Traditional graphite anode material typically shows a low theoretical capacity and easy lithium decomposition. Molybdenum disulfide is one of the promising anode materials for advanced lithium-ion batteries, which possess low cost, unique two-dimensional layered structure, and high theoretical capacity. However, the low reversible capacity and the cycling-capacity retention rate induced by its poor conductivity and volume expansion during cycling blocks further application. In this paper, a collaborative control strategy of monodisperse MoS₂/graphite composites was utilized and studied in detail. MoS₂/graphite nanocomposites with different ratios (MoS₂:graphite = 20%:80%, 40%:60%, 60%:40%, and 80%:20%) were prepared by mechanical ball-milling and low-temperature annealing. The graphite sheets were uniformly dispersed between the MoS₂ sheets by the ball-milling process, which effectively reduced the agglomeration of MoS₂ and simultaneously improved the electrical conductivity of the composite. It was found that the capacity of MoS₂/graphite composites kept increasing along with the increasing percentage of MoS₂ and possessed the highest initial discharge capacity (832.70 mAh/g) when MoS₂:graphite = 80%:20%. This facile strategy is easy to implement, is low-cost, and is cosmically produced, which is suitable for the development and manufacture of advance lithium-ion batteries.

Lithium batteries incorporating LiFePO₄ (LFP) as the cathode material have gained significant attention in recent research. However, the limited electronic and ionic conductivity of LFP poses challenges to its cycling performance and overall efficiency. In this study, we address these issues by synthesizing a series of LiFePO₄/carbon (LFP/C) composites through low-temperature carbonization coating of LFP in the presence of Coke as the carbon source. The resulting lithium batteries utilizing LFP/C as the cathode material exhibited impressive discharge specific capacities of 148.35 mA·h/g and 126.74 mA·h/g at 0.1 C and 1 C rates, respectively. Even after 200 cycles of charging and discharging, the capacities remained remarkably high, with values of 93.74% and 97.05% retention, showcasing excellent cycling stability. Notably, the LFP/C composite displayed exceptional rate capability, and capacity retention of 99.27% after cycling at different multiplication rates. These findings underscore the efficacy of in situ low-temperature carbonization capping of LFP with Coke in significantly improving both the cycling stability and rate capability of lithium batteries.

This study proposes a novel approach to enhanced the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) of Fe adsorbed on a MoSi₂N₄ substrate through hole doping. First principles calculations are employed to investigate the PMA of freestanding Fe and Fe/MoSi₂N₄ complex system. It is found that the PMA of Fe atom slightly increases from freestanding Fe monolayer to the Fe/MoSi₂N₄ system, which is attributed to the overlap between Fe-3d and N-2p orbitals. More interestingly, it is found that the PMA of Fe atoms in Fe/MoSi₂N₄ can be further enhanced by hole doping, which enables the PMA to increase significantly, up to four times the original value. This finding provides a promising way to enhance the PMA in two-dimensional (2D) spintronic devices. These results offering potential applications in developing advanced 2D spintronic devices.

Thermally stimulated depolarization current (TSDC) related internal electric field (Eint) is found to influence the pyrocurrent of multiferroics greatly, but its effect on the pole current of magnetoelectric (ME) materials has never been studied. In this article, ME antiferromagnet tetracobalt diniobate is cooled under an external electric field (Eext) from 125 K to generate the TSDC related Eint. Under a magnetic field (H), the pole current while cooling in the presence of Eint and Eext, and the subsequent pyrocurrent while heating without applying Eext is studied. Competition between Eext and Eint induces multiple transitions of pole current, and some transitions gradually disappear with increasing H. The pyrocurrent shows three transitions that are ascribed to the domain switching by Eint, depolarization of negative and positive domains, respectively. With increasing H, the transition at the highest temperature gradually disappears, indicating that the polarization is easier to be switched under a stronger H, which is explained both from the aspects of electrostatic potential energy and the special magnetic structure responsible for magnetoelectricity.

InN holds great promise for a wide range of applications, including broadband optical devices, high-frequency electronic devices, and serving as a substrate for highly sensitive gas detectors and efficient catalysts. Nevertheless, production of high-quality InN thin films through epitaxy has remained a significant challenge. This is primarily due to complexities arising from the low dissociation temperature and the high N2 equilibrium pressure of InN, which lead to formation of numerous nitrogen vacancies and a propensity to generate indium metal nanoparticles. Efficacy of the indium bilayer pre-deposition method for InN film growth has been established in prior studies. In this work, we introduce a specialized hydrogen insertion method to further enhance nitridation of the indium bilayer. The corresponding kinetic mechanism has been demonstrated through theoretical simulations and practical epitaxy experiments, leading to the development of an optimized hydrogen insertion process. This research represents a substantial improvement over existing InN epitaxial methods that involve control of the indium bilayer and introduces a novel mechanism for enhancing InN heteroepitaxy.