W-doped VO₂ with the pre-insertion of W⁶⁺ and the introduction of the W–O bond, accomplishing expanded lattice spacing and a stable structure, is developed to achieve both improved kinetics and long cycle life for aqueous Zn-ion batteries.

Supersulfate cement (SSC) has received significant attention in the construction industry due to its extensive utilization of solid wastes and low carbon emissions. However, the low carbonation resistance and early strength of SSC greatly restricted its application, which was attributed to early insufficient alkalinity and slow hydration. Facilitating early hydration alkalinity is critical to promote early hydration and improve early performance for SSC. Thus, sodium aluminate (SA), an admixture with concentrations ranging from 0% to 4%, was adopted to enhance early alkalinity and investigate its impact on the initial hydration process. The results indicated that incorporating SA into SSC enhances its early performance by balancing high alkalinity and AFt stability. The addition of 2% SA accelerates hydration procession, reducing initial and final setting times by 76% and 42%, respectively, while increasing viscosity by 50% for improved structural stability. At 2% SA, 1-day and 7-day compressive strengths rose from 3.7 MPa to 8.4 MPa and from 15.1 MPa to 18.5 MPa, respectively, representing gains of 127% and 22.5%, which were facilitated by accelerated GGBFS dissolution and needle-like AFt formation, which densifies the crystal-gel network microstructure.

A 3D ε-MnO ₂ /electrospun carbon fiber composite (ε-MnO ₂ /CPAN), synthesized via electrospinning and hydrothermal methods, achieves enhanced conductivity and structural stability, delivering high performances for aqueous zinc-ion batteries.

Due to low early strength and high shrinkage, ordinary Portland cement (OPC) has difficulty meeting the actual needs of modern construction projects, while belite calcium sulfoaluminate cement (BCSA–OPC) composite cement provides a new solution. The mechanical and the drying shrinkage properties of the BCSA–OPC mortar were determined, the hydration heat of the BCSA–OPC was studied, and the pore size distribution of the mortar was investigated. In addition, the hydration products of the BCSA–OPC were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and simultaneous thermal analysis (TG-DSC), and the microscopic morphology of the BCSA–OPC mortar was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results show that with the increase in BCSA dosage in the BCSA–OPC, compared with OPC, the flexural strengths of the mortar of 50% dosage of BCSA at the hydration age of 1 d, 3 d, 7 d, and 28 d are improved by 33.3%, 36.6%, 23.6%, and 26.8%, and the compressive strengths are improved by 50.8%, 35.7%, 13.4%, and 27.7%. The drying shrinkage and total porosity of the mortar at the hydration age of 28 d are reduced by 117.4% and 21.55%, respectively. It is attributed to the filling effect of a large amount of ettringite (AFt) and intertwined with the fibrous C-S-H gel to form a network. This study will provide a theoretical basis for the application of the BCSA–OPC engineering.

This paper reports on the successful preparation of LaPO₄-x wt.% LiF (x = 0–5) ceramics using the traditional solid-state reaction method. The crystal structures, sintering behaviors, and dielectric response at microwave and terahertz frequencies were investigated. XRD results indicate that all the diffraction peaks were attributed to LaPO₄, and no secondary phase was observed. Rietveld refinement was conducted to analyze the variation of the crystal structure of LaPO₄-x wt.% LiF. SEM indicates that the addition of LiF significantly decreased the grain size while increasing the apparent density of the ceramics. When x = 3, the optimum microwave dielectric properties ε_r = 10.03, Q × f = 81,467 GHz, and τ_f = −43.79 ppm/°C were achieved in LaPO₄-3 wt.% LiF ceramic at 750 °C. The infrared reflectance spectrum and terahertz time-domain spectroscopy were analyzed and compared with the dielectric properties measured at microwave frequency to investigate the inherent dielectric response. The findings indicate that the dielectric constant attributed to ionic displacement polarization and oxygen vacancy is an essential factor affecting dielectric loss. Moreover, it is worth noting that the LaPO₄-3 wt.% LiF ceramic demonstrates excellent compatibility with silver powders, suggesting its immense potential as a dielectric material in LTCC applications.