Hierarchical nanostructures consisting of TiO2 nanowire arrays and ZnO nanosheets were prepared and investigated as active materials in photoelectrochemical UV sensors.

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We have demonstrated a photoelectrochemical solar-blind ultraviolet (UV) detector based on SrTiO3 (STO) nanocrystalline film in this work. The assembled UV detector presents a high on/off ratio of about 6433 under periodic UV irradiation, a high photocurrent density of 220.6 μA cm−2, and a fast response time of 9 ms. By introducing a block layer (BL) on fluorine-doped tin oxide substrate, the response and decay times are shortened to 6 ms and 8 ms, respectively. The BL plays a crucial part in hindering the recombination of electrons from electrolyte carriers and avoiding short circuits. Due to its excellent light capture capability, the detector based on SrTiO3 nanocrystalline exhibits high sensitivity to weak UV light (5 μW cm−2). Moreover, the detector also exhibits visible-blind characteristics and a good linear response.

Metal sulfides are often used as cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) owing to their high theoretical specific capacity; however, excessively fast capacity decay during charging/discharging and rapid shedding during cycling limits their practical application in batteries. In this study, we proposed a strategy using plasma treatment combined with the solvothermal method to prepare cobalt sulfide (Co1−x S)-carbon nanofibers (CNFs) composite. The plasma treatment could introduce oxygen-containing polar groups and defects, which could improve the hydrophilicity of the CNFs for the growth of the Co1−x S, thereby increasing the specific capacity of the composite electrode. The results show that the composite electrode present a high discharge specific capacity (839 mAh g−1 at a current density of 100 mA g−1) and good cycle stability (the capacity retention rate almost 100% at 2000 mA g−1 after 500 cycles), attributing to the high conductivity of the CNFs. This study proves the application of plasma treatment and simple vulcanization method in high-performance LIBs.