Mechanochromic response is of great importance in designing bionic robot systems and colorimetric devices. Unfortunately, compared to mimicking motions of natural creatures, fabricating mechanochromic systems with programmable colorimetric responses remains challenging. Herein, we report the development of unconventional mechanochromic films based on hybrid nanorods integrated with magnetic and plasmonic anisotropy. Magneticplasmonic hybrid nanorods have been synthesized through a unique space-confined seedmediated process, which represents an open platform for preparing next-generation complex nanostructures. By coupling magnetic and plasmonic anisotropy, the plasmonic excitation of the hybrid nanorods could be collectively regulated using magnetic fields. It facilitates convenient incorporation of the hybrid nanorods into polymer films with a well-controlled orientation and enables sensitive colorimetric changes in response to linear and angular motions. The combination of unique synthesis and convenient magnetic alignment provides an advanced approach for designing programmable mechanochromic devices with the desired precision, flexibility, and scalability.

Rechargeable sodium-ion batteries have drawn increasing attention as candidates for the post lithium-ion batteries in large-scale energy storage systems. Layered oxides are the most promising cathode materials and their pure phases (e.g., P2, O3) have been widely investigated. Here we report a series of cathode materials with O3/P2 hybrid phase for sodium-ion batteries, which possesses advantages of both P2 and O3 structures. The designed material, NaNiFeMnO, can deliver a capacity of 86 mAh g with great rate capability and cycling performance. 66% capacity is still maintained when the current rate reaches as high as 10C, and the capacity retention is 90% after 1500 cycles. Moreover, in situ XRD was performed to examine the structure change during electrochemical testing in different voltage ranges, and the results demonstrate 4 V as the optimized upper voltage limit, with which smaller polarization, better structural stability, and better cycling performance are achieved. The results obtained here provide new insights in designing cathode materials with optimal structure and improved performance for sodium-ion batteries.

Magnetic nanoparticles have attracted much research interest in the past decades due to their potential applications in microwave devices. Here, we adopted a novel technique to tune cut-off frequency exceeding the natural resonance frequency limit of monodisperse Fe3O4 nanoparticles via superparamagnetic relaxation. We observed that the cut-off frequency can be enhanced from 5.3 GHz for Fe3O4 to 6.9 GHz forFe3O4@SiO2 core-shell structure superparamagnetic nanoparticles, which are much higher than the natural resonance frequency of 1.3 GHz for Fe3O4 bulk material. This finding not only provides us a new approach to enhance the resonance frequency beyond the Snoek's limit, but also extend the application for superparamagnetic nanoparticles to microwave devices.

Sodium‐ion batteries are promising for grid‐scale storage applications due to the natural abundance and low cost of sodium. However, few electrodes that can meet the requirements for practical applications are available today due to the limited routes to exploring new materials. Here, a new strategy is proposed through partially/fully substituting the redox couple of existing negative electrodes in their reduced forms to design the corresponding new positive electrode materials. The power of this strategy is demonstrated through the successful design of new tunnel‐type positive electrode materials of Na0.61[Mn0.61‐xFexTi0.39]O2, composed of non‐toxic and abundant elements: Na, Mn, Fe, Ti. In particular, the designed air‐stable Na0.61[Mn0.27Fe0.34Ti0.39]O2 shows a usable capacity of ≈90 mAh g−1, registering the highest value among the tunnel‐type oxides, and a high storage voltage of 3.56 V, corresponding to the Fe3+/Fe4+ redox couple realized for the first time in non‐layered oxides, which was confirmed by X‐ray absorption spectroscopy and Mössbauer spectroscopy. This new strategy would open an exciting route to explore electrode materials for rechargeable batteries.