Sedentary, inadequate sleep and exercise can affect human health. Artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) create the Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT), providing the possibility to solve these problems. This paper presents a novel approach to monitor various human behaviors for AIoT-based health management using triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) sensors. The insole with solely one TENG sensor, creating a most simplified system that utilizes machine learning (ML) for personalized motion monitoring, encompassing identity recognition and gait classification. A cushion with 12 TENG sensors achieves real-time identity and sitting posture recognition with accuracy rates of 98.86% and 98.40%, respectively, effectively correcting sedentary behavior. Similarly, a smart pillow, equipped with 15 sensory channels, detects head movements during sleep, identifying 8 sleep patterns with 96.25% accuracy. Ultimately, constructing an AIoT-based health management system to analyze these data, displaying health status through human-machine interfaces, offers the potential to help individuals maintain good health.
The sluggish reaction kinetics has greatly hampered the development of reversible Li-CO2 batteries. Especially during charge, high charge voltage and possible side reactions during Li2CO3 decomposition require both high activity and strong durability of catalysts. Herein, a strategy of introducing rich sulfur vacancies is proposed, which tailors the configuration of Li2CO3 and the orbital structure of CoS to realize the dual enhancement. The calculation results show that charge redistribution by sulfur vacancies on the catalyst stretches the adsorbed Li2CO3 and consequently facilitates its decomposition. Moreover, the induced vacancies lower the S 2p band center, promoting the electrochemical stability of sulfides. Therefore, Li-CO2 batteries with sulfur vacancy-rich CoS exhibit a low overpotential of 1.07 V after 400 h cycling, while batteries with pristine CoS have a short lifespan that the overpotential exceeds 1.75 V after cycling for 200 h. This study not only proposes a strategy to improve both catalytic activity and stability but also paves new avenues for designing advanced catalysts for Li-CO2 batteries and beyond.
Over the years, lead-based piezoelectric ceramics found extensive use in vital fields such as sensors and actuators. Despite their exceptional electromechanical properties, lead-containing materials pose severe environmental risks and foster a new era of lead-free piezoelectric materials after decades of research. However, recent comparative assessments of potassium sodium niobate (KNN) versus lead zirconate titanate (PZT) piezoelectric materials proposed that the environmental damage already presented before use due to raw material extraction and processing, invoking concerns on the true greenness of the lead-free alternatives. Nevertheless, many other factors deserve further consideration, for example, reference geometry and life cycle stage. Herein, the comprehensive life cycle assessment is undertaken on PZT and KNN-based ceramics with a unit volume of 0.001 m3 from cradle to gate. Results show that PZT exhibits higher negative impacts than KNN-based counterparts, attributed to lead extraction, processing, and associated environmental emissions. Across primary quantitative impact indicators from toxicity, environmental, and resource aspects, KNN-based ceramics impose fewer risks on the environment and human health, with the overall impact being only 28% of PZT ceramics. Still, more efficient methods are required for KNN-based ceramics to reduce the high energy consumption and emission during extraction and purification of raw material Nb2O5. This work not only offers critical insights for material development but also serves as a multifaceted reference for advanced fabrication technologies.
The productivity of global crop production is under threat caused by various biotic and abiotic adverse conditions, such as plant diseases and pests, which are responsible for 20%–40% of global crop losses estimated at a value of USD 220 billion, and can be further exacerbated by climate change. Agricultural industries are calling for game-changer technologies to enable productive and sustainable farming. Carbon dots (C-dots) are carbon-based nanoparticles, smaller than 50 nm, exhibiting unique opto-electro-properties. They have been shown to have positive impact on managing diverse biotic and abiotic stresses faced by the crops. Owing to their versatile carbon chemistry, the surface functionalities of C-dots can be readily tuned to regulate plant physiological processes. This review is focussed on establishing the correlations between the physiochemical properties of C-dots and their impacts on plants growth and health. The summary of the literature demonstrates that C-dots hold great promise in improving plant tolerance to heat, drought, toxic chemicals, and invading pathogens.
Advancing fast-charging technology is an important strategy for the development of alkali metal ion batteries (AMIBs). The exploitation of a new generation of anode material system with high-rate performance, high capacity, and low risk of lithium/sodium/potassium plating is critical to realize fast-charging capability of AMIBs while maintaining high energy density and safety. Among them, phosphorus-based anodes including phosphorus anodes and metal phosphide anodes have attracted wide attention, due to their high theoretical capacities, safe reaction voltages, and natural abundance. In this review, we summarize the research progress of different phosphorus-based anodes for fast-charging AMIBs, including material properties, mechanisms for storing alkali metal ions, key challenges and solution strategies for achieving fast-charging capability. Moreover, the future development directions of phosphorus-based anodes in fast-charging AMIBs are highlighted.