High Capacity and Ultralong Lifespan Aqueous Lithium-Bromine Batteries Realized by Low-Cost Concentrated Electrolyte Coupled with Dependable Lithium Titanium Phosphate.

Aqueous halogen batteries are gaining recognition for large-scale energy storage due to their high energy density, safety, environmental sustainability, and cost-effectiveness. However, the limited electrochemical stability window of aqueous electrolytes and the absence of desirable carbonaceous hosts that facilitate halogen redox reactions have hindered the advancement of halogen batteries. Here, a low-cost, high-concentration 26 m Li-B-C-O aqueous solution incorporating lithium bromide (LiBr), lithium chloride (LiCl), and lithium acetate (LiOAc) was developed for aqueous batteries, which demonstrated an expanded electrochemical stability window of .

Reconstructable Carbon Monolayer-MoS Intercalated Heterostructure Enabled by Atomic Layers-Confined Topotactic Transformation for Ultrafast Lithium Storage.

The intercalation structure of two-dimensional materials with expanded interlayer distance can facilitate mass transport, which is promising in fast-charging lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, the designed intercalation structures will be pulverized and destroyed under tough working conditions, causing overall performance deterioration of the batteries. Here, we present that an intercalated heterostructure made of the typical layered material of MoS intercalated by N-doped graphene-like carbon monolayer (MoS/g-CM) through a polymer intercalation strategy exhibits a unique behavior of reversible reconstructability as an LIB anode during cycling.

Effect of NiO Addition on the Sintering and Electrochemical Properties of BaCeZrYO Proton-Conducting Ceramic Electrolyte.

Proton ceramic fuel cells offer numerous advantages compared with conventional fuel cells. However, the practical implementation of these cells is hindered by the poor sintering activity of the electrolyte. Despite extensive research efforts to improve the sintering activity of BCZY, the systematic exploration of the utilization of NiO as a sintering additive remains insufficient.

Suppressing metal corrosion through identification of optimal crystallographic plane for Zn batteries.

Direct use of metals as battery anodes could significantly boost the energy density, but suffers from limited cycling. To make the batteries more sustainable, one strategy is mitigating the propensity for metals to form random morphology during plating through orientation regulation, e.g.

Boosted Mg-CO Batteries by Amine-Mediated CO Capture Chemistry and Mg -Conducting Solid-electrolyte Interphases.

Mg-CO battery has been considered as an ideal system for energy conversion and CO fixation. However, its practical application is significantly limited by the poor reversibility and sluggish kinetics of CO cathode and Mg anode. Here, a new amine mediated chemistry strategy is proposed to realize a highly reversible and high-rate Mg-CO battery in conventional electrolyte.

A Redox-Active Covalent Organic Framework with Highly Accessible Aniline-Fused Quinonoid Units Affords Efficient Proton Charge Storage.

Owing to their intrinsic safety and sustainability, aqueous proton batteries have emerged as promising energy devices. Nevertheless, the corrosion or dissolution of electrode materials in acidic electrolytes must be addressed before practical applications. In this study, a cathode material based on a redox-active 2D covalent organic framework (TPAD-COF) with aniline-fused quinonoid units featuring inherently regular open porous channels and excellent stability is developed.

Temperature-dependent interphase formation and Li transport in lithium metal batteries.

High-performance Li-ion/metal batteries working at a low temperature (i.e., <-20 °C) are desired but hindered by the sluggish kinetics associated with Li transport and charge transfer.

Actualizing a High-Energy Bipolar-Stacked Solid-State Battery with Low-Cost Mechanically Robust Nylon Mesh-Reinforced Composite Polymer Electrolyte Membranes.

To meet the rapidly growing and diversified demand for energy storage, advanced rechargeable batteries with high-performance materials and efficient battery configuration are widely being exploited and developed. Bipolar-stacked electrode coupling with solid-state electrolytes enables achieving batteries with high output voltage, high energy density, and simple components. Here, a polymer electrolyte membrane is designed with polyethylene oxide containing bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)-imide as the electrolyte, succinonitrile as the plasticizer, and nylon mesh as a reinforcement for the bipolar-stacked battery.

Horizontally arranged zinc platelet electrodeposits modulated by fluorinated covalent organic framework film for high-rate and durable aqueous zinc ion batteries.

Rechargeable aqueous zinc-ion batteries (RZIBs) provide a promising complementarity to the existing lithium-ion batteries due to their low cost, non-toxicity and intrinsic safety. However, Zn anodes suffer from zinc dendrite growth and electrolyte corrosion, resulting in poor reversibility. Here, we develop an ultrathin, fluorinated two-dimensional porous covalent organic framework (FCOF) film as a protective layer on the Zn surface.

A Bifunctional-Modulated Conformal Li/Mn-Rich Layered Cathode for Fast-Charging, High Volumetric Density and Durable Li-Ion Full Cells.

Lithium- and manganese-rich (LMR) layered cathode materials hold the great promise in designing the next-generation high energy density lithium ion batteries. However, due to the severe surface phase transformation and structure collapse, stabilizing LMR to suppress capacity fade has been a critical challenge. Here, a bifunctional strategy that integrates the advantages of surface modification and structural design is proposed to address the above issues.

Initiating a Reversible Aqueous Zn/Sulfur Battery through a "Liquid Film".

Sulfur cathodes have been under intensive study in various systems, such as Li/S, Na/S, Mg/S, and Al/S batteries. However, to date, Zn/S chemistry has never been reported. The first reliable aqueous Zn/polysulfide system activated by a "liquid film" comprising 4-(3-butyl-1-imidazolio)-1-butanesulfoni ionic liquid (IL) encapsulated within PEDOT:PSS.

Space-Confined Atomic Clusters Catalyze Superassembly of Silicon Nanodots within Carbon Frameworks for Use in Lithium-Ion Batteries.

Incorporating nanoscale Si into a carbon matrix with high dispersity is desirable for the preparation of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) but remains challenging. A space-confined catalytic strategy is proposed for direct superassembly of Si nanodots within a carbon (Si NDs⊂C) framework by copyrolysis of triphenyltin hydride (TPT) and diphenylsilane (DPS), where Sn atomic clusters created from TPT pyrolysis serve as the catalyst for DPS pyrolysis and Si catalytic growth. The use of Sn atomic cluster catalysts alters the reaction pathway to avoid SiC generation and enable formation of Si NDs with reduced dimensions.

Hybrid Anatase/Rutile Nanodots-Embedded Covalent Organic Frameworks with Complementary Polysulfide Adsorption for High-Performance Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

The shuttling effect of polysulfides species seriously deteriorates the performance of Li-S batteries, representing the major obstacle for their practical use. However, the exploration of ideal cathodes that can suppress the shuttling of all polysulfides species is challenging. Herein, we propose an ingenious and effective strategy for constructing hybrid-crystal-phase TiO/covalent organic framework (HCPT@COF) composites where hybrid anatase/rutile TiO nanodots (10 nm) are uniformly embedded in the interlayers of porous COFs.

3D Lithiophilic "Hairy" Si Nanowire Arrays @ Carbon Scaffold Favor a Flexible and Stable Lithium Composite Anode.

Lithium metal anode is considered to be a promising candidate for high-energy-density lithium-based batteries. However, the safety issue induced by uncontrollable dendrite growth hinders the commercialization of a Li anode. Herein, self-supported three-dimensional flexible carbon cloth covered with a lithiophilic silicon nanowire array is constructed as the host for loading of molten Li to achieve the C/SiNW/Li composite anode.

A polymer-direct-intercalation strategy for MoS/carbon-derived heteroaerogels with ultrahigh pseudocapacitance.

The intercalation strategy has become crucial for 2D layered materials to achieve desirable properties, however, the intercalated guests are often limited to metal ions or small molecules. Here, we develop a simple, mild and efficient polymer-direct-intercalation strategy that different polymers (polyethyleneimine and polyethylene glycol) can directly intercalate into the MoS interlayers, forming MoS-polymer composites and interlayer-expanded MoS/carbon heteroaerogels after carbonization. The polymer-direct-intercalation behavior has been investigated by substantial characterizations and molecular dynamic calculations.

In Situ Observation and Electrochemical Study of Encapsulated Sulfur Nanoparticles by MoS Flakes.

Sulfur is an attractive cathode material for next-generation lithium batteries due to its high theoretical capacity and low cost. However, dissolution of its lithiated product (lithium polysulfides) into the electrolyte limits the practical application of lithium sulfur batteries. Here we demonstrate that sulfur particles can be hermetically encapsulated by leveraging on the unique properties of two-dimensional materials such as molybdenum disulfide (MoS).

Antipulverization Electrode Based on Low-Carbon Triple-Shelled Superstructures for Lithium-Ion Batteries.

The realization of antipulverization electrode structures, especially using low-carbon-content anode materials, is crucial for developing high-energy and long-life lithium-ion batteries (LIBs); however, this technology remains challenging. This study shows that SnO triple-shelled hollow superstructures (TSHSs) with a low carbon content (4.83%) constructed by layer-by-layer assembly of various nanostructure units can withstand a huge volume expansion of ≈231.

Amino group enhanced phenazine derivatives as electrode materials for lithium storage.

The development of organic molecule-based batteries is hampered by stability issues caused by the dissolution of the active organic materials in electrolytes. Herein, phenazine (PNZ) and 2,3-diaminophenazine (DAP) are investigated as organic electrode materials. The presence of amino functional groups in DAP dramatically enhances its electrochemical performances due to suppressed dissolution in the electrolyte.

Direct Superassemblies of Freestanding Metal-Carbon Frameworks Featuring Reversible Crystalline-Phase Transformation for Electrochemical Sodium Storage.

High-power sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) with long-term cycling attract increasing attention for large-scale energy storage. However, traditional SIBs toward practical applications still suffer from low rate capability and poor cycle induced by pulverization and amorphorization of anodes at high rate (over 5 C) during the fast ion insertion/extraction process. The present work demonstrates a robust strategy for a variety of (Sb-C, Bi-C, Sn-C, Ge-C, Sb-Bi-C) freestanding metal-carbon framework thin films via a space-confined superassembly (SCSA) strategy.

Incorporation of well-dispersed sub-5-nm graphitic pencil nanodots into ordered mesoporous frameworks.

Over the past few decades the direct assembly of optical nanomaterials into ordered mesoporous frameworks has proved to be a considerable challenge. Here we propose the incorporation of ultrasmall (sub-5-nm) graphitic pencil nanodots into ordered mesoporous frameworks for the fabrication of optoelectronic materials. The nanodots, which were prepared from typical commercial graphite pencils by an electrochemical tailoring process, combine properties such as uniform size (∼3 nm), excellent dispersibility and high photoconversion efficiency (∼27%).

Probing lithium germanide phase evolution and structural change in a germanium-in-carbon nanotube energy storage system.

Lithium alloys of group IV elements such as silicon and germanium are attractive candidates for use as anodes in high-energy-density lithium-ion batteries. However, the poor capacity retention arising from volume swing during lithium cycling restricts their widespread application. Herein, we report high reversible capacity and superior rate capability from core-shell structure consisting of germanium nanorods embedded in multiwall carbon nanotubes.

Three-dimensional graphitized carbon nanovesicles for high-performance supercapacitors based on ionic liquids.

Three-dimensional nanoporous carbon with interconnected vesicle-like pores (1.5-4.2 nm) has been prepared through a low-cost, template-free approach from petroleum coke precursor by KOH activation.

Facile ultrasonic synthesis of CoO quantum dot/graphene nanosheet composites with high lithium storage capacity.

In this paper, we report a facile ultrasonic method to synthesize well-dispersed CoO quantum dots (3-8 nm) on graphene nanosheets at room temperature by employing Co(4)(CO)(12) as cobalt precursor. The prepared CoO/graphene composites displayed high performance as an anode material for lithium-ion battery, such as high reversible lithium storage capacity (1592 mAh g(-1) after 50 cycles), high Coulombic efficiency (over 95%), excellent cycling stability, and high rate capability (1008 mAh g(-1) with a total retention of 77.6% after 50 cycles at a current density of 1000 mA g(-1), dramatically increased from the initial 50 mA g(-1)).