Simple Designed Micro-Nano Si-Graphite Hybrids for Lithium Storage.

Up to now, the silicon-graphite anode materials with commercial prospect for lithium batteries (LIBs) still face three dilemmas of the huge volume effect, the poor interface compatibility, and the high resistance. To address the above challenges, micro-nano structured composites of graphite coating by ZnO-incorporated and carbon-coated silicon (marked as Gr@ZnO-Si-C) are reasonably synthesized via an efficient and convenient method of liquid phase self-assembly synthesis combined with annealing treatment. The designed composites of Gr@ZnO-Si-C deliver excellent lithium battery performance with good rate performance and stable long-cycling life of 1000 cycles with reversible capacities of 1150 and 780 mAh g tested at 600 and 1200 mA g , respectively.

A Facile Strategy to Construct Silver-Modified, ZnO-Incorporated and Carbon-Coated Silicon/Porous-Carbon Nanofibers with Enhanced Lithium Storage.

For Si anode materials used for lithium ion batteries (LIBs), developing an effective solution to overcome their drawbacks of large volume change and poor electronic conductivity is highly desirable. Here, the composites of ZnO-incorporated and carbon-coated silicon/porous-carbon nanofibers (ZnO-Si@C-PCNFs) are designed and synthesized via a traditional electrospinning method. The prepared ZnO-Si@C-PCNFs can obviously overcome these two drawbacks and provide excellent LIB performance with excellent rate capability and stable long cycling life of 1000 cycles with reversible capacity of 1050 mA h g at 800 mA g .

Multistimuli-Responsive, Moldable Supramolecular Hydrogels Cross-Linked by Ultrafast Complexation of Metal Ions and Biopolymers.

A new type of multistimuli-responsive hydrogels cross-linked by metal ions and biopolymers is reported. By mixing the biopolymer chitosan (CS) with a variety of metal ions at the appropriate pH values, we obtained a series of transparent and stable hydrogels within a few seconds through supramolecular complexation. In particular, the CS-Ag hydrogel was chosen as the model and the gelation mechanism was revealed by various measurements.

A high performance O2 selective membrane based on CAU-1-NH2@polydopamine and the PMMA polymer for Li-air batteries.

A novel mixed matrix membrane (MMM) was prepared by incorporating polydopamine-coated metal organic framework (MOF) crystals of CAU-1-NH2 into a PMMA (polymethylmethacrylate) matrix. The MMM possesses the advantages of high O2 permeability, high capability of carbon dioxide capture, and excellent hydrophobic behavior. The MMM was assembled in the Li-air batteries which displayed promising electrochemical performance in the real ambient air with 30% relative humidity.