To overcome quenching and spatial localization in conventional plasmonic antenna–2D semiconductor hybrids, a plasmonic metasurface was developed. By applying Babinet’s principle to design hollow nano-antennas and inducing surface lattice resonances (SLRs), the research team minimized non-radiative losses and achieved large-area emission enhancement. This work presents a scalable approach for realizing low-power, high-brightness light emission in flexible optoelectronic devices.

Macquarie University research reveals widely-used fungicide causes reproductive damage in beneficial insects

Aluminum (Al) exhibits excellent electrical conductivity, mechanical ductility, and good chemical compatibility with high-ionic-conductivity electrolytes. This makes it more suitable as an anode material for all-solid-state lithium batteries (ASSLBs) compared to the overly reactive metallic lithium anode and the mechanically weak silicon anode. This study finds that the pre-lithiated Al anode demonstrates outstanding interfacial stability with the Li₆PS₅Cl (LPSCl) electrolyte, maintaining stable cycling for over 1200 h under conditions of deep charge–discharge. This paper combines the pre-lithiated Al anode with a high-nickel cathode, LiNi_0.8Co_0.1Mn_0.1O₂, paired with the highly ionic conductive LPSCl electrolyte, to design an ASSLB with high energy density and stability. Using anode pre-lithiation techniques, along with dual-reinforcement technology between the electrolyte and the cathode active material, the ASSLB achieves stable cycling for 1000 cycles at a 0.2C rate, with a capacity retention rate of up to 82.2%. At a critical negative-to-positive ratio of 1.1, the battery’s specific energy reaches up to 375 Wh kg^-1, and it maintains over 85.9% of its capacity after 100 charge–discharge cycles. This work provides a new approach and an excellent solution for developing low-cost, high-stability all-solid-state batteries.

Hygroscopic hydrogel is a promising evaporative-cooling material for high-power passive daytime cooling with water self-regeneration. However, undesired solar and environmental heating makes it a challenge to maintain sub-ambient daytime cooling. While different strategies have been developed to mitigate heat gains, they inevitably sacrifice the evaporation and water regeneration due to highly coupled thermal and vapor transport. Here, an anisotropic synergistically performed insulation-radiation-evaporation (ASPIRE) cooler is developed by leveraging a dual-alignment structure both internal and external to the hydrogel for coordinated thermal and water transport. The ASPIRE cooler achieves an impressive average sub-ambient cooling temperature of ~ 8.2 °C and a remarkable peak cooling power of 311 W m^-2 under direct sunlight. Further examining the cooling mechanism reveals that the ASPIRE cooler reduces the solar and environmental heat gains without comprising the evaporation. Moreover, self-sustained multi-day cooling is possible with water self-regeneration at night under both clear and cloudy days. The synergistic design provides new insights toward high-power, sustainable, and all-weather passive cooling applications.