Potassium‐ion batteries (PIBs), using carbon materials as the anode, are regarded as a promising alternative to lithium‐ion batteries owing to the feasible formation of stage‐1 potassium intercalation compounds (KC8). However, due to the large radius of the potassium ion, graphite‐based electrodes still suffer poor rate capability and insufficient cycling life. In this work, a hierarchically nitrogen‐doped porous carbon (NPC) is reported for the first time. The NPC electrode delivers a high reversible capacity of 384.2 mAh g−1 after 500 cycles at a current density of 0.1 A g−1 and an outstanding rate capability of 185 mAh g−1 at 10.0 A g−1, which surpasses most of the reported carbonaceous electrodes in PIBs. The excellent performance can be ascribed to the surface‐driven behavior dominated K‐storage mechanism, which is verified by quantitative kinetics analysis. Theoretical simulation results further illuminate the enhanced K affinity in N‐doped active sites, which accounts for the superior rate performance of the NPC electrode. In addition, galvanostatic intermittent titration technique measurements further quantify the diffusion coefficient of K ions. Considering the superior electrochemical performance of the electrode and comprehensive investigation of the K storage mechanism, this work can provide fundamental references for the subsequent research of potassium‐ion batteries.

Potassium-ion batteries (PIBs) have been regarded as promising alternatives to lithium-ion batteries in large-scale energy storage systems owing to the high abundance and low cost of potassium. However, the large...

Bubble-propelled micromotors with controllable shapes and sizes have been developed by a microfluidic method, which serves for effective wastewater treatment. Using the emulsion from microfluidics as the template, monodisperse micromotors can be fabricated in large quantities based on phase separation and UVinduced monomer polymerization. By adjusting the volume ratio of the two immiscible oils (ethoxylated trimethylolpropane triacrylate/paraffin oil) in the initial emulsion, the geometry of the resulting micromotor can be precisely controlled from nearly spherical, hemispherical to crescent-shaped. The size of the micromotor can be manipulated by varying the fluid flow parameters. In addition, by incorporating functional nanoparticles into the asymmetric structure, the micromotor can be functionalized flexibly for water remediation. In this research, Fe 3 O 4 and MnO 2 nanoparticles were successfully loaded on Janus micromotors. Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles can act as catalysts for pollutant degradation and also control the movement direction of micromotors. MnO 2 nanoparticles on the concave of the micromotor catalyzed H 2 O 2 to produce bubble propulsion motion in solution, which further enhanced the degradation of pollutants. Consequently, the obtained micromotor demonstrated effective degradation of methylene blue and can be easily recovered by magnets. Furthermore, this simple and flexible strategy offers a synthetic way for anisotropic Janus particles, which will broaden their potential application.

Local hyperthermia (HT), particularly in conjunction with surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy was useful for the treatment of human malignant tumors including head and neck cancer. However, at present it suffered from many limitations such as thermal dose control, target treatment regions and discrimination between healthy and cancer cells. Recent developments in nanotechnology have introduced novel and smart therapeutic nanomaterials to local HT of head and neck cancer that basically take advantage of various targeting approaches. The aim of this paper is to give a brief review of the mechanism, methods and clinical applications of local HT in head and neck cancer, mainly focusing on photothermal therapy (PTT) and nanoparticlebased hyperthermia.