Interconnected Carbon Research Articles

Candle soot-metal-organic framework-based hierarchical electrode as high-performance anode for Li-ion batteries

Recently, cobalt oxide-based materials have been considered high-performance anode materials. However, cobalt oxide materials display drawbacks such as capacity fade, poor cycle life, and substantial structural strain. In this work, we report a facile synthesis of carbon-cobalt oxide composite to improve the electrode's storage capabilities and cycle life. First, metal–organic framework-based cobalt oxide nano leaves are synthesized by simple coprecipitation followed by calcination. After that, candle soot-derived carbon nanoparticles are uniformly deposited on the cobalt oxide nano leaves by a simple flame synthesis method to form a composite electrode. The fractal-like interconnected carbon nanoparticles improve the electron conducting pathways. In contrast, metal–organic framework-derived porous cobalt oxide nano leaves enhance energy storage abilities through reversible conversion reactions. The superior performance of the composite electrode is established from the galvanostatic charge–discharge experiments. Also, the composite electrode has delivered outstanding specific capacities of 811 and 503 mAh g−1 at 50 and 1000 mA g−1 current densities, respectively. Furthermore, the composite electrode exhibited good cyclic stability at 1000 mA g−1 current density by delivering an excellent specific charge capacity of 490 mAh g−1 even after 400 cycles. Therefore, these superior electrochemical properties confirm the potential applicability in high-performance and stable Li-ion batteries.

High-Rate Nonaqueous Mg-CO2 Batteries Enabled by Mo2 C-Nanodot-Embedded Carbon Nanofibers.

The widespread acceptance of nonaqueous rechargeable metal-gas batteries, known for their remarkably high theoretical energy density, faces obstacles such as poor reversibility and low energy efficiency under high charge-discharge current densities. To tackle these challenges, a novel catalytic cathode architecture for Mg-CO2 batteries, fabricated using a one-pot electrospinning method followed by heat treatment, is presented. The resulting structure features well-dispersed molybdenum carbide nanodots embedded within interconnected carbon nanofibers, forming a 3D macroporous conducting network. This cathode design enhances the volumetric efficiency, enabling effective discharge product deposition, while also improving electrical properties and boosting catalytic activity. This enhancement results in high discharge capacities and excellent rate capabilities, while simultaneously minimizing voltage hysteresis and maximizing energy efficiency. The battery exhibits a stable cycle life of over 250 h at a current density of 200mA g-1 with a low initial charge-discharge voltage gap of 0.72V. Even at incredibly high current densities, reaching 1600mA g-1 , the battery maintains exceptional performance. These findings highlight the crucial role of cathode architecture design in enhancing the performance of Mg-CO2 batteries and hold promise for improving other metal-gas batteries that involve deposition-decomposition reactions.

Nitrogen-doped cross-linked carbon nanosheets-loaded CdB2O4 nanoparticles as efficient sulfur host for lithium–sulfur battery

Three-dimensional interconnected nitrogen-doped carbon nanosheet-(NCNs) loaded cadmium borate (CdB2O4) nanoparticles were prepared using a soak-dry-calcine process. CdB2O4 nanoparticles were well dispersed and anchored on the carbon nanosheets. Applied in sulfur cathode of lithium–sulfur battery, the CdB2O4–based composite delivered a stable capacity of 666.8 mAh g−1 over 400 cycles at 0.5 A g−1 with a high coulombic efficiency of 99%. It maintained 449.9 mAh g−1 at 1.0 A g−1 after 500 cycles, with a decay rate of 0.065% per cycle. The superior electrochemical performance of the nanocomposite was due to the abundant mesopores, which could encapsulate more active sulfur and alleviate the volume expansion caused by discharge procedure. Furthermore, the CdB2O4 nanoparticles anchored on the nanosheets effectively confined the lithium polysulfides and exhibited a high electrocatalysis effect toward the conversion of polysulfides in the charge–discharge process.

One stone for four birds: A “chemical blowing” strategy to synthesis wood-derived carbon monoliths for high-mass loading capacitive energy storage in low temperature

Biomass-derived carbon materials are promising electrode materials for capacitive energy storage. Herein, inspired by the hierarchical structure of natural wood, carbon monoliths built up by interconnected porous carbon nanosheets with enriched vertical channels were obtained via zinc nitrate (Zn(NO3)2)-assisted synthesis and served as thick electrodes for capacitive energy storage. Zn(NO3)2 is proved to function as expansion agent, activator, dopant, and precursor of the template. The dense and micron-scale thickness walls of wood were expanded by Zn(NO3)2 into porous and interconnected nanosheets. The pore volume and specific surface area were increased by more than 430 %. The initial specific capacitance and rate performance of the optimized carbon monolith was approximately three times that of the pristine dense carbon framework. The assembled symmetric supercapacitor possessed a high initial specific capacitance of 4564 mF cm−2 (0–1.7 V) at −40 °C. Impressively, the robust device could be cycled more than 100,000 times with little capacitance attenuation. The assembled zinc-ion hybrid capacitor (0.2–2 V) delivered a large specific capacitance of 4500 mF cm−2 at −40 °C, approximately 74 % of its specific capacitance at 25 °C. Our research paves a new avenue to design thick carbon electrodes with high capacitive performance by multifunctional Zn(NO3)2 for low-temperature applications.

Enabling high-performance lithium iron phosphate cathodes through an interconnected carbon network for practical and high-energy lithium-ion batteries

The olivine lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode has gained significant utilization in commercial lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) with graphite anodes. However, the actual capacity and rate performance of LFP still require further enhancement when combined with high-capacity anodes, such as silicon (Si) anodes, to achieve high-energy LIBs. In this study, we introduce a gelatin-derived carbon network into a nanosized LFP cathode without the need for additional binding and conductive agents, employing a simple and cost-effective method. The resulting cathode exhibits an extremely high LFP content (∼92.3 wt%), enabling it to show a high real capacity of 159.7 mAh/g at 0.2 C in half cells. Additionally, the interconnected carbon network effectively facilitates electron and Li+ transport, providing rapid pathways within the LFP nanoparticles. Consequently, the cathode exhibits superior rate capability (107.3 mAh/g at 10 C) and good cycling performance (with a capacity retention of ∼ 80 % after 500 cycles). To further assess its practical viability, the LFP cathode is assembled into a full cell utilizing a Si-based anode with a N/P ratio of 1.1. The resulting full cell delivers a significantly high energy density of 419.7 Wh kg−1, coupled with prolonged cycle life, highlighting its promising prospects for practical applications.

Construction of lotus stem-like Li3VO4 wrapped on carbon fibers via chemical lithiation promoting interfacial dynamics for capacitive lithium storage

Oxides based on vanadium redox couple, such as orthorhombic Li3VO4, has drawn great attentions due to its high theoretical capacity and moderate operating voltage. However, the rate property is largely hindered by the slow interfacial dynamics of Li3VO4. Here we synthesized the lotus stem-like Li3VO4 wrapped in N-doped carbon fibers (Li3VO4/C NF) stemmed from the chemical lithiation of V2O3/C NF. The knobbly Li3VO4 rooted in the interconnected carbon fibers provides abundant active sites and well-developed conductive networks. Thus, this anode delivers high specific capacity of 558.9 mAh g−1 at 0.2 A g−1 and excellent rate capacity of 419 mAh g−1 at 2 A g−1 sustaining 900 cycles with an average potential of 0.7 V vs. Li+/Li. Furthermore, the kinetic analysis reveals that the pseudocapacitance dominants the lithium storage process and the favorable interfacial ion and electronic transport is responsible for the enhanced rate performance. The full cell (Li3VO4/C NF||LiFePO4) also shows a competitive performance for commercialization. This work boosts the development of vanadium-based anode materials with desired electrochemical properties meeting devices requirements.

Electro- and photo-thermal energy conversion investigation of polyethylene glycol infiltrated porous carbon aerogels

Due to the insulating nature of organic phase change materials, it is impossible to directly trigger latent heat thermal energy storage via an electrical way. In this work, through crosslinking, freeze-drying and pyrolysis, the interconnected carboxymethylcellulose sodium-derived carbon aerogel (abbreviated as CCA) with high porosity, good solar-thermal conversion capability, electrical conductivity, and mechanic strength is firstly fabricated successfully. The organic phase change material of polyethylene glycol (PEG) is then infiltrated into the CCA via vacuum infiltration to obtain the PEG/CCA15 composite phase change materials that melt at 52.1 °C with latent heat of 173.4 J/g. Electro-thermal test results display that PEG/CCA15 composite present low resistance (1.64 Ω), high electrical conductivity (4.201 S/cm) and excellent electro-thermal energy conversion efficiency (55.6 % under applying 1.4 V). Further results also show that PEG/CCA composites exhibit good photo-thermal energy storage and release abilities. Our results indicate that the as-prepared PEG/CCA15 is a potential candidate to be applied in electrical/solar energy utilization.

Exploring potassium trifluoroacetate as a novel electrolyte for enhancing energy density of biomass-derived carbon-based supercapacitors and improving electrolyte-electrode adaptability

Improving the energy density by expanding the operating voltage of electrolytes and enhancing the charge storage capacity of electrode materials is crucial for the development of supercapacitors. This work proposes a potassium trifluoroacetate (CF3COOK, CFK) electrolyte for improving the energy density of supercapacitors without sacrificing the high power density and long-cycle performance while developing honeycomb-like interconnected hierarchical porous carbons (HIHPCs) with controlled pore size distribution, large specific surface area (3028 m2 g−1), interconnected pore structure, and high electrical conductivity (2.01 S cm−1) from waste biomass to match the proposed CFK electrolyte for harvesting high charge storage capability. The prepared HIHPCs exhibit excellent electrochemical performance in the proposed CFK electrolyte, achieving a high specific capacitance of up to 409 F g−1 over a wide operating voltage window of −1.0 to 0.9 V, with high coulomb efficiency, low internal resistance, good rate capability, and perfect electrochemical stability. Symmetric supercapacitors constructed using the obtained HIHPCs and the proposed CFK electrolyte can operate stably at 1.9 V and deliver high specific energy of 24.8 Wh kg−1 at 237.8 W kg−1 with good cycling stability. The effectiveness of the proposed CFK electrolyte as an ideal electrolyte with extended electrochemical stability windows to significantly improve the energy density of aqueous supercapacitors was verified. This work presents a promising approach for developing high-performance aqueous supercapacitors with potential applications in renewable energy systems.

Co/N co‐doped flower‐like carbon‐based phase change materials toward solar energy harvesting

AbstractThe photothermal conversion capacity of pristine organic phase change materials (PCMs) is inherently insufficient in solar energy utilization. To upgrade their photothermal conversion capacity, we developed bimetallic zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF) derived Co/N co‐doped flower‐like carbon (Co/N‐FLC)‐based composite PCMs toward solar energy harvesting. 3D interconnected carbon framework with low interfacial thermal resistance, abundant carbon defects and high content of nitrogen doping, excellent localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effect of Co nanoparticles, and light absorber Co3ZnC in Co/N‐FLC synergistically upgrade the photothermal capacity of (polyethylene glycol) PEG@Co/N‐FLC composite PCMs with an ultrahigh photothermal conversion efficiency of 94.8% under 0.16 W/cm2. Uniformly anchored Co and Co3ZnC nanoparticles in carbon framework guarantee excellent photon capture ability. Bridging carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in 2D carbon nanosheets further accelerate the rapid transport of phonons by constructing cross‐connected heat transfer paths. Additionally, PEG@Co/N‐FLC exhibits a thermal energy storage density of 100.69 J/g and excellent thermal stability and durable reliability. Therefore, PEG@Co/N‐FLC composite PCMs are promising candidates to accelerate the efficient utilization of solar energy.

Enhancing electrochemical energy storage capacity and rate performance of the anode with a 3D interconnected carbon tube-NiO-SnO2 composite scaffold

Enhancing electrochemical energy storage capacity and rate performance of the anode with a 3D interconnected carbon tube-NiO-SnO2 composite scaffold

Nitrogen-doped porous carbon nanofibers embedded with Cu/Cu3P heterostructures as multifunctional current collectors for stabilizing lithium anodes in lithium-sulfur batteries

Among the various beyond-lithium-ion battery systems, lithium-sulfur batteries (Li-S) have been widely considered as one of the most promising technologies owing to their high theoretical energy density. However, the irregular Li plating/stripping and infinite volume change associated with low Coulombic efficiency and safety concerns of host-less lithium anode hinder the practical application of Li-S batteries. Herein, Cu/Cu3P heterostructure-embedded in carbon nanofibers (Cu/Cu3P-N-CNFs) are developed as multifunctional current collectors for regular lithium deposition. The 3D porous interconnected carbon skeleton endows effectively reduced local current density and volume expansion, meanwhile the Cu/Cu3P particles function as nucleation sites for uniform lithium plating. Consequently, the developed ion/electron-conducting skeleton delivers remarkable electrochemical performances in terms of high Coulombic efficiency for 500 cycles at 1 mA cm−2, and the accordingly symmetric cell exhibits long-term cyclic duration over 1500 h with a low voltage hysteresis of ∼ 80 mV at 1 mA cm−2. Moreover, Li-S full cells paired with the developed anode and S@CNTs cathode also show superior rate capability (568 mAh/g at 2C) and excellent stability of >500 cycles at 0.2C, further demonstrating the great potential of Cu/Cu3P-N-CNFs as promising current collectors for advanced lithium-metal batteries.

Highly sensitive electrochemical detection of gallic acid in tea samples by using single-walled carbon nanotubes@silica dioxide nanoparticles decorated electrode

In this work, a simple and efficient gallic acid (GA) electrochemical sensor was successfully fabricated by using silica dioxide (SiO2) nanoparticles@single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) nanocomposite modified glassy carbon electrode (SWCNT@SiO2/GCE). The SWCNT@SiO2/GCE sensor was applied for the highly sensitive electrochemical detection of GA for the first time. For the SWCNT@SiO2 nanocomposite, SWCNT with interconnected carbon conductive network possessed high conductivity property, large specific area, and efficient charge transport channels. The abundant hydroxyl groups and silanol groups on the surface of SiO2 nanoparticles were good for the enrichment of GA molecules on the surface of SWCNT@SiO2/GCE. Moreover, SWCNT could greatly compensate for the non-conductivity of SiO2 nanoparticles. The synergistic effect of SWCNT and SiO2 nanoparticles enhanced the electrochemical determination performance of GA. The SWCNT@SiO2/GCE sensor exhibited good GA determination performance (pH=2.0, linear GA concentration: 0.03–20 μM, limit of detection: 8.05 nM). The fabricated sensor also showed good reproducibility, reproducibility, and anti-interference performance. In addition, the SWCNT@SiO2/GCE sensor presented good practical application performance for the detection of GA in tea samples (Recovery rate: 95.2–103.6%; relative standard deviation: 2.03–4.50%). This work exhibits a novel approach for the sensitive determination of GA in green tea and black tea samples.

Efficient utilization of nickel single atoms for CO2 electroreduction by constructing 3D interconnected nitrogen-doped carbon tube network

The CO2 electroreduction (CO2RR) is extensively deemed as a promising route to reach carbon neutralization, while the single-atom catalysts (SACs) are proved to be effective in CO2RR. However, most SACs cannot further amplify performance due to their powdery feature. Herein, we present numerous isolated nickel single atoms anchored on 3D interconnected N-doped carbon tubes (NiSAs@3D-INCT) network as a self-supported electrode. The NiSAs@ 3D-INCT has truly interconnected and highly ordered vertical and lateral carbon tube-channels, which promote the CO2 interaction and electrolyte transmission. The NiSAs@3D-INCT exhibits a superior CO2RR performance with an appreciable CO partial current density of 51.8 mA cm −2 at − 0.96 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE). X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy and theoretical computations reveal the NiSAs are loaded on the 3D-INCT network with Ni-N4 configuration as highly active sites for CO2RR. This work will shed a new light on opening up high performance SACs for CO2RR.

Superhydrophilic Interconnected Biomass-Based Absorbers Toward High-Speed Evaporation for Solar Steam Generation.

Taking abundant and sustainable solar energy as the only energy source, solar-powered interface evaporation has been regarded as a promising method to alleviate the pressure of freshwater shortage. However, the uptake of clean water from brine is constantly accompanied by evaporation of water and condensation of vapor, which inevitably generates salt solid, preventing further continuous and stable evaporation. The most direct method is to fabricate a photothermal material with salt self-resistance by using the reflux of salt ions. Here, a superhydrophilic interconnected biomass carbon absorber (SBCA) is prepared by freeze-drying and carbonization, realizing strong liquid pumping, and self-blocking salt. In combination with superior broadband light absorption (94.91%), high porosity (95.9%), superhydrophilicity, and excellent thermal localization, an evaporation device with excellent evaporation rate (2.45kg m-2 h-1 under 1kW m-2) is successfully proposed. In the meantime, the porous skeleton and rapid water transport can enhance the diffusion of salt ions and slow down the rate of salt deposition. As a result, no salt deposition is found on the SBCA surface after continuous irradiation at 1kW m-2 for 15 h. The design can provide a convenient and low-cost efficient strategy for solar steam generators to address clean water acquisition.

Direct Induction of Porous Graphene from Mechanically Strong and Waterproof Biopaper for On-Chip Multifunctional Flexible Electronics.

Graphene with a 3D porous structure is directly laser-induced on lignocellulosic biopaper under ambient conditions and is further explored for multifunctional biomass-based flexible electronics. The mechanically strong, flexible, and waterproof biopaper is fabricated by surface-functionalizing cellulose with lignin-based epoxy acrylate (LBEA). This composite biopaper shows as high as a threefold increase in tensile strength and excellent waterproofing compared with pure cellulose one. Direct laser writing (DLW) rapidly induces porous graphene from the biopaper in a single step. The porous graphene shows an interconnected carbon network, well-defined graphene domains, and high electrical conductivity (e.g., ≈3Ω per square), which can be tuned by lignin precursors and loadings as well as lasing conditions. The biopaper in situ embedded with porous graphene is facilely fabricated into flexible electronics for on-chip and paper-based applications. The biopaper-based electronic devices, including the all-solid-state planer supercapacitor, electrochemical and strain biosensors, and Joule heater, show great performances. This study demonstrates the facile, versatile, and low-cost fabrication of multifunctional graphene-based electronics from lignocellulose-based biopaper.

Vacuum filtration-casted hierarchical carbon skeleton/TiO2 thick electrodes for lithium-ion batteries with high areal capacity

Enhancing the areal capacity of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) via designing of thick electrodes attracts significant interest. To promote this issue, carbon microfiber (CMFs) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are introduced as most electrode skeletons to improve the kinetics of the thick electrodes. Herein, self-supportive integrated thick electrodes with dual hierarchical carbon skeleton of CMFs and CNTs, and TiO2 are synthesized via vacuum filtration-casting technique. By tuning the ratio of both CMF and CNT, the optimized electrode achieves relatively high reversible areal capacity of 5.32 mAh cm−2@0.0125 A g−1, attractive rate performance of 0.91 mAh cm−2@0.50 A g−1 and impressive cyclic stability areal capacity of 2.75 mAh cm−2@0.10 A g−1 up to 150 cycles as anode material for LIBs. The enhanced performance can be attributed to the interconnected hierarchical carbon architecture and synergistic effect between the individual materials that facilitates better electrical conductivity for the rapid lithium-ion diffusion kinetics. Furthermore, in situ Raman analysis provides clear evidence for the rapid electronic/ionic transport kinetics in the proposed integrated architecture electrode. This work provides more options for the synthesis of thick electrodes for high performance and high areal capacity LIBs.

Green electromagnetic interference shielding films with unique and interconnected 3D magnetic/conductive interfaces

Magnetic nanoparticle-decorated biomass-derived carbon films are intriguing green electromagnetic interference shielding composites because of their eco-friendly, high shielding effectiveness, low reflection loss, etc. However, it is still difficult to uniformly decorate magnetic nanoparticles onto a whole interconnected carbon skeleton. Herein, to overcome this difficulty, a novel in situ coprecipitation approach was developed to construct the 3D Fe3O4@carbon core-shell network with interconnected magnetic/conductive interfaces. Briefly, common filter papers (CFPs) decorated with metal ions were immersed into ammonia solutions, to in situ generate Fe3O4 nanoparticles on whole CFPs. Subsequently, Fe3O4-decorated CFPs are carbonized to obtain magnetic and conductive biomass-derived carbon films. The novel structure endows the resultant films with excellent electrical conductivity (673–732 S/m), excellent shielding (30.6 dB) and low reflection coefficient (R = 0.354). The specific SE of our films is as high as 191.3 dB/mm, exceeding that of the reported biomass-derived carbon materials.

A self-supporting graphitic carbon nanocage network confining high-loading sulfur for high performance potassium-sulfur batteries

Potassium-sulfur (K-S) battery is a promising candidate for high-energy and low-cost energy storage system. However, the development of K-S battery is challenged by the sluggish kinetics, low utilization of sulfur and serious shuttle effect. Herein, a novel self-supporting carbon/sulfur composite cathode (S@GCNs) was developed by infusing sulfur into an interconnected graphitic carbon nanocage (GCNs) network. Typically, the small GCNs (<10 nm) provide a large amount of space for sulfur storage, the sulfur content could reach more than 80 wt%. In addition, the interconnected GCNs network with high conductivity provide fast transport pathways for electrons/ions, and the strong confinement of GCNs on sulfur will buffer the volume expansion of sulfur and alleviate shuttle effect. The unique microstructure of S@GCNs boosts the rate capability and cycle stability of K-S battery, the initial capacity was 452.7 mAh/g, which remained 270.6 mAh/g and 205.9 mAh/g after 10 and 20 cycles, the capacity can reach 97.7 mA h g−1 even at 2000 mA g−1. Characterizations of the phase and structural evolution of S@GCNs revealed the reversible conversion mechanism of sulfur: S0↔ K2Sx (x = 5, 6)↔ K2Sx (x = 4)↔ K2S3.

Pinecone-derived biomass carbons as anodes for lithium and sodium-ion batteries by template-assisted and chemically activated approaches

Herein, a new strategy is adopted to synthesize 3D interconnected mesoporous biomass-derived carbon using mesoporous silica as the template. The facile and low-cost route assists to successfully synthesize pinecone-derived carbon using mesoporous silica KIT-6 as template. Three different chemical reagents, i.e., H3BO3, K2CO3 and KOH, are also utilized to prepare chemically activated pinecone-derived carbons separately. When treated as an anode in lithium-ion batteries, the template-assisted pinecone-derived carbon (PDC-T) provides excellent discharge capacities of 822.8 and 272.1 mAh g−1 beyond 500 cycles at current densities of 100 and 1000 mA g−1, respectively. On the other hand, the chemically activated PDC-H3BO3, PDC-K2CO3 and PDC-KOH anodes exhibit corresponding discharge capacities of 571.4, 337.8 and 365.4 mAh g−1 beyond 500 cycles at 100 mA g−1. Additionally, a full cell is constructed to validate the potential applications of pinecone-derived carbons in lithium-ion batteries with long-term cycling stability. In sodium-ion battery, the PDC-T anode delivers superior discharge capacity of 338.9 mAh g−1 at 50 mA g−1. The electrode provides discharge capacities of 271.5 and 103.3 mAh g−1 beyond 500 and 1000 long cycles at 100 and 500 mA g−1, respectively. The present work demonstrates an alternative route to synthesize high-performance biomass-derived mesoporous carbons for rechargeable batteries.

Novel Three-Dimensional Hierarchical Porous Carbon Probe for the Discovery of N-Glycan Biomarkers and Early Hepatocellular Carcinoma Detection.

Due to the highly heterogeneous nature of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the accurate diagnosis of HCC during the early phase of development is still a challenging task. Therefore, the further development of novel diagnostic methods by discovering new biomarkers is required to improve the rate of HCC diagnosis in the early phase. In this work, an oxygen-modified three-dimensional interconnected porous carbon probe is designed and fabricated to profile the differences of N-glycans in human serum from health controls (H) and patients with hepatic dysfunction (HD) and HCC for the discovery of new biomarkers with HCC development. Excitingly, we discovered that the expression levels of 12 serum N-glycans were gradually increased from H to patients with HD and eventually to patients with HCC. Moreover, two machine learning models established based on these 12 serum N-glycans reached a satisfactory accuracy for predicting HCC development where the receiver operating characteristic curve arrived above 0.95 for distinguishing healthy controls and patients with liver diseases (HD or HCC) and the ROC curve arrived at 0.85 for distinguishing HD and HCC. Our work not only developed a new method for the large-scale characterization of serum N-glycans but also provided valuable guidance for accurate and highly sensitive diagnosis of early liver cancer development in a non-invasive manner.