Fabrication of LiTiO (LTO) as Anode Material for Li-Ion Batteries.

The most popular anode material in commercial Li-ion batteries is still graphite. However, its low intercalation potential is close to that of lithium, which results in the dendritic growth of lithium at its surface, and the formation of a passivation film that limits the rate capability and may result in safety hazards. High-performance anodes are thus needed.

Recent Advances and Strategies in MXene-Based Electrodes for Supercapacitors: Applications, Challenges and Future Prospects.

With the growing demand for technologies to sustain high energy consumption, supercapacitors are gaining prominence as efficient energy storage solutions beyond conventional batteries. MXene-based electrodes have gained recognition as a promising material for supercapacitor applications because of their superior electrical conductivity, extensive surface area, and chemical stability. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of the recent progress and strategies in the development of MXene-based electrodes for supercapacitors.

Silver Nanocoating of LiNiCoMnO Cathode Material for Lithium-Ion Batteries.

Surface coating has become an effective approach to improve the electrochemical performance of Ni-rich cathode materials. In this study, we investigated the nature of an Ag coating layer and its effect on electrochemical properties of the LiNiCoMnO (NCM811) cathode material, which was synthesized using 3 mol.% of silver nanoparticles by a facile, cost-effective, scalable and convenient method.

Enhanced Electrochemical Performance of Rare-Earth Metal-Ion-Doped Nanocrystalline LiTiO Electrodes in High-Power Li-Ion Batteries.

A comprehensive and comparative exploration research performed, aiming to elucidate the fundamental mechanisms of rare-earth (RE) metal-ion doping into LiTiO (LTO), reveals the enhanced electrochemical performance of the nanocrystalline RE-LTO electrodes in high-power Li-ion batteries. Pristi ne LiTiO (LTO) and rare-earth metal-doped LiTiLnO (RE-LTO with RE = Dy, Ce, Nd, Sm, and Eu; ≈ 0.1) nanocrystalline anode materials were synthesized using a simple mechanochemical method and subsequent calcination at 850 °C.

Pouch-Type Asymmetric Supercapacitor Based on Nickel-Cobalt Metal-Organic Framework.

Bimetal-organic frameworks (BMOFs) have attracted considerable attention as electrode materials for energy storage devices because of the precise control of their porous structure, surface area, and pore volume. BMOFs can promote multiple redox reactions because of the enhanced charge transfer between different metal ions. Therefore, the electroactivity of the electrodes can be significantly improved.

Advanced Materials for Electrochemical Energy Storage: Lithium-Ion, Lithium-Sulfur, Lithium-Air and Sodium Batteries.

The intention behind this Special Issue was to assemble high-quality works focusing on the latest advances in the development of various materials for rechargeable batteries, as well as to highlight the science and technology of devices that today are one of the most important and efficient types of energy storage, namely, lithium-ion, lithium-sulfur, lithium-air and sodium-ion batteries [...

High-Throughput Strategies for the Design, Discovery, and Analysis of Bismuth-Based Photocatalysts.

Bismuth-based nanostructures (BBNs) have attracted extensive research attention due to their tremendous development in the fields of photocatalysis and electro-catalysis. BBNs are considered potential photocatalysts because of their easily tuned electronic properties by changing their chemical composition, surface morphology, crystal structure, and band energies. However, their photocatalytic performance is not satisfactory yet, which limits their use in practical applications.

Effect of Cationic (Na) and Anionic (F) Co-Doping on the Structural and Electrochemical Properties of LiNiMnCoO Cathode Material for Lithium-Ion Batteries.

Elemental doping for substituting lithium or oxygen sites has become a simple and effective technique to improve the electrochemical performance of layered cathode materials. Compared with single-element doping, this work presents an unprecedented contribution to the study of the effect of Na/F co-doping on the structure and electrochemical performance of LiNiMnCoO. The co-doped LiNaNiMnCoOF (z = 0.

MoSe-WS Nanostructure for an Efficient Hydrogen Generation under White Light LED Irradiation.

In this work, MoSe-WS nanocomposites consisting of WS nanoparticles covered with few MoSe nanosheets were successfully developed via an easy hydrothermal synthesis method. Their nanostructure and photocatalytic hydrogen evolution (PHE) performance are investigated by a series of characterization techniques. The PHE rate of MoSe-WS is evaluated under the white light LED irradiation.

Nanostructured Molybdenum-Oxide Anodes for Lithium-Ion Batteries: An Outstanding Increase in Capacity.

This work aimed at synthesizing MoO and MoO by a facile and cost-effective method using extract of orange peel as a biological chelating and reducing agent for ammonium molybdate. Calcination of the precursor in air at 450 °C yielded the stochiometric MoO phase, while calcination in vacuum produced the reduced form MoO as evidenced by X-ray powder diffraction, Raman scattering spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy images showed different morphologies and sizes of MoO particles.

Interface Kinetics Assisted Barrier Removal in Large Area 2D-WS Growth to Facilitate Mass Scale Device Production.

Growth of monolayer WS of domain size beyond few microns is a challenge even today; and it is still restricted to traditional exfoliation techniques, with no control over the dimension. Here, we present the synthesis of mono- to few layer WS film of centimeter size on graphene-oxide (GO) coated Si/SiO substrate using the chemical vapor deposition CVD technique. Although the individual size of WS crystallites is found smaller, the joining of grain boundaries due to -bonded carbon nanostructures (~3-6 nm) in GO to reduced graphene-oxide (RGO) transformed film, facilitates the expansion of domain size in continuous fashion resulting in full coverage of the substrate.

Sulfide and Oxide Inorganic Solid Electrolytes for All-Solid-State Li Batteries: A Review.

Energy storage materials are finding increasing applications in our daily lives, for devices such as mobile phones and electric vehicles. Current commercial batteries use flammable liquid electrolytes, which are unsafe, toxic, and environmentally unfriendly with low chemical stability. Recently, solid electrolytes have been extensively studied as alternative electrolytes to address these shortcomings.

State-of-the-Art Electrode Materials for Sodium-Ion Batteries.

Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) were investigated as recently as in the seventies. However, they have been overshadowed for decades, due to the success of lithium-ion batteries that demonstrated higher energy densities and longer cycle lives. Since then, the witness a re-emergence of the SIBs and renewed interest evidenced by an exponential increase of the publications devoted to them (about 9000 publications in 2019, more than 6000 in the first six months this year).

Brief History of Early Lithium-Battery Development.

Lithium batteries are electrochemical devices that are widely used as power sources. This history of their development focuses on the original development of lithium-ion batteries. In particular, we highlight the contributions of Professor Michel Armand related to the electrodes and electrolytes for lithium-ion batteries.

Synthesis of High Surface Area α-KMnO Nanoneedles Using Extract of Broccoli as Bioactive Reducing Agent and Application in Lithium Battery.

With the aim to reduce the entire cost of lithium-ion batteries and to diminish the environmental impact, the extract of broccoli is used as a strong benign reducing agent for potassium permanganate to synthesize α-KMnO cathode material with pure nanostructured phase. Material purity is confirmed by X-ray powder diffraction and thermogravimetric analyses. Images of transmission electron microscopy show samples with a spider-net shape consisting of very fine interconnected nanoneedles.

Amorphous MoO-Type/Carbon Nanocomposite with Enhanced Electrochemical Capability for Lithium-Ion Batteries.

An amorphous MoO/carbon nanocomposite (m ≈ 5) is fabricated from a citrate-gel precursor heated at moderate temperature (500 °C) in inert (argon) atmosphere. The as-prepared MoO-type/C material is compared to α-MoO synthesized from the same precursor in air. The morphology and microstructure of the as-prepared samples are characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Raman scattering (RS) spectroscopy.

Building Better Batteries in the Solid State: A Review.

Most of the current commercialized lithium batteries employ liquid electrolytes, despite their vulnerability to battery fire hazards, because they avoid the formation of dendrites on the anode side, which is commonly encountered in solid-state batteries. In a review two years ago, we focused on the challenges and issues facing lithium metal for solid-state rechargeable batteries, pointed to the progress made in addressing this drawback, and concluded that a situation could be envisioned where solid-state batteries would again win over liquid batteries for different applications in the near future. However, an additional drawback of solid-state batteries is the lower ionic conductivity of the electrolyte.

Doped Nanoscale NMC333 as Cathode Materials for Li-Ion Batteries.

A series of Li(NiMnCo)O ( = Al, Mg, Zn, and Fe, = 0.06) was prepared via sol-gel method assisted by ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid as a chelating agent. A typical hexagonal α-NaFeO structure (R-3m space group) was observed for parent and doped samples as revealed by X-ray diffraction patterns.

Sputtered LiCoO Cathode Materials for All-solid-state Thin-film Lithium Microbatteries.

This review article presents the literature survey on radio frequency (RF)-magnetron sputtered LiCoO thin films used as cathode materials in all-solid-state rechargeable lithium microbatteries. As the process parameters lead to a variety of texture and preferential orientation, the influence of the sputtering conditions on the deposition of LiCoO thin films are considered. The electrochemical performance is examined as a function of composition of the sputter Ar/O gas mixture, gas flow rate, pressure, nature of substrate, substrate temperature, deposition rate, and annealing temperature.

O Adsorption Associated with Sulfur Vacancies on MoS Microspheres.

MoS is well-known for its catalytic properties, mainly to adsorb hydrogenous or carbonaceous materials. However, the effect of MoS on the oxygen adsorption has been investigated only a few times thus far. In this work, we first studied the adsorbability of O by MoS through the analysis of LiO growth on the surface of flower-like MoS microspheres with different concentrations of sulfur vacancies, which can be applied as the highly active electrocatalysts for Li-O batteries.

Self-assembled layer-by-layer partially reduced graphene oxide-sulfur composites as lithium-sulfur battery cathodes.

Constructing a reliable conductive carbon matrix is essential for the sulfur-containing cathode materials of lithium-sulfur batteries. A ready-made conductive matrix infiltrated with sulfur as the cathode is the usual solution. Here, a partially reduced graphene oxide-sulfur composite (prGO/S) with an ordered self-assembled layer-by-layer structure is introduced as a Li-S battery cathode.

Nanostructured MnO₂ as Electrode Materials for Energy Storage.

Manganese dioxides, inorganic materials which have been used in industry for more than a century, now find great renewal of interest for storage and conversion of energy applications. In this review article, we report the properties of MnO₂ nanomaterials with different morphologies. Techniques used for the synthesis, structural, physical properties, and electrochemical performances of periodic and aperiodic frameworks are discussed.

Nanoscience Supporting the Research on the Negative Electrodes of Li-Ion Batteries.

Many efforts are currently made to increase the limited capacity of Li-ion batteries using carbonaceous anodes. The way to reach this goal is to move to nano-structured material because the larger surface to volume ratio of particles and the reduction of the electron and Li path length implies a larger specific capacity. Additionally, nano-particles can accommodate such a dilatation/contraction during cycling, resulting in a calendar life compatible with a commercial use.

Advanced Electrodes for High Power Li-ion Batteries.

While little success has been obtained over the past few years in attempts to increase the capacity of Li-ion batteries, significant improvement in the power density has been achieved, opening the route to new applications, from hybrid electric vehicles to high-power electronics and regulation of the intermittency problem of electric energy supply on smart grids. This success has been achieved not only by decreasing the size of the active particles of the electrodes to few tens of nanometers, but also by surface modification and the synthesis of new multi-composite particles. It is the aim of this work to review the different approaches that have been successful to obtain Li-ion batteries with improved high-rate performance and to discuss how these results prefigure further improvement in the near future.