Tunneling-induced negative permittivity is attributed to the low frequency plasmonic state in tunneling networks, where nickel nanoparticles are still isolated geometrically but connected electrically.

Promising PEC water splitting activity with a photocurrent density of 3.16 mA cm ⁻² at 1.23 V vs. RHE was demonstrated in sandwich structured WO ₃ with exposed highly reactive (002) facet and superior crystallinity of 2-D nanoplatelets.

Thermal conductive networks (TCNs) in polymer composites are divided into high thermal dissipation TCN and low thermal dissipation TCN according to the rate of heat loss during transmission. The limited thermal conductivity (TC) enhancement in the composites prepared by traditional compounding methods was due to the high thermal dissipation of TCNs. In this study, TC enhancement based on conductive network conversion from high to low thermal dissipation was demonstrated in polydimethylsiloxane/short carbon fiber/glass bubble (PDMS/SCF/GB) composites. Two approaches, i.e., densification of the TCN by the spatial confining forced network assembly (SCFNA) method and volume exclusion by adding rigid particles, were used to realize TCN conversion from high to low thermal dissipation. Compared with the TC of PDMS/SCF (30 wt%) composites prepared by traditional compounding methods (1.053 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹), the TC (11.423 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹) of the same composites was increased by more than 9 times using the SCFNA method. The TC even presented an unexpected ∼13% enhancement to 13.004 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹ after adding 2 wt% GB with a relatively low TC of 0.15 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹. In summary, appropriate combination and optimization of these two approaches would lead to TC enhancement by one order of magnitude and more compared with traditional compounding methods.

Practical applications of lithium–sulfur batteries have been impeded by their poor cycling stability that results from the “shuttling” of polysulfides. Herein, we demonstrate a new strategy for developing a hierarchical phosphorus-doped graphene/carbon nanofiber/sulfur aerogel (PGCNF/S) with “network” morphologies, in which sulfur spheres are wrapped with graphene sheets and carbon nanofibers (PGCNFs) with “net” structures and this carbon matrix has greatly improved the electrochemical performances of sulfur spheres. PGCNF nets ensure a uniform loading of sulfur spheres that leads to a high sulfur mass loading of 85 wt%. Also, the good porous structures achieved with this PGCNF/S cathode can provide sufficient space for volume expansion of active sulfur spheres. Due to its structural advantages, this binder-free PGCNF/S cathode exhibits a specific capacity of 1360 mA h g⁻¹ at 0.1C, and a high areal capacity of 21.5 mA h cm⁻² based on a high sulfur mass loading of 15.8 mg cm⁻². Furthermore, a long term cycling stability of 600 cycles has been achieved by this PGCNF/S cathode with an average coulombic efficiency of ∼99.8%. This work highlights a broadly adaptable strategy of “network” structures for developing scalable and high-energy density electrode materials for energy storage devices.

To satisfy the demand for multiple performances in the electromagnetic field, multi-interfaced graphene aerogel (GA)/polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) composites with an integral three-dimensional (3-D) structure were constructed. In the microwave frequency range (1 MHz–1 GHz), the GA/PDMS composites exhibited negative permittivity corresponding to the plasmonic state at low frequencies which resulted from efficacious multiple interfaces in the GA/PDMS composites. Importantly, the negative permittivity could be adjusted by changing the testing pressure and GA amount. Multiple interfaces belonging to the GA were beneficial to achieve microwave absorption and electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding. A much wider microwave absorption bandwidth, i.e., 9.15 GHz, was observed and was increased by more than 2–3 times compared with similar research, together with a total shielding effectiveness (SET) of over 60 dB from 2 to 18 GHz. The multi-functional GA/PDMS composites have the potential to be an effective electromagnetic protection material.