Porous Zn Research Articles

Sn Penetrated Zincophilic Interface Design in Porous Zn Substrate for High Performance Zn-Ion Battery.

Rechargeable zinc-ion batteries are considered an ideal energy storage system due to their low cost and nonflammable aqueous electrolyte. However, dendrite growth, hydrogen evolution reaction, and self-corrosion of zinc anode brought about serious safety risks including short circuits and electrode expansion. Therefore, a modified host-design strategy with a 3D porous structure and bulk-phase penetrated zincophilic interface is proposed to boost the stability and lifetime of the Zn anode. The porous Zn substrate is constructed by universal HCl etching and the uniform and tight Sn-penetrated zincophilic interface is formed by effective electron beam evaporation (EBE). The porous substrate can uniform zinc ion flux and the Sn coating could effectively improve zinc ion deposition behavior, thus inhibiting the risk of dendrites growth and side reaction. As a result, the 3D Zn substrate with Sn interface (3D Zn@Sn) exhibits prolonged galvanostatic cycling performance up to 4500h with a low polarization of ≈25mV (1mAcm-2, 1mAhcm-2) in the symmetric cell. The full cell assembled with KVOH@Ti could maintain a high specific capacity of 148.6mAhg-1 after 500 galvanostatic cycles (10Ag-1). This work proposed an improved electrode design to realize the high performance of zinc ion batteries.

Dual-Layer Nanoengineered Urinary Catheters for Enhanced Antimicrobial Efficacy and Reduced Cytotoxicity.

Catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) is the most common healthcare-associated infection; however, current therapeutic strategies remain insufficient for standard clinical application. A novel urinary catheter featuring a dual-layer nanoengineering approach using zinc (Zn) and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) is successfully fabricated. This design targets microbial resistance, minimizes cytotoxicity, and maintains long-term efficacy. The inner AgNPs layer provides immediate antibacterial effects against the UTI pathogens, while the outer porous Zn layer controls zero-order Ag release and generates reactive oxygen species, thus enhancing long-term bactericidal performance. Enhanced antibacterial properties of Zn/AgNPs-coated catheters are observed, resulting in 99.9% of E. coli and 99.7% of S. aureus reduction, respectively. The Zn/AgNPs-coated catheter significantly suppresses biofilm with sludge formation compared to AgNP-coated and uncoated catheters (all, p<0.05). The Zn/AgNP-coated catheter in a rabbit model demonstrated a durable, effective barrier against bacterial colonization, maintaining antimicrobial properties during the catheter indwelling period with significantly reduced inflammation and epithelial disruption compared with AgNP and uncoated groups. This innovation has the potential to revolutionize the design of antimicrobial medical devices, particularly for applications requiring long-term implantation. Although further preclinical studies are required to verify its efficacy and safety, this strategy seems to be a promising approach to preventing CAUTI-related complications.

Retraction: A Porous Zn2(abct) Framework as an Efficient Carrier for 5‐Fu Delivery and Inhibiting Human Liver Cancer Cells

Retraction: A Porous Zn₂(abct) Framework as an Efficient Carrier for 5‐Fu Delivery and Inhibiting Human Liver Cancer Cells

Effect of Zinc Doping and Porosity on Structural, Morphological and Gas Sensing Properties of Porous Zn:SnO2 Bilayer Thin Film

Effect of Zinc Doping and Porosity on Structural, Morphological and Gas Sensing Properties of Porous Zn:SnO2 Bilayer Thin Film

Fabrication of Porous Zn Alloy Scaffolds Coated with Hydrophobic Film and Their In Vitro Biodegradation Properties

Fabrication of Porous Zn Alloy Scaffolds Coated with Hydrophobic Film and Their In Vitro Biodegradation Properties

Zn mixed CeO2 nanoparticles: Enhancement of NO2 gas sensing performance

Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is highly noxious and detrimental to both human health and the natural environment, making it imperative to create a sensor capable of detecting NO2 gas. In this paper, we demonstrate the fabrication of zinc mixed cerium oxide (CZ) nanoparticles (NPs) sensor using a simple chemical route. The compositional, structural, morphological, and gas sensing characteristics of prepared Zn mixed CeO2 (CZ) NPs (with Zn content ranging from 1to 5 wt%) were investigated by various characterization techniques. The as-prepared Zn mixed CeO2 NPs (CZ) exhibited cubic crystal structure. The CeO2 nanoparticles mixed with 5 wt% Zn (CZ5 NPs) exhibited a larger surface area of m58.90 m2/g. The Zn (5 wt%) mixed CeO2 nanoparticles sensor achieved a remarkable maximum sensing response of 91.31% to 100 ppm and 5.53% to 1 ppm NO2 at a working temperature of 150 °C. The sensor demonstrated excellent reproducibility, with a rapid response time of 14.20 seconds and a recovery time of 350.65 seconds, along with notable stability at 89.80%. The remarkable response of porous Zn (5 wt%) mixed CeO2 NPs to NO2 can be attributed to their unique porous structure and the synergistic effect of Zn and CeO2, which together provide a substantial specific surface area, along with the presence of oxygen vacancies within the sensing material. Impedance and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were employed to explore the potential NO2 sensing mechanism of the Zn (5 wt%) mixed CeO2 sensor.

Increasing the Cycle Life of Zinc Metal Anodes and Nickel-Zinc Cells Using Flow-Through Alkaline Electrolytes

Alkaline electrolyte flow through porous Zn anodes and Ni(OH)2 cathodes can overcome diffusion limits, reduce dendrite growth, and improve cycle life. Zinc deposition morphology improves with low flow rates electrolyte in KOH/ZnO electrolytes at current densities near the diffusion-limit regime. Zinc dendrites present without flow are suppressed by micrometer-per-second flow at concentrations ranging from 0.2 to 0.6 M ZnO dissolved in 6 M and 10 M KOH solutions. Zn-Cu asymmetric cell tests reveal that flowing electrolyte increases the lifespan by more than 6 times in the diffusion-limit regime by suppressing gas evolution and dendrite formation. Ni-Zn cell tests show that a flow-assisted battery cycles 1500 times with over 95% Coulombic efficiency (CE) at 35 mA cm−2 current density and 7 mAh/cm2 charge capacity, increasing the battery lifespan by 17 times compared with a stagnant Ni-Zn cell. Flow-through electrolyte also stabilizes the Zn electrode in the over-limiting regime, achieving approximately 4 times increased lifespan and 297 cycles with over 90% CE at 52 mA cm−2.

Comparison of osteogenic capability between porous Zn and porous Ti6Al4V scaffolds: An in vivo study

Bioabsorbable zinc (Zn)-based materials for bone defect repair have received increasing attention. Based on 3D printing technology, this study innovatively designed and manufactured pure Zn and Ti6Al4V porous scaffolds. The pore size of the scaffold was 700 μm and the porosity was 70%. Compared with the traditional Ti6Al4V scaffolds, it was found that the Zn scaffolds had a larger deformation, the ultimate compressive stress was 18 MPa, but the ultimate strain could exceed 20%, while Ti6Al4V was only 6%. The elastic modulus of the Zn scaffolds was also lower than that of Ti6Al4V, which was 0.25 GPa, which can meet bone repair requirements in the non-weight-bearing area. However, Zn scaffolds had better strain capacity and lower elastic modulus, so they had less stress-shielding effect on bone. Degradation experiments also proved that the Zn scaffold had good degradation performance. Further in vivo and in vitro experiments showed that the Zn scaffolds had better osteogenic ability than the Ti6Al4V scaffolds. The findings of our study underscore the potential of integrating pure Zn into 3D printed scaffolds for their application in orthopedic scenarios.

Hierarchical synthesis of binary ZnO@MWCNTs heterogeneous photocatalyst derived from porous Zn metal organic framework (MOF) template: Study on the effective photodegradation of Congo red (CR) dye

This study presents the synthesis of a heterogeneous ZnO@MWCNTs photocatalyst through a solvothermal method, employing a Zn-metal organic framework (MOF) template. The resulting nanocomposite showcases ZnO nanorods integrated with MWCNTs, forming a material characterized by nanosized building blocks, a substantial specific surface area, robust pore structure, and uniform morphology. A comprehensive XRD characterization reveals crystalline ZnO nanorods proficiently loaded onto the MWCNTs surface, forming a cohesive nano-composite. The inclusion of MWCNTs influences crystal growth, reducing crystallite size and altering optical absorption due to surface Plasmon resonance. This leads to a higher concentration of surface hydroxyl groups in the ZnO framework. Additionally, MWCNTs act as electron sinks, significantly reducing ZnO photooxidation and enhancing overall photostability in the composite. The photocatalytic efficacy of the composite in Congo Red (CR) degradation is impressive, achieving 92% degradation within 90 min of UV light exposure. A proposed photocatalytic mechanism elucidates the heightened performance of the synthesized photocatalysts. Notably, the MOF-derived ZnO@MWCNTs exhibited superior dye adsorption capacity compared to alternative adsorbents. This work underscores the immense potential of the ZnO@MWCNTs nanocomposite as a highly efficient photocatalyst for environmental remediation, offering significant advancements in dye degradation and wastewater treatment technologies.

Effect of Water on Zn Electrodeposition from a Deep Eutectic Solvent

The electrodeposition of Zn films from a deep eutectic solvent (DES) of ZnCl2 and formamide and its mixture with water was studied. From spectroscopic analyses it was observed that water up to 30 v/v% does not change the Zn coordination in the electrolyte after which significant change in the coordination was observed. Electrochemical studies showed that with increase in water concentration in the DES, higher deposition/stripping current was achieved which was related to lowering of viscosity. The Zn deposit morphology changed significantly with water concentration. At low concentrations of water (up to 20 v/v%), porous Zn nanoplates formed whereas the morphology changed to a dense hexagonal structure on increasing the water concentration. X-ray diffraction results confirmed that at low water concentrations (up to 20 v/v%) Zn-Cu alloy formed. Above 20 v/v% water concentration in the DES, Zn peaks evolved with Zn-Cu alloy forming a shoulder. Based on the electrochemical and spectroscopic studies, it appears that 20–30 v/v% water is the critical region wherein significant changes occur from a DES rich region to a water-rich region.

Design of porous ZrO2 with well-tuned band structures and strong visible-light harvesting via Zn doping for enhanced visible-light photocatalysis

As one of huge-gap semiconductors, zirconium dioxide (ZrO2) has been emerging as one of popular photocatalysts for treating wastewater, and the band gap engineering of ZrO2 for efficient visible-light harvesting and high-performance photocatalysis is probably the most important challenge. In this work, porous Zn doped Zr3+-ZrO2 nanostructures with strong visible-light harvesting capacity were fabricated via a calcination process for tetracycline degradation. The obtained (Zn, Zr3+)-ZrO2 samples showed greatly narrowed band gaps and enhanced visible-light harvesting capacity. In addition, the photocatalytic performance of the (Zn, Zr3+)-ZrO2 nanostructures was studied with tetracycline degradation as a model reaction. Among these prepared samples, the optimal (Zn, Zr3+)-ZrO2-5% sample exhibited remarkably improved tetracycline degradation visible-light irradiation, and the apparent rate constant reached 0.04958 min−1, which was 7.05 times of pristine Zr3+-ZrO2. The boosted photocatalytic performance of the (Zn, Zr3+)-ZrO2 nanostructures were mainly ascribed to Zn doping effects as along as the high surface areas. Finally, possible photocatalytic mechanism, degradation pathways, and toxicity assessment were also studied. Current results indicate the significant roles of Zn doping in regulation of band gaps and morphology control of ZrO2 for high-performance photocatalytic applications.

Zn-Based Catalysts for Selective and Stable Electrochemical CO2 Reduction at High Current Densities

The development of low-cost and stable catalysts is important for lowering the capital and operational cost of CO2 electro-reduction (ECR). Zinc (Zn) is an earth-abundant metal, with promising performance for the CO2-to-CO conversion.1 Zinc oxide (ZnO) has been recently employed for the CO2-to-CO conversion, recording promising selectivity (FECO) but short-term stability, in Flow-Cell configuration.2,3 ZnO phase has been proven critical for competent ECR performance, since both the oxidation state of Zn and the Zn/ZnO interface are proven critical for high FECO. 4,5In our work 6, we have synthesised various ZnO allotropes, the properties of which induced differences in their ECR performance. We have identified the ZnO nanorods (ZnO-NR) as the best performing catalyst. The latter was implemented in a zero-gap ECR electrolyser (MEA), recording partial current density for CO (jCO) of 160 mA cm-2 at cell voltage of 3.6 V. We have correlated the depletion of the ZnO phase in the MEA with the degradation of the performance (initially 15 h stability). We applied a periodic oxidation protocol in the MEA, causing the regeneration of ZnO-phase, allowing us to prolong the life-time of the catalyst. Through our strategy we were able to record 82% CO selectivity (FECO) for over 100 h, at -160 mA cm-2. This work provides an approach of practical use of inexpensive Zn-based catalysts for large-scale ECR applications.(1) Luo, W.; Zhang, J.; Li, M.; Züttel, A. Boosting CO Production in Electrocatalytic CO2 Reduction on Highly Porous Zn Catalysts. ACS Catal. 2019, 9 (5), 3783–3791. https://doi.org/10.1021/acscatal.8b05109.(2) Zeng, J.; Fontana, M.; Sacco, A.; Sassone, D.; Pirri, C. F. A Study of the Effect of Electrode Composition on the Electrochemical Reduction of CO2. Catalysis Today 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cattod.2021.07.014.(3) Zong, X.; Jin, Y.; Li, Y.; Zhang, X.; Zhang, S.; Xie, H.; Zhang, J.; Xiong, Y. Morphology-Controllable ZnO Catalysts Enriched with Oxygen-Vacancies for Boosting CO2 Electroreduction to CO. Journal of CO2 Utilization 2022, 61, 102051. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcou.2022.102051.(4) Nguyen, D. L. T.; Jee, M. S.; Won, D. H.; Jung, H.; Oh, H.-S.; Min, B. K.; Hwang, Y. J. Selective CO2 Reduction on Zinc Electrocatalyst: The Effect of Zinc Oxidation State Induced by Pretreatment Environment. ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng. 2017, 5 (12), 11377–11386. https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.7b02460.(5) Geng, Z.; Kong, X.; Chen, W.; Su, H.; Liu, Y.; Cai, F.; Wang, G.; Zeng, J. Oxygen Vacancies in ZnO Nanosheets Enhance CO2 Electrochemical Reduction to CO. Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2018, 57 (21), 6054–6059. https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201711255.(6) Stamatelos, I.; Dinh, C.-T.; Lehnert, W.; Shviro, M. Zn-Based Catalysts for Selective and Stable Electrochemical CO2 Reduction at High Current Densities. ACS Appl. Energy Mater. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsaem.2c02557. Figure 1

Preparation and in vitro degradation behavior of biodegradable porous Zn-Li-Ca alloy bone repair scaffolds

Porous pure Zn alloy scaffolds are often used for bone defects, but their clinical effects are limited due to poor mechanical properties and uneven degradation. In this study, porous Zn-Li-Ca alloy scaffolds with 70 % porosity were prepared by pressure infiltration method with 450–600 μm NaCl particles were used as pore-making agent. The effect of pore structure and the content of Ca element on, mechanical properties, degradation and weight loss of porous Zn alloy scaffolds soaked in simulated body fluids (SBF) for 4 weeks were studied. The results showed that the Zn alloy scaffolds prepared by spherical sodium chloride has high pore connectivity, and the yield strength and elastic modulus of Zn-0.8Li-0.8Ca reach 35.80 ± 1.89 MPa and 2.45 ± 0.19 GPa, respectively. Compared with the pure Zn alloy scaffolds, the yield strength was increased by 18.5 times, the elastic modulus was increased by 9 times, which meets the mechanical requirements of human cancellous bone. Compared with Zn-0.8Li alloy scaffolds, the weight loss rate and degradation rate at 4 weeks reached 7.51 % and 0.21 mm/y, respectively. In vitro studies showed that the addition of Ca element weakened the formation of Li2CO3 protective layer and accelerated the degradation rate of the scaffold. The problem of slow degradation rate of Zn-Li alloy was solved, which laid a foundation for subsequent in vivo implantation experiments. The results of this study indicate that the porous biodegradable Zn-based scaffold has great application potential in bone defects.

In Situ Etching of Multifunctional Three-Dimensional Interfacial Layers for the Construction of Porous Zn Anodes with Enhanced Surface Textures.

Aqueous Zn-ion batteries offer the advantages of greater security and lower fabrication costs over their lithium-ion counterparts. However, their further advancement and practical application are hindered by the drastic decay in their performance due to the uncontrollable dendrite growth on Zn anodes. In this study, we fabricated a versatile three-dimensional (3D) interfacial layer (3D PVDF-Zn(TFO)2 (PVDF: poly(vinylidene fluoride); TFO: trifluoromethanesulfonate), which simultaneously formed porous Zn-metal anodes (PZn) with an enhanced (002) texture, via a in situ etching scheme. The 3D PVDF-Zn(TFO)2@PZn symmetrical cells leverage the advantages of surface coating and 3D porous architectures to yield extra-long cyclic lifetimes of over 5300 h (0.1 mA cm-2). The fabricated anodes were found to be compatible with MnO2 cathodes, and the resulting full batteries delivered an outstanding capacity of 336 mAh g-1 at 0.1 A g-1 and exhibited impressive long-term reversibility with a capacity retention of 78.7% for 2000 cycles. The proposed coating strategy is viable for developing porous structures with cutting-edge designs and for textured surface engineering.

One-Pot preparation of microporous-polymer protected 3D porous Zn anode to enable advanced aqueous zinc batteries

Aqueous zinc-ion batteries hold a great promise for their low cost and high safety. However, Zn metal anodes suffer from the side reactions and Zn dendrites, which significantly reduce the utilization rate of Zn metal and affect the cycle performance of the battery. In this work, a 3D porous Zn anode coated by a microporous-polymer (DMBP-TB) layer is constructed in situ by iodine etching strategy. The 3D porous structure of Zn foil can manipulate Zn2+ flux and guide the uniform Zn deposition, which can avoid the growth of Zn dendrites. The protective layer serves as a physical barrier to reduce the free water components on the Zn foil surface, which can prevent detrimental side reactions. Benefiting from the synergistic effect of this specific structure, the symmetric battery has a long cycle lifespan of 3100 h at 0.5 mA cm−2 during Zn stripping/plating, and the asymmetric battery realizes a low nucleation-overpotential of 11.2 mV. Furthermore, the capacity retention rate of full battery is 97.7 % after 5000 cycles at 5 A g−1. This work provides a novel strategy for enhancing the stability and kinetics of aqueous zinc-ion batteries.

Fulfilling the High Capacity of Zn Anodes in Rechargeable Alkaline Zn Batteries

A Zn anode in an alkaline electrolyte is often discharged to a shallow depth for an adequate cycle life. It limits the overall cell energy density and undermines its competitiveness against ever-improving lithium-ion cells. Our lab has been pushing the capacity limit of the alkaline Zn anode by understanding its failure mechanism and designing electrode microstructures and electrolyte alkalinity. I will discuss how we can revamp the paths of phase transition between Zn and ZnO by building a bi-continuous porous Zn anode and how a super-alkaline electrolyte can stabilize the anode at 60% depth of discharge. The mechanisms underlying the designs, including the interface-controlled structural evolution and the structural diffusion of alkaline electrolytes, will be explained to shed light on the future development of rechargeable Zn batteries.

Heterometallic ZnHoMOF as a Dual-Responsive Luminescence Sensor for Efficient Detection of Hippuric Acid Biomarker and Nitrofuran Antibiotics.

Developing efficient and sensitive MOF-based luminescence sensors for bioactive molecule detection is of great significance and remains a challenge. Benefiting from favorable chemical and thermal stability, as well as excellent luminescence performance, a porous Zn(II)Ho(III) heterometallic-organic framework (ZnHoMOF) was selected here as a bifunctional luminescence sensor for the early diagnosis of a toluene exposure biomarker of hippuric acid (HA) through "turn-on" luminescence enhancing response and the daily monitoring of NFT/NFZ antibiotics through "turn-off" quenching effects in aqueous media with high sensitivity, acceptable selectivity, good anti-interference, exceptional recyclability performance, and low detection limits (LODs) of 0.7 ppm for HA, 0.04 ppm for NFT, and 0.05 ppm for NFZ. Moreover, the developed sensor was employed to quantify HA in diluted urine samples and NFT/NFZ in natural river water with satisfactory results. In addition, the sensing mechanisms of ZnHoMOF as a dual-response chemosensor in efficient detection of HA and NFT/NFZ antibiotics were conducted from the view of photo-induced electron transfer (PET), as well as inner filter effects (IFEs), with the help of time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) and spectral overlap experiments.

Modulating zinc metal reversibility by confined antifluctuator film for durable and dendrite-free zinc ion batteries.

Aqueous Zn ion batteries (ZIBs) are promising systems due to their intrinsic safety, low cost and non-toxicity, and the Zn corrosion and dendrite growth will cause the poor reversibility of Zn anode. Herein, we developed the porous Zn@C solid, hollow and yolk-shell microspheres film as Zn anode antifluctuator (ZAAF). The prepared yolk-shell microspheres (ZCYSM) film with superior buffering can effectively restrict the deposition of Zn metal in its interior and inhibit the volume expansion during plating/stripping process, thus modulating the Zn2+ flux and enabling stable Zn cycling. As a proof of concept, the ZCYSM@Zn symmetric cells achieve the excellent cyclic stability over 4,000h and cumulative plated capacity of 4 Ah cm-2 at a high current density of 10mA cm-2 . Concomitantly, the suppressed corrosion reactions and dendrite-free ZAAF significantly improve the durability of full cells (coupled to CaV6 O16 ·3H2 O). Additionally, we integrate durable pouch cell and electrochemical neuromorphic inorganic device (ENIDe) to simulate neural network, providing a strategy for extreme interconnectivity comparable to the human brain. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Effects of polylactic acid coating on properties of porous Zn scaffolds as degradable materials

Effects of polylactic acid coating on properties of porous Zn scaffolds as degradable materials

NS-ZnO@P–Zn nanocomposites catalysts with superior photodegradation of methyl orange through in-situ oxidation and pH-mediated dealloying of equiatomic Al50Zn50 precursors

Mediation of solution pH play a vital role of the formation of porous architectures and dealloying the amphoteric Al50Zn50 precursors. Simultaneous active dissolution of Al and Zn elements in the equiatomic AlZn precursors occurs in dealloying solution pH 1, and porous AlZn structure tend to form due to faster dissolution of Al atoms. Rough porous Zn architectures without ZnO form in dealloying solution pH 13.3 accompanying with prevailed Al dissolution. In bulk solution pH 13, nanocomposites consisting of spindle-shaped ZnO on porous Zn (NS–ZnO@P–Zn) form due to near-electrode pH decrease down to stable pH range of ZnO species basing on in-situ pH monitoring results. In-situ oxidation and dealloying of Al50Zn50 precursors under pH mediation can govern the formation of NS-ZnO@P–Zn nanocomposites. Photodegradation performances of methyl orange by NS-ZnO@P–Zn catalysts under visible-light irradiation are much better than porous AlZn and porous Zn catalysts. NS-ZnO@P–Zn nanocomposites with band-gap of 3.10 eV exhibit superior photodegradation efficiency due to photo-induced charge separation.