A new approach is employed to boost the electrochemical kinetics and stability of vanadium oxygen hydrate (VOH, V2O5·nH2O) employed for aqueous zinc-ion battery (ZIB) cathodes. The methodology is based on electrically conductive polyaniline (PANI) intercalated–exfoliated VOH, achieved by preintercalation of an aniline monomer and its in situ polymerization within the oxide interlayers. The resulting graphene-like PANI–VOH nanosheets possess a greatly boosted reaction-controlled contribution to the total charge storage capacity, resulting in more material undergoing the reversible V5+ to V3+ redox reaction. The PANI–VOH electrode obtains an impressive capacity of 323 mAh g–1 at 1 A g–1, and state-of-the-art cycling stability at 80% capacity retention after 800 cycles. Because of the facile redox kinetics, the PANI–VOH ZIB obtains uniquely promising specific energy–specific power combinations: an energy of 216 Wh kg–1 is achieved at 252 W kg–1, while 150 Wh kg–1 is achieved at 3900 W kg–1. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and galvanostatic intermittent titration technique (GITT) analyses indicate that with PANI–VOH nanosheets, there is a simultaneous decrease in the charge transfer resistance and a boost in the diffusion coefficient of Zn2+ (by a factor of 10–100) vs the VOH baseline. The strategy of employing PANI for combined intercalation–exfoliation may provide a broadly applicable approach for improving the performance in a range of oxide-based energy storage materials.

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In this investigation, to maximize the desired immunoenhancement effects of PsEUL and stimulate an efficient humoral and cellular immune response against an antigen, PsEUL and the model antigen ovalbumin (OVA) were coupled using the N-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-N′-ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC) reaction to yield a novel delivery system (PsEUL-OVA). The physicochemical characteristics and immune regulation effects of this new system were investigated. We found the yield of this EDC method to be 46.25%. In vitro, PsEUL-OVA (200 μg mL−1) could enhance macrophage proliferation and increase their phagocytic efficiency. In vivo, PsEUL-OVA could significantly increase the levels of OVA-specific antibody (IgG, IgG1, IgG2a, and IgG2b) titers and cytokine (IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IFN-γ) levels. Additionally, it could activate T lymphocytes and facilitate the maturation of dendritic cells (DCs). These findings collectively suggested that PsEUL-OVA induced humoral and cellular immune responses by promoting the phagocytic activity of macrophages and DCs. Taken together, these results revealed that PsEUL-OVA had the potential to improve immune responses and provide a promising theoretical basis for the design of a novel delivery system.