The Synergetic Effect of Metal-Loaded Electrospun Carbon Fibers for Photothermal Conversion.

With the increasing demand for energy and worsening environmental issues, the application of photothermal materials has been widely explored due to their high energy conversion capabilities and environmental friendliness. In this work, metal-carbon fiber composites were prepared and subjected to photothermal and water evaporation performance tests alongside pure metals and pyrolytic phenolic resin materials. The results show that the addition of metals effectively improved the photothermal efficiency by narrowing the molecular energy gaps of the materials, indicating a strong synergistic enhancement effect between metals and carbon materials.

Stable Interlayer Zinc Plating/Stripping in the Maxwell-Wagner Effect-Enhanced Interface.

Zinc metal batteries have recently emerged as a promising stable and reversible anode aqueous battery. However, due to the serious dendrite problem and hydrogen evolution problem of the zinc metal anode, the practical application of the zinc metal battery is limited. Here, we propose YO as an effective coating, which inhibits hydrogen evolution and side reactions by physical isolation and simultaneously prevents dendrite growth by ensuring a uniform Zn-ion flux and fast transport channels generated by Maxwell-Wagner polarization, thus improving the stability of batteries.

Boosting Molecular Cross-Linking in a Phenolic Resin for Spherical Hard Carbon with Enriched Closed Pores toward Enhanced Sodium Storage Ability.

Phenolic resin (PF) is considered a promising precursor of hard carbon (HC) for advanced-performance anodes in sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) because of its facile designability and high residual carbon yield. However, understanding how the structure of PF precursors influences sodium storage in their derived HC remains a significant challenge. Herein, the microstructure of HC is controlled by the degree of cross-linking of resorcinol-benzaldehyde (RB) resin.

One-Step Construction of Closed Pores Enabling High Plateau Capacity Hard Carbon Anodes for Sodium-Ion Batteries: Closed-Pore Formation and Energy Storage Mechanisms.

Closed pores play a crucial role in improving the low-voltage (<0.1 V) plateau capacity of hard carbon anodes for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). However, the lack of simple and effective closed-pore construction strategies, as well as the unclear closed-pore formation mechanism, has severely hindered the development of high plateau capacity hard carbon anodes.

Graphene-doped silicon-carbon materials with multi-interface structures for lithium-ion battery anodes.

The carbon nanomaterials are usually used to improve the electrical conductivity and stability of silicon (Si) anodes for lithium-ion batteries. However, the Si-based composites containing carbon nanomaterials generally show large specific surface area, leading to severe side reactions that generate large amounts of solid electrolyte interphase films. Herein, we embedded graphene oxide (GO) and silicon nanoparticles (Si NPs) uniformly in pitch matrix by solvent dispersion.

Modulation of Si-O Structure in Uniformly Ultrasmall Silicon Oxycarbide for Superior Lifespan of Lithium Metal Anodes.

Utilizing nanoseeds guiding homogeneous deposition of lithium is an effective strategy to inhibit disorderly growth of lithium, where silicon oxide has been attracting attention as a transform seed. However, the research on silicon-oxide-based seeds has concentrated more on utilizing their lithiophilicity but less on their Si-O structures, which could result in different failure mechanisms. In this study, various Si-O structures of silicon oxycarbide carbon nanofibers are prepared by adjusting the content of octa(aminopropylsilsesquioxane).

Utilizing Ultra-homogeneous SiO and Defects to Achieve Interlayer Protection for Lithium Metal Anodes.

The uncontrollable growth and uneven nucleation of lithium metal can be addressed by utilizing spatial confinement structures in conjunction with lithiophilic sites. However, their complex fabrication technique and the inhomogeneous dispersion of lithiophilic sites make the application ineffective. In this work, ultra-uniformly dispersed SiO seeds and defects are produced in situ to achieve the spatially restricted protection within the reduced graphene oxide (rGO) layer.

A Uniform Self-Reinforced Organic/Inorganic Hybrid SEI Chelation Strategy on Microscale Silicon Surfaces for Stable-Cycling Anodes in Lithium-Ion Batteries.

A promising anode material for Li-ion batteries, silicon (Si) suffers from volume expansion-induced pulverization and solid electrolyte interface (SEI) instability. Microscale Si with high tap density and high initial Coulombic efficiency (ICE) has become a more anticipated choice, but it will exacerbate the above issues. In this work, the polymer polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane-lithium bis (allylmalonato) borate (PSLB) is constructed by in situ chelation on microscale Si surfaces via click chemistry.

A Review of the Relationship between Gel Polymer Electrolytes and Solid Electrolyte Interfaces in Lithium Metal Batteries.

Lithium metal batteries (LMBs) are a dazzling star in electrochemical energy storage thanks to their high energy density and low redox potential. However, LMBs have a deadly lithium dendrite problem. Among the various methods for inhibiting lithium dendrites, gel polymer electrolytes (GPEs) possess the advantages of good interfacial compatibility, similar ionic conductivity to liquid electrolytes, and better interfacial tension.

Simple Construction of Multistage Stable Silicon-Graphite Hybrid Granules for Lithium-Ion Batteries.

Because of its high specific capacity, the silicon-graphite composite (SGC) is regarded as a promising anode for new-generation lithium-ion batteries. However, the frequently employed two-section preparation process, including the modification of silicon seed and followed mixture with graphite, cannot ensure the uniform dispersion of silicon in the graphite matrix, resulting in a stress concentration of aggregated silicon domains and cracks in composite electrodes during cycling. Herein, inspired by powder engineering, the two independent sections are integrated to construct multistage stable silicon-graphite hybrid granules (SGHGs) through wet granulation and carbonization.

Revealing the Self-Doping Defects in Carbon Materials for the Compact Capacitive Energy Storage of Zn-Ion Capacitors.

Zn-ion capacitors are attracting great attention owing to the abundant and relatively stable Zn anodes but are impeded by the low capacitance of porous carbon cathodes with insufficient energy storage sites. Herein, using ball-milled graphene with different defect densities as the models, we reveal that the self-doping defects of carbon show a capacitive energy storage behavior with robust charge-transfer kinetics, providing a capacitance contribution of ca. 90 F g per unit of defect density (/ value from Raman spectra) in both aqueous and organic electrolytes.

Interfacial Anchored Sesame Ball-like Ag/C To Guide Lithium Even Plating and Stripping Behavior.

Lithium (Li) metal is a candidate anode for the next generation of high-energy density secondary batteries. Unfortunately, Li metal anodes (LMAs) are extremely reactive with electrolytes to accumulate uncontrolled dendrites and to generate unwanted parasitic electrochemical reactions. Much attention has been focused on carbon materials to address these issues.

Bimetallic MOFs-Derived Hollow Carbon Spheres Assembled by Sheets for Sodium-Ion Batteries.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have attracted extensive attention as precursors for the preparation of carbon-based materials due to their highly controllable composition, structure, and pore size distribution. However, there are few reports of MOFs using p-phenylenediamine (pPD) as the organic ligand. In this work, we report the preparation of a bimetallic MOF (CoCu-pPD) with pPD as the organic ligand, and its derived hollow carbon spheres (BMHCS).

Strategies and challenges of carbon materials in the practical applications of lithium metal anode: a review.

Lithium (Li) metal is strongly considered to be the ultimate anode for next-generation high-energy-density rechargeable batteries due to its lowest electrochemical potential and highest specific capacity. However, Li metal anode has limitations, involving inevitable dendritic Li growth, nonuniform Li deposition, enormous volume expansion, and ultimate electrode pulverization, which lead to rapid decrease in Coulombic efficiency and short circuits, significantly hindering its practical use. Various strategies have been proposed to solve uncontrollable dendritic Li growth and parasitic electrochemical reactions.

High Sulfur-doped hollow carbon sphere with multicavity for high-performance Potassium-ion hybrid capacitors.

S doping is an effective strategy to improve the potassium-ion storage performance of carbon-based materials. However, due to the large atomic radius of S and poor thermal stability, it is challenging to synthesize carbon materials with high sulfur content by solid-phase transformation. In this work, we designed a multi-cavity structure that can confine the molten S during heat treatment and make it fully react, then achieving high S doping (7.

Lithiophilic onion-like carbon spheres as lithium metal uniform deposition host.

Lithium metal is considered as a promising anode material for next-generation secondary batteries, owing to its high theoretical specific capacity (3860 mA h g). Nevertheless, the practical application of Li in lithium metal batteries (LMBs) is hampered by inhomogeneous Li deposition and irreversible "dead Li", which lead to low coulombic efficiency (CE) and safe hazards. Designing unique lithiophilic structure is an efficient strategy to control Li uniformly plating /stripping.

Improving the surface area of metal organic framework-derived porous carbon through constructing inner support by compatible graphene quantum dots.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as promising precursors to prepare porous carbons due to their unique coordination structure with abundant pores and various chemical compositions. However, the structural collapse and pore shrinkage during pyrolysis severely decrease the surface area of the prepared porous carbons. Herein, we propose an inner support strategy to prepare MOF-derived carbons with improved surface area using graphene quantum dots (GQDs) as the compatible frameworks.

Sodium alginate-derived porous carbon: Self-template carbonization mechanism and application in capacitive energy storage.

Sodium alginate (SA) is an environment-friendly and low-cost polysaccharide carbohydrate extracted from seaweed. As a carbon precursor, sodium alginate has the advantages of clear molecular structure, small molecular weight, and easy controls of the structure and composition of the product, but there have been few studies for the mechanism for SA carbonization. In this work, the carbon skeleton cross-linking mode, heteroatom doping and defect generation mechanism in the process of SA pyrolysis are clarified.

Binary self-assembly of ordered BiSe/BiOSe lamellar architecture embedded into CNTs@Graphene as a binder-free electrode for superb Na-Ion storage.

With the development of various flexible electronic devices, flexible energy storage devices have attracted more research attention. Binder-free flexible batteries, without a current collector, binder, and conductive agent, have higher energy density and lower manufacturing costs than traditional sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). However, preparing binder-free anodes with high electrochemical performance and flexibility remains a great challenge.

B, N stabilization effect on multicavity carbon microspheres for boosting durable and fast potassium-ion storage.

Heteroatom-rich carbon materials deliver superior potassium storage capacity owing to the abundant active sites, but their stability and conductivity are damaged because of the numerous defects and distortion of π-conjugated system. In this work, we amended the adverse influences of heteroatoms on carbon materials through the B, N stabilization effect. Due to an amending effect of B atoms on the N-doped carbon matrix, the integrity of the carbon skeleton and stability of the system are significantly enhanced, and the undesirable defects are transformed into favorable active sites, resulting in the simultaneous improvement of K storage capacity, rate performance and cyclic stability.

A General Multi-Interface Strategy toward Densified Carbon Materials with Enhanced Comprehensive Electrochemical Performance for Li/Na-Ion Batteries.

Fast charging rate and large energy storage are key requirements for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) in electric vehicles. Developing electrode materials with high volumetric and gravimetric capacity that could be operated at a high rate is the most challenging problem. In this work, a general multi-interface strategy toward densified carbon materials with enhanced comprehensive electrochemical performance for Li/Na-ion batteries is proposed.

Efficient Utilization of the Active Sites in Defective Graphene Blocks through Functionalization Synergy for Compact Capacitive Energy Storage.

Designing dense carbon materials with both high capacitance and good rate performance is crucial for future development of minimized and light-weight supercapacitors but remains challenging because sluggish ion transport inhibits the efficient utilization of the energy storage sites. Herein, we report a defective and functionalized graphene block (DFGB) prepared through ball milling using controllably reduced graphene oxide (RGO) as the precursor. Rational oxygen configuration enables good electrolyte wettability and improves ion migration kinetics, facilitating high utilization of the "self-doping" defects as active sites.

Constructing 3D Interconnected Si/SiO /C Nanorings from Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxane.

Polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) is a family of organic/inorganic hybrid materials with specific molecular symmetry, and shows great potential in the structural design of nanomaterials. Here, a "bottom-up" strategy is designed to fabricate 3D interconnected Si/SiO /C nanorings (NRs) via AlCl -assisted aluminothermic reduction using dodecaphenyl cage silsesquioxane (T -Ph) as the building block. In this process, AlCl acts as both a liquid medium for reduction, and significantly as the catalyst to the cross-linking of phenyl groups in T -Ph.

Achieving Cycling Durability of Lithium-Sulfur Batteries via Capturing Polysulfides through a Three-Dimensional Interconnected Carbon Network Anchored with Ultrafine FeS Nanoparticles.

Shuttle effect has always been a critical obstacle to the application of lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries for leading to unstable cycle performance and a short lifespan. To solve this problem, a particular strategy is put up to relieve shuttle effect by capturing soluble polysulfides through a three-dimensional interconnected carbon network. Due to the uniformly anchored ultrafine FeS nanoparticles on a 3D interconnected carbon network, the material could lock soluble polysulfides on the cathode side and promote electrochemical conversion reactions among sulfur species.

Preparation and Application of Fe-N Co-Doped GNR@CNT Cathode Oxygen Reduction Reaction Catalyst in Microbial Fuel Cells.

Through one-step pyrolysis, non-noble-metal oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) electrocatalysts were constructed from ferric trichloride, melamine, and graphene nanoribbon@carbon nanotube (GNR@CNT), in which a portion of the multiwall carbon nanotube is unwrapped/unzipped radially, and thus graphene nanoribbon is exposed. In this study, Fe-N/GNR@CNT materials were used as an air-cathode electrocatalyst in microbial fuel cells (MFCs) for the first time. The Fe-N/C shows similar power generation ability to commercial Pt/C, and its electron transfer number is 3.