Shanghai Institute of Technology

Two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) have attracted extensive interest in next-generation optoelectronic devices and energy-harvesting absorbers due to their fascinating optical and electronic properties. It is of great interest to...

Phosphor‐in‐ceramics (PiCs) have emerged as a promising approach to improve the thermal and moisture resistance of phosphors. For halide perovskites, the assembly of PiCs has been highly difficult because of their tendency to decompose even at low temperature (≈200 °C). In this work, a translucent CsPbBr3@Y2O3 (CPB@Y2O3) quantum dots‐in‐ceramic (QiC) is fabricated that preserves the optoelectronic properties of CsPbBr3 nanocrystals (NCs), demonstrates superb environmental stability, and exhibits a record‐high thermal conductivity (8.7 W m⁻¹K⁻¹ at 25 °C). An in situ template‐assisted reaction is employed to ensure a persistent confinement of CsPbBr3 NCs throughout the sintering process. An oxygen‐induced photoluminescent (PL) modulation is conducted to obtain highly emissive sintering precursor (SP). As a result, a prototype laser‐driven projection system, using CPB@Y2O3 QiC‐K2SiF6: Mn⁴⁺ (KSF) phosphorin‐glass film (PiGF) as light source, achieved a high luminous flux of 225 lm and an ultra‐wide color gamut of 174% compared to commercial LED projectors without the need of heat sinks. Moreover, the CPB@Y2O3 QiC is successfully applied for laser‐driven visible light communication (VLC), realizing a high modulation bandwidth of 38.7 MHz and an ultrafast data transmission speed of 167 Mbps. Both applications represent the state‐of‐art device performance for the CsPbBr3‐based materials reported so far.

Cesium lead halide perovskites (CsPbX3) have become superior candidates for prospective optoelectronic applications. However, the currently reported CsPbX3 quantum dots entail complex production processes and high environmental requirements. In this work, all-inorganic perovskite CsPbBr3 films were prepared by a facile printing strategy, and corresponding photoelectric detection devices were designed and their optical response characteristics investigated. The results showed that the pure CsPbBr3 film is relatively smooth and can maintain high stability under an ambient environment. Furthermore, the thin film prepared by the printing strategy has the advantages of convenience, uniformity, and high photoluminescence, with good application prospects in the field of CsPbBr3 quantum dots.

The enduring enigma surrounding the near-infrared (NIR) emission of Mn ²⁺ continues to ignite intense academic discussions. Numerous hypotheses have emerged from extensive research endeavors to explain this phenomenon, such as the formation of Mn ²⁺ –Mn ²⁺ ion pairs, Mn ²⁺ occupying cubically coordinated sites, as well as conjectures positing the involvement of Mn ³⁺ oxidized from Mn ²⁺ or defects. Despite these diverse and valuable insights, none of the hypotheses have yet achieved broad consensus. In this study, we have observed prolonged fluorescence lifetimes (~10 ms) for the NIR emissions of Mn ²⁺ ions, hinting at these ions occupying the high-symmetry octahedral sites inherent to the garnet lattice. This inference is supported by the corroborating results from X-ray absorption fine structure analysis and first-principles calculations. The intense crystal field of octahedral sites, similar to that of AlO 6 , facilitates the splitting of d – d energy levels, thereby inducing a red-shift in the emission spectrum to the NIR region due to the transition ⁴ T 1 ( ⁴ G) → ⁶ A 1 ( ⁶ S) of isolated Mn ²⁺ . Our findings not only offer a plausible rationale for the NIR emission exhibited by other Mn ²⁺ -activated garnet phosphors but also pave a definitive route towards understanding the fundamental mechanisms responsible for the NIR emission of Mn ²⁺ ions.

Beauveria bassiana is a widely used entomopathogenic fungus with great potential as a bioactive substance. However, there is little research on the mycelial polysaccharides from B. bassiana. In this study, strain B. bassiana C9, isolated from silkworms, was selected as a highly polysaccharide-producing strain. Two purified polysaccharides, BJ-1P and BJ-2, were extracted from the mycelium of strain C9 and purified by graded alcohol precipitation and ion-exchange column chromatography. The weight average molecular weight (Mw) of BJ-1P, BJ-2 were 1758.82, 18.21 kDa, respectively, and their monosaccharide compositions mainly comprised glucose, galactose and mannose, at different molar ratios. The IC50 values of DPPH, ABTS radical scavenging activities of BJ-1P were 2.58, 8.29 mg/mL, and BJ-2 were 2.74, 3.63 mg/mL, respectively, indicating that both BJ-1P and BJ-2 exhibit excellent antioxidant activities. BJ-1P and BJ-2, at concentrations of 0.1–1 mg/mL, significantly inhibited the production of nitric oxide (NO), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in RAW264.7 macrophage induced by lipopolysaccharide and BJ-2 had excellent anti-inflammatory effect. Moreover, BJ-1P and BJ-2 significantly inhibited melanin synthesis in B16 melanoma cell, but had no significant effect on tyrosinase activity, speculated that BJ-1P and BJ-2 were through reducing ROS and inflammatory interleukin during the melanin synthesis process, thereby inhibiting melanin synthesis. This study presents novel findings indicating that B. bassiana mycelial polysaccharides can inhibit melanin synthesis. Furthermore, it was found that the polysaccharides of B. bassiana C9 have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and possess efficacy in reducing melanin content, indicating good application prospects as functional ingredients.

P2-type Na0.62Ca0.025Ni0.28Mg0.05Mn0.67O2 cathode materials were synthesized via a ball milling and spray-drying process. XRD, EDS, and XPS analyses confirmed the successful replacement of Na and Ni elements by calcium and magnesium, changing the crystal structure. The samples showed significant improvement in cycling stability and multiplicity performance, with their initial capacity of 105.3 mAhg−1 at 1C in the high voltage range of 2.2–4.35 V and capacity retention of 85.64% after 100 cycles. Specifically, the material demonstrates outstanding electrochemical performance, achieving an initial specific capacity of 105.49 mAhg−1 at 0.3C, with a retention rate of 90.47% after 100 cycles. The enhancement of phase transformation at high voltage due to Ca/Mg dual-doping was analyzed using ex situ XRD. Failure SEM and EDS analyses revealed that the introduction of Ca and Mg resulted in a more complete material structure during cycling. The cell assembled with NaCNMM cathode material shows excellent electrochemical performance. Current densities at 1C and 0.3C have 85.64% and 90.47% retention at high operating voltages of 2.2–4.35 V. This work provides a strategy to utilize the abundant alkaline earth elements to enhance the stability of P2-type Na0.67Ni0.33Mn0.67O2 materials.

This study presents a novel investigation into the vortex dynamics of flow around a near-wall rectangular cylinder based on direct numerical simulation at Re=1000 , marking the first in-depth exploration of these phenomena. By varying aspect ratios ( $L/D = 5$ , 10 , 15 ) and gap ratios ( $G/D = 0.1$ , 0.3 , 0.9 ), the study reveals the vortex dynamics influenced by the near-wall effect, considering the incoming laminar boundary layer flow. Both L/D and G/D significantly influence vortex dynamics, leading to behaviours not observed in previous bluff body flows. As G/D increases, the streamwise scale of the upper leading edge (ULE) recirculation grows, delaying flow reattachment. At smaller G/D , lower leading edge (LLE) recirculation is suppressed, with upper Kelvin–Helmholtz vortices merging to form the ULE vortex, followed by instability, differing from conventional flow dynamics. Larger G/D promotes the formation of an LLE shear layer. An intriguing finding at $L/D = 5$ and $G/D = 0.1$ is the backward flow of fluid from the downstream region to the upper side of the cylinder. At $G/D = 0.3$ , double-trailing-edge vortices emerge for larger L/D , with two distinct flow behaviours associated with two interactions between gap flow and wall recirculation. These interactions lead to different multiple flow separations. For $G/D = 0.9$ , the secondary vortex (SV) from the plate wall induces the formation of a tertiary vortex from the lower side of the cylinder. Double-SVs are observed at $L/D = 5$ . Frequency locking is observed in most cases, but is suppressed at $L/D = 10$ and $G/D = 0.9$ , where competing shedding modes lead to two distinct evolutions of the SV.

In this work, K2SiF6:Mn⁴⁺@SA (KSF:Mn⁴⁺@SA, SA: stearic acid) phosphor with record‐setting moisture resistance (91.8% for 2880 h) and high thermal stability (88%@150 °C) is achieved by using SA as a superhydrophobic coating layer. Such a hydrophobic surface can not only prevent the luminescent centers from being eroded by external water but also greatly increase the specific surface area of the phosphor through its smart polyhedral modification, which increases the exposure of the luminescent centers to the incident light, thereby realizing a photoluminescence enhancement (1.5 times higher than the untreated sample) and excellent photoluminescence quantum yield (92.3%). The uniform polyhedral morphology with a shorter fluorescence lifetime enables the preparation of a high‐resolution pattern with a pixel size of 25 × 25 µm, implying great potential in high‐resolution (HR) inorganic light‐emitting diodes (LED) backlit and faster visible light communication. This work highlights the advances of multifunctional hydrophobic surface modification in tuning the photophysical properties of phosphors, with promising implications for a wide range of functional coating materials.

Starch nanoparticles (SNPs) have garnered substantial attention due to their versatility, renewability, cost‐effectiveness, and biocompatibility. In this study, corn starch nanoparticles were prepared using ultrasound‐assisted chemical precipitation and subsequently adsorbed sunscreen agents, diethylamino hydroxybenzoyl hexyl benzoate and ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate to assess their sun protection effect. The particle size of the obtained SNPs was 153 nm, and the adsorption rate was 335.06%. The X‐ray diffraction analysis revealed a decrease in the crystallinity of starch from 37.4% to 28%, accompanied by a transformation from type A to type V. Notably, while maintaining the same quantity of organic sunscreen agent in the formulation, the sunscreen efficacy of sunscreen cream containing SNP‐adsorbed organic sunscreen agent (SNP‐A) was comparable to that of sunscreen cream containing TiO 2 . In contrast to sunscreen cream solely relying on organic sunscreen agents, when the organic sunscreen agent content in the SNPs‐A‐containing sunscreen cream was halved, the sun protection factor (SPF) and protection factor of UVA (PFA) values of the SNPs‐A‐containing sunscreen cream remained superior. Through the exploration of the adsorption properties of organic sunscreen agents onto corn starch nanoparticles and the subsequent sun protection effect, this study has developed an environmentally friendly and effective sunscreen material, namely nano‐starch, as a potential candidate. This material has achieved the objective of reducing the quantity of organic sunscreen agents in sunscreen creams or partially replacing inorganic sunscreen agents.

Silica glass has been widely used in the field of aerospace due to its excellent optical properties and high irradiation resistance. However, defects can still accumulate after excessive irradiation, resulting in the decrease of material properties thus possible device damage. At present, the microscopic mechanisms of the defect formation and structure evolution in silica glass after irradiation are still far from fully understood. The results show that the energy induced by irradiation can lead to a ballistic effect, which will cause atomic displacement and break the inter‐atomic bonds. In addition, a large area of porous space can be another type of radiation product, and the area of the porous space rapidly grows to the maximum and then gradually reduces. The ring structures get reformed and defect structures partially recombine with each other during the structural relaxation. However, the residual damage still exists, which contributes to the optical property change in experiments. These results provide useful insights into the atomistic mechanisms of the defect formation and structure evolution of silica glass under irradiation, they can also benefit the future design of optical devices under an irradiation environment.

Rapidly increasing healthcare spending globally is significantly driven by high-need, high-cost (HNHC) patients, who account for the top 5% of annual healthcare costs but over half of total expenditures. The programs targeting existing HNHC patients have shown limited long-term impact, and research predicting HNHC pediatric patients in China is limited. There is an urgent need to establish a specific, valid, and reliable prediction model using machine-learning-based methods to identify potential HNHC pediatric patients and implement proactive interventions before high costs arise. This study used a 7-year retrospective cohort dataset from two administrative databases in Shanghai, covering pediatric patients under 18 years. The machine-learning-based models were developed to predict HNHC status using logistic regression, k-nearest neighbors (KNN), random forest (RF), multi-layer perceptron (MLP), and Naive Bayes. This study divided the data from 2021–2022 into 70:30 as a training set and a test set, with the internal class balancing approach of the Synthetic Minority Over-sampling Technique (SMOTE). A grid search strategy was employed with k-fold cross-validation to optimize hyperparameters. Model performance was assessed by 5 metrics: Receiver Operating Characteristic-Area Under Curve (ROC-AUC), accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and F1 score. The external validation from 2022–2023 data and the internal validation using different train-test ratios (80:20 and 90:10) were used to assess the robustness of the trained models. Among the 91,882 hospitalized children included in 2021, significant differences were found in socioeconomics, disease, healthcare service utilization, previous healthcare expenditure, and hospital characteristics between the HNHC and non-HNHC groups. The hospitalization costs for HNHC pediatric patients accounted for over 35% of total spending. The MLP model demonstrated the highest predictive performance (ROC-AUC: 0.872), followed by RF (0.869), KNN (0.836), and naive Bayes (0.828). The most important predictive factors included length of stay, number of hospitalizations, previous HNHC status, age, and presence of Top 20 HNHC diseases. MLP showed robustness as the most efficient model in external validation (ROC-AUC: 0.843) and internal validation using different train-test ratios (ROC-AUC: 0.826 in 80:20 ratio; 0.807 in 90:10 ratio). Machine learning models, particularly MLP, effectively predict HNHC pediatric patients, providing a basis for early identification of HNHC and proactive healthcare interventions into clinical practice. This approach can also assist policymakers and payers in optimizing healthcare resource allocation, controlling healthcare costs, and improving patient outcomes.

This work provides a comprehensive review of the recent advancements in the toughening modification methods for epoxy resins. The study explores a variety of approaches, including the incorporation of liquid rubbers, core–shell rubber particles, thermoplastic resins, hyperbranched polymers, and the nanoparticle toughening method, each of which contributes to improving the mechanical properties and fracture toughness of epoxy resins. Special attention is given to the mechanisms underlying these toughening methods, such as reaction-induced phase separation, crack pinning, and energy dissipation through particle deformation. The paper also examines the synergistic effects achieved by combining different toughening agents, such as phenoxy thermoplastic rubber and core–shell rubber particles, which significantly enhance the critical fracture energy and impact strength of epoxy composites. Additionally, the challenges associated with each method, such as the potential reduction in mechanical properties and the influence of phase separation on material performance, are discussed. Through a detailed analysis of experimental studies, this paper highlights the effectiveness of various toughening strategies and suggests future research directions aimed at further optimizing epoxy resin toughening techniques for diverse industrial applications. Emerging computational modeling and machine learning applications in epoxy resin development are also systematically reviewed to highlight their potential in advancing predictive design frameworks.

Natural esters exhibit excellent flame retardant and biodegradability, which help minimize power accidents and reduce environmental impact. These qualities make natural esters a promising alternative to conventional transformer insulating oils. However, the practical applications of natural esters in power equipment have been significantly restricted by their inherent limitations, including elevated viscosity, high dielectric loss, and poor oxidative stability. Nano-modification technologies present a novel methodological approach to solve these inherent constraints. A systematic analysis of the latest research developments in nano-modified natural ester transformer oils is provided in this review. The properties of various natural esters are examined, and their suitability as base fluids is evaluated, while the modification effects and mechanisms of typical nano-additives are comprehensively reviewed. The key role of nano-modification technology in improving the overall performance of natural esters is elucidated through detailed analysis of how nanoparticles influence physical properties, dielectric properties, and oxidative stability. In addition, the practical challenges facing nano-modification technology are addressed, providing valuable theoretical guidance for future developments in this field.

The six-degree-of freedom (6-DOF) air-bearing testbed (ABT) functions as a terrestrial ground simulator of spacecraft dynamics, exhibiting significant nonlinear characteristics. This paper proposes a predefined-time optimal learning control strategy tailored for 6-DOF ABT formation system, proficiently handling lumped disturbances under switching digraphs. A predefined-time extended state observer is initially formulated to forecast essential leader state information under heterogeneous communication delays, while effectively alleviating the boundedness requirements on lumped disturbances and their derivatives. Subsequently, a novel predefined-time optimal learning distribution controller is proposed utilizing adaptive dynamic programming techniques, delivering near-optimal tracking control performance. Notably, this methodology uniquely integrates a learning-based online weight update mechanism, substantially amplifying learning capabilities of neural networks through efficient sample data extraction and filtration, thereby facilitating the optimization of control performance. The global stability is rigorously demonstrated through Lyapunov theory. Comprehensive numerical simulations alongside practical ground experiments further validate the superiority and engineering applicability of proposed findings.

The sluggish sulfur redox reaction in lithium−sulfur (Li−S) batteries triggers the development of highly active electrocatalysts for accelerating the polysulfides conversion kinetics. Rational design of catalysts with satisfactory active sites and high atom utilization toward multistep sulfur‐based conversion is much desired but remains challenging. Here, it is shown that the well‐designed Co−Ru dimer sites confined on carbon matrix could effectively manipulate the sulfur‐involved conversion reactions and thus improve Li−S batteries performance. The orbital coupling of Co−Ru dimer induces the orbital regulation for the atomic pair, resulting the favored lithium polysulfides adsorption strength and lowed conversion energy barrier, as confirmed by systematic electrochemical characterizations and theoretical calculation. Besides, the intrinsic catalytic activity of Ru from Co–Ru moiety also accelerates the Li2S dissociation reaction. Taken together, the as‐constructed Co–Ru dimer sites render the Li−S battery with excellent performance, delivering energy density of 468 Wh kg⁻¹ of total assembled pouch cell. This study offers a rational design of catalysts for boosting the catalytic performance in Li−S batteries.

Designing Schottky heterojunctions with tunable interfacial electronic structures can effectively optimize charge transport dynamics. In this work, a novel strategy to modulate the electronic structure of CuColdh is proposed by introducing cerium (Ced) into CuFe PBA@CuCo‐ldh composites (CFP@ldh) to construct Mott–Schottky (M–S) heterojunctions and obtaining two different junction types (double Schottky heterojunction). The synthesized CFP@Cedldh exhibits a distinctive microsphere structure comprising numerous nanoneedles, enhancing the formation of electroactive sites and inducing a built‐in electric field. In addition, the introduction of Ce in CuCo‐ldh together with the close contact between CuCo‐ldh and CFP forms a double Schottky heterostructure, which leads to strong interfacial interactions and facilitates the diffusion of the electrolyte ions by decreasing the energy barrier at the interface. Furthermore, Density‐functional theory (DFT) calculations further confirm that the formation of the “double Schottky heterojunction” increases the electron density near the Fermi energy level of CFP@Cedldh, which promotes ion diffusion and charge transport. The electrochemical performance of CFP@Cedldh is markedly improved, with specific capacity increasing from 690 to 992 C g⁻¹. The hybrid supercapacitor (CFP@Cedldh//AC) achieved 86.52% capacitance retention after 10 000 cycles. This study presents a promising avenue for designing high‐performance electrode materials with Mott–Schottky heterojunctions.