Interfacial Water Orientation in Neutral Oxygen Catalysis for Reversible Ampere-scale Zinc-air Batteries.

The neutral oxygen catalysis is an electrochemical reaction of the utmost importance in energy generation, storage application, and chemical synthesis. However, the restricted availability of protons poses a challenge to achieving kinetically favorable oxygen catalytic reactions. Here, we alter the interfacial water orientation by adjusting the Brønsted acidity at the catalyst surface, to break the proton transfer limitation of neutral oxygen electrocatalysis.

Superlattice cathodes endow cation and anion co-intercalation for high-energy-density aluminium batteries.

Conventionally, rocking-chair batteries capacity primarily depends on cation shuttling. However, intrinsically high-charge-density metal-ions, such as Al, inevitably cause strong Coulombic ion-lattice interactions, resulting in low practical energy density and inferior long-term stability towards rechargeable aluminium batteries (RABs). Herein, we introduce tunable quantum confinement effects and tailor a family of anion/cation co-(de)intercalation superlattice cathodes, achieving high-voltage anion charge compensation, with extra-capacity, in RABs.

Encapsulation of Sn Sub-Nanoclusters in Multichannel Carbon Matrix for High-Performance Potassium-Ion Batteries.

Sub-nanoclusters with ultra-small particle sizes are particularly significant to create advanced energy storage materials. Herein, Sn sub-nanoclusters encapsulated in nitrogen-doped multichannel carbon matrix (denoted as Sn-SCs@MCNF) are designed by a facile and controllable route as flexible anode for high-performance potassium ion batteries (PIBs). The uniformly dispersed Sn sub-nanoclusters in multichannel carbon matrix can be precisely identified, which ensure us to clarify the size influence on the electrochemical performance.

Tailoring Oxygen Reduction Reaction Kinetics on Perovskite Oxides via Oxygen Vacancies for Low-Temperature and Knittable Zinc-Air Batteries.

High kinetics oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) electrocatalysts under low temperature are critical and highly desired for temperature-tolerant energy conversion and storage devices, but remain insufficiently investigated. Herein, oxygen vacancy-rich porous perovskite oxide (CaMnO ) nanofibers coated with reduced graphene oxide coating (V-CMO/rGO) are developed as the air electrode catalyst for low-temperature and knittable Zn-air batteries. V-CMO/rGO exhibits top-level ORR activity among perovskite oxides and shows impressive kinetics under low temperature.

MOF derived double-carbon layers boosted the lithium/sodium storage performance of SnOnanoparticles.

Tin oxide (SnO) was considered as a promising alternative to commonly used graphite anode in energy storage devices thanks to its superior specific capacity. However, its electrochemical property was severely limited due to the inherent poor conductivity and drastic volume variation during the charging/discharging process. To overcome this disadvantage, we grew Sn-MOF directly on graphene oxide (GO) layers to synthesize a double carbon conductive network-encapsulated SnOnanoparticles (SnO/C/rGO) via a facile solvothermal method.

MOF-derived porous carbon nanofibers wrapping Sn nanoparticles as flexible anodes for lithium/sodium ion batteries.

Facile synthesis of flexible electrodes with high reversible capacity plays a key role in meeting the ever-increasing demand for flexible batteries. Herein, we incorporated Sn-based metal-organic framework (Sn-MOF) templates into crosslinked one-dimensional carbon nanofibers (CNFs) using an electrospinning strategy and obtained a hierarchical porous film (Sn@C@CNF) after a carbothermal reduction reaction. Merits of this modification strategy and its mechanism in improving the electrochemical performance of Sn nanoparticles (NPs) were revealed.

Stereoassembled VO@FeOOH Hollow Architectures with Lithiation Volumetric Strain Self-Reconstruction for Lithium-Ion Storage.

Vanadium oxides have recently attracted widespread attention due to their unique advantages and have demonstrated promising chemical and physical properties for energy storage. This work develops a mild and efficient method to stereoassemble hollow VO@FeOOH heterostructured nanoflowers with thin nanosheets. These dual-phased architectures possess multiple lithiation voltage plateau and well-defined heterointerfaces facilitating efficient charge transfer, mass diffusion, and self-reconstruction with volumetric strain.

Selective Solid-Liquid Interface Sulfidation Growth of Hierarchical Copper Sulfide and Its Hybrid Nanoflakes for Superior Lithium-Ion Storage.

Two-dimensional metal sulfides and their hybrids are emerging as promising candidates in various areas. Yet, it remains challenging to synthesize high-quality 2D metal sulfides and their hybrids, especially iso-component hybrids, in a simple and controllable way. In this work, a low-temperature selective solid-liquid sulfidation growth method has been developed for the synthesis of CuS nanoflakes and their hybrids.

General Approach to Single and Hybrid Metal Oxide Fiber Structures for High-Performance Lithium-Ion Batteries.

Owing to the high specific capacity and energy density, metal oxides have become very promising electrodes for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, poor electrical conductivity accompanied with inferior cycling stability resulting from large volume changes are the main obstacles to achieve a high reversible capacity and stable cyclability. Herein, a facile and general approach to fabricate SnO , Fe O and Fe O /SnO fibers is proposed.

Surface Anionization of Self-Assembled Iron Sulfide Hierarchitectures to Enhance Capacitive Storage for Alkaline-Metal-Ion Batteries.

Due to the ever-growing demand for cost-effective batteries toward greener and sustainable applications, continuous effort has been devoted to tailoring the interfacial kinetics of electrode materials. Herein, surface anionization has been introduced for the hierarchical assembly of iron sulfides on three-dimensional (3D) graphene foam (denoted FeS@3DGF and FeS@3DGF). The surface-anchored sulfate species provide ideal electroactive sites, which is correlated with enhanced capacitive contribution and boosted energy storage.

Rational Design of a Flexible CNTs@PDMS Film Patterned by Bio-Inspired Templates as a Strain Sensor and Supercapacitor.

Flexible devices integrated with sensing and energy storage functions are highly desirable due to their potential application in wearable electronics and human motion detection. Here, a flexible film is designed in a facile and low-cost leaf templating process, comprising wrinkled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as the conductive layer and patterned polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) with bio-inspired microstructure as a soft substrate. Assembled from wrinkled CNTs on patterned PDMS film, a strain sensor is realized to possess sensitive resistance response against various deformations, producing a resistance response of 0.

Stereoselectively Assembled Metal-Organic Framework (MOF) Host for Catalytic Synthesis of Carbon Hybrids for Alkaline-Metal-Ion Batteries.

Cost-effective metal-based nanostructured hybrids have been widely dedicated to potential energy storage and conversion applications. Herein, we develop a facile methodology for the synthesis of precise carbon-confined hybrid nanostructures by stereoselective assembly accompanied by catalytic pyrolysis. Polyacrylonitrile fiber films favors not only metal-polymer coordination, but also oriented assembly to ensure the well-defined nanostructure of the carbon hybrids.

Topochemical pyrolytic synthesis of quasi-Mxene hybrids via ionic liquid-iron phthalocyanine as a self-template.

A quasi-Mxene architecture was synthesized by 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium dicyanamide-iron phthalocyanine via self-template pyrolysis. The unique quasi-Mxene structure results in a rich contact area and good electronic conductivity, showing excellent rate capacity and cycling stability for lithium storage.