The aprotic Li-O battery has attracted a great deal of interest because theoretically it can store more energy than today's Li-ion batteries. However, current Li-O batteries suffer from passivation/clogging of the cathode by discharged Li O , high charging voltage for its subsequent oxidation, and accumulation of side reaction products (particularly Li CO and LiOH) upon cycling. Here, an advanced Li-O battery with a hexamethylphosphoramide (HMPA) electrolyte is reported that can dissolve Li O , Li CO , and LiOH up to 0.35, 0.36, and 1.11 × 10 m, respectively, and a LiPON-protected lithium anode that can be reversibly cycled in the HMPA electrolyte. Compared to the benchmark of ether-based Li-O batteries, improved capacity, rate capability, voltaic efficiency, and cycle life are achieved for the HMPA-based Li-O cells. More importantly, a combination of advanced research techniques provide compelling evidence that operation of the HMPA-based Li-O battery is backed by nearly reversible formation/decomposition of Li O with negligible side reactions.

Drawing inspiration from biology, neuromorphic systems are of great interest in direct interaction and efficient processing of analogue signals in the real world and could be promising for the development of smart sensors. Here, we demonstrate an artificial sensory neuron consisting of an InGaZnO 4 (IGZO 4 )-based optical sensor and NbO x -based oscillation neuron in series, which can simultaneously sense the optical information even beyond the visible light region and encode them into electrical impulses. Such artificial vision sensory neurons can convey visual information in a parallel manner analogous to biological vision systems, and the output spikes can be effectively processed by a pulse coupled neural network, demonstrating the capability of image segmentation out of a complex background. This study could facilitate the construction of artificial visual systems and pave the way for the development of light-driven neurorobotics, bioinspired optoelectronics, and neuromorphic computing.