Mesocrystals are macroscopic structures formed by the assembly of nanoparticles that possess distinct surface structures and collective properties when compared to traditional crystalline materials. Various growth mechanisms and their unique features have promise as material design tools for diverse potential applications. This paper presents a straightforward method for metal–organic coordination-based mesocrystals using nickel ions and terephthalic acid. The coordinative compound between Ni2+ and terephthalic acid drives the particle-mediated growth mechanism, resulting in the mesocrystal formation through a mesoscale assembly. Subsequent carbonization converts mesocrystals to multidirectional interconnected graphite nanospheres along the macroscopic framework while preserving the original structure of the Ni-terephthalic acid mesocrystal. Comprehensive investigations demonstrate that multi-oriented edge sites and high crystallinity with larger interlayer spacing facilitate lithium ion transport and continuous intercalation. The resulting graphitic superparticle electrodes show superior rate capability (128.6 mAh g− 1 at 5 A g− 1) and stable cycle stability (0.052% of capacity decay per cycle), certifying it as an advanced anode material for lithium-ion batteries.

Efforts have been extensively undertaken to tackle overheating problems in advanced electronic devices characterized by high performance and integration levels. Thermal interface materials (TIMs) play a crucial role in connecting heat sources to heat sinks, facilitating efficient heat dissipation and thermal management. On the other hand, increasing the content of TIMs for high thermal conductivity often poses challenges such as poor dispersion and undesired heat flow pathways. This study aims to enhance the through-plane heat dissipation via the magnetic alignment of a hybrid filler system consisting of exfoliated graphite (EG) and boron nitride (BN). The EG acts as a distributed scaffold in the polymer matrix, while the BN component of the hybrid offers high thermal conductivity. Moreover, the magnetic alignment technique promotes unidirectional heat transfer pathways. The hybrid exhibited an impressive thermal conductivity of 1.44 W m− 1 K− 1 at filler contents of 30 wt. %, offering improved thermal management for advanced electronic devices.

Thermal management is significant to maintain the reliability and durability of electronic devices. Heat can be dissipated using thermal interface materials (TIMs) comprised of thermally conductive polymers and fillers. Furthermore, it is important to enhance the thermal conductivity of TIMs through the formation of a heat transfer pathway. This paper reports a polymer composite containing vertically aligned electrochemically exfoliated graphite (EEG). We modify the EEG via edge selective oxidation to decorate the surface with iron oxides and enhance the dispersibility of EEG in polymer resin. During the heat treatment and curing process, a magnetic field is applied to the polymer composites to align the iron oxide decorated EEG. The resulting polymer composite containing 25 wt% of filler has a remarkable thermal conductivity of 1.10 W m− 1 K− 1 after magnetic orientation. These results demonstrate that TIM can be designed with a small amount of filler by magnetic alignment to form an efficient heat transfer pathway.

Conductive carbon cloths (CCs) have been great attention as a promising current collector for flexible supercapacitors that supply power to portable and wearable electronics. However, the hydrophobic surface and weak adhesion with active materials has limited to be adopted as the binder-free and flexible electrode with mechanical/electrochemical stability. In this work, we demonstrate preparation of binder-free and flexible electrodes based on polyaniline (PANI) on carbon cloth. Polydopamine (PDA) layer are used to impart hydrophilicity, leading to uniform growth of PANI on the hydrophobic surface of carbon. Furthermore, PDA layer improves adhesion strength between PANI and carbon substrates, which allows for superior mechanical stability under ultrasonic condition. PANI-based flexible electrode shows high areal capacitance (160.8 mF cm− 2 at 0.5 mA cm− 2), good rate capability (71.1% even at high current density of 10 mA cm− 2), and long-term cycling stability (82.6% capacitance retention after 1500 cycles). Furthermore, a quasi-solid-state flexible supercapacitor reveals remarkable mechanical flexibility and durability, with superior capacitance retention (~ 100%) in bent state and after repetitive 1000 cycles.