical performance, yielding a 42% µC* increase and improved device stability, offering scalable solutions for organic electronics.
Abstract
Similar to silicon-based electronics, the implementation of micro/nano-patterning to facilitate complex device architectures and high-density integration is crucial to the development of organic electronics. Among various patterning techniques, direct microlithography (DML) is highly applicable and extensively adopted in organic electronics, such as organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs). However, conventional DML often requires high crosslinker concentrations, leading to compromised electrical performance. To address this challenge, a novel strategy is developed that combines supramolecular and covalent interactions by incorporating a polyrotaxane supramolecular crosslinker (PR) into poly(benzodifurandione) (PBFDO). The PR forms a hydrogen bonding network with PBFDO and undergoes UV-triggered covalent crosslinking among its molecules, providing solvent resistance even at trace loading levels (<0.1 wt%). This approach enables precise patterning of PBFDO with feature sizes below 1 µm while preserving high electrical performance. Notably, PR also serves as a performance enhancer, promoting molecular ordering and ionic conduction within PBFDO. OECTs fabricated with PR-crosslinked PBFDO exhibit about one-order-of-magnitude increase in ON/OFF ratio, a 42% increase in µC * (reaching 2460 F cm−1 V−1 s−1), and elevated operational stability compared to pristine ones. This multifunctional crosslinker offers a scalable solution for high-performance, high-density organic electronics and opens new avenues for supramolecular chemistry applications in this field.
Photonic Nanomaterials for Wearable Health Solutions
This review discusses the fundamentals and applications of photonic nanomaterials in wearable health technologies. It covers light-matter interactions, synthesis, and functionalization strategies, device assembly, and sensing capabilities. Applications include skin patches and contact lenses for diagnostics and therapy. Future perspectives emphasize AI-assisted design and systematic integration for advancing wearable systems.
Abstract
This review underscores the transformative potential of photonic nanomaterials in wearable health technologies, driven by increasing demands for personalized health monitoring. Their unique optical and physical properties enable rapid, precise, and sensitive real-time monitoring, outperforming conventional electrical-based sensors. Integrated into ultra-thin, flexible, and stretchable formats, these materials enhance compatibility with the human body, enabling prolonged wear, improved efficiency, and reduced power consumption. A comprehensive exploration is provided of the integration of photonic nanomaterials into wearable devices, addressing material selection, light-matter interaction principles, and device assembly strategies. The review highlights critical elements such as device form factors, sensing modalities, and power and data communication, with representative examples in skin patches and contact lenses. These devices enable precise monitoring and management of biomarkers of diseases or biological responses. Furthermore, advancements in materials and integration approaches have paved the way for continuum of care systems combining multifunctional sensors with therapeutic drug delivery mechanisms. To overcome existing barriers, this review outlines strategies of material design, device engineering, system integration, and machine learning to inspire innovation and accelerate the adoption of photonic nanomaterials for next-generation of wearable health, showcasing their versatility and transformative potential for digital health applications.
Synergistic Enhancement of Fluorescence Through Plasmon Resonance and Interfacial Charge Transfer by AgNC@AgAux Core–Shell Quantum Dots
The work reports on the synthesis and properties of AgNC@AgAux QDs with a core–shell heterostructure. This novel structure exhibits significantly enhanced photoluminescence, which can be attributed to electron injection and a strong local electric field induced by surface plasmons.
Abstract
Bimetallic core–shell quantum dots (QDs) hold great promise in elucidating the bimetallic synergism and optoelectronic devices. The synthesis and properties of AgNC@AgAux QDs of core–shell heterostructure are reported. Significantly enhanced photoluminescence emission on these heterostructures is observed. These enhancements are attributed to electron injection and the surface plasmon-induced strong local electric field, which are observed through time-resolved transient absorption spectroscopy. X-ray absorption near edge structure spectra and density functional theory confirms the electron injection from the Ag core to the AgAux shell. On the other hand, the plasmon resonance of the AgNC@AgAux QDs has been studied by finite-element method analysis and time-resolved photoluminescence spectra. There are 94.06 times fluorescence enhancement and 32.40 times quantum yield improvement of oxygen content correlation compared to AgAu3 QDs. It shows a perfect correlation coefficient of 98.85% for the detection of heavy metal Cu2+ ions. Such Bimetallic core–shell heterostructures have great potential for future optoelectronic devices, optical imaging, and other energy-environmental applications.