High-Polarity Fluoroalkyl Ether Electrolyte Enables Solvation-Free Li Transfer for High-Rate Lithium Metal Batteries.

Lithium metal batteries (LMBs) have aroused extensive interest in the field of energy storage owing to the ultrahigh anode capacity. However, strong solvation of Li and slow interfacial ion transfer associated with conventional electrolytes limit their long-cycle and high-rate capabilities. Herein an electrolyte system based on fluoroalkyl ether 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl-1,1,2,3,3,3-hexafluoropropyl ether (THE) and ether electrolytes is designed to effectively upgrade the long-cycle and high-rate performances of LMBs.

Designed Formation of Co₃O₄/NiCo₂O₄ Double-Shelled Nanocages with Enhanced Pseudocapacitive and Electrocatalytic Properties.

Hollow structures with high complexity in shell architecture and composition have attracted tremendous interest because of their great importance for both fundamental studies and practical applications. Herein we report the designed synthesis of novel box-in-box nanocages (NCs) with different shell compositions, namely, Co3O4/NiCo2O4 double-shelled nanocages (DSNCs). Uniform zeolitic imidazolate framework-67/Ni-Co layered double hydroxides yolk-shelled structures are first synthesized and then transformed into Co3O4/NiCo2O4 DSNCs by thermal annealing in air.

Novel tungsten carbide nanorods: an intrinsic peroxidase mimetic with high activity and stability in aqueous and organic solvents.

Tungsten carbide nanorods (WC NRs) are demonstrated for the first time to possess intrinsic peroxidase-like activity towards typical peroxidase substrates, such as 3, 3', 5, 5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) and ο-phenylenediamine (OPD) in the presence of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). The reactions catalyzed by these nanorods follow the Michaelis-Menten kinetics. The excellent catalytic performance of WC NRs could be attributed to their intrinsic catalytic activity to efficiently accelerate the electron-transfer process and facilitate the decomposition of H2O2 to generate more numbers of reactive oxygen species (ROS).

Ultrathin MoS2 nanoplates with rich active sites as highly efficient catalyst for hydrogen evolution.

Well-defined ultrathin MoS2 nanoplates are developed by a facile solvent-dependent control route from single-source precursor for the first time. The obtained ultrathin nanoplate with a thickness of ~ 5 nm features high density of basal edges and abundant unsaturated active S atoms. The multistage growth process is investigated and the formation mechanism is proposed.

Water-soluble polymer exfoliated graphene: as catalyst support and sensor.

In this paper, we obtained various water-soluble polymer functionalized graphene in dimethyl sulfoxide under ultrasonication. The atomic force microscope analysis and control experiment shows the water-soluble polymer is the crucial part to help solvent molecules separate interlayer. Such polymer/graphene exhibits high conductivity and tunable surface property, as confirmed by the selected area electron diffraction and Raman and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy.

Nano-tungsten carbide decorated graphene as co-catalysts for enhanced hydrogen evolution on molybdenum disulfide.

A novel electrocatalyst of layered MoS2 supported on reduced graphene oxide (RGO) decorated with nano-sized tungsten carbide (WC) shows an enhanced catalytic performance in the hydrogen evolution reaction, which could be attributed to the presence of a conductive and electrocatalytically-active nano-WC dispersant and the positive synergistic effect between nano-WC/RGO and layered MoS2.