Facet-engineered NaNbO cubes with exposed (101) plane for enhanced lithium-ion storage.

Density functional theory (DFT) predicts superior lithium-ion diffusion the (101) plane of NaNbO. Experimental results confirm that despite a reduction in surface area, 6 μm NaNbO cubes with more (101) plane exposure exhibit enhanced Li storage, underscoring the significance of crystal facet engineering.

Basics and Advances of Manganese-Based Cathode Materials for Aqueous Zinc-Ion Batteries.

It is greatly crucial to develop low-cost energy storage candidates with high safety and stability to replace alkali metal systems for a sustainable future. Recently, aqueous zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) have received tremendous interest owing to their low cost, high safety, wide oxidation states, and sophisticated fabrication process. Nanostructured manganese (Mn)-based oxides in different polymorphs are the potential cathode materials for the widespread application of ZIBs.

Facile construction of ZnWO/ZnO porous nanoplates on reduced graphene oxide for superior lithium storage.

Zinc tungstate (ZnWO) shows great promise as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) owing to its reversible multi-electron redox reactions and high theoretical capacity. Nevertheless, the low conductivity and big strain during cycling can lead to the inferior electrochemical properties of the ZnWO anode, hindering its practical application. Herein, we report a novel composite with ZnWO/ZnO porous nanoplates in-situ constructed on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) by a metal-organic framework template strategy.

A self-bonding conductive electrode triggered by water-induced structure reconfiguration.

This study presents a self-bonding conductive electrode triggered by water-induced structure reconfiguration. Water wetting causes the swelling and mobility of cotton-derived cellulose nanofibers in the conductive electrode, and the formation of hydrogen bonds, which enables the conductive electrode to heal damage, bond separated pieces, and directly bond on diverse substrates.

Crystalline MnCO@Amorphous MnO Composite as Cathode Material for High-Performance Aqueous Zinc-Ion Batteries.

Rechargeable aqueous zinc-ion batteries (RAZIBs) have received extensive attention because of their advantages of low cost, high safety, and nontoxicity. However, problems such as dissolution of the active cathode material, dendrites/passivation of the zinc anode, and slow reaction kinetics hindered their further applications. In this work, a crystalline/amorphous composite-type material composed of crystalline MnCO and amorphous MnO was prepared and used as the cathode material for RAZIBs.

Nucleophilic hydrolysis enables HF-etched MXene kilofarad specific capacitance and excellent rate performance.

Here, an unusual MXene with a high ratio of oxygen functional groups was prepared by hydrothermal treatment of HF-etched MXene in aqueous KOH solution. The prepared MXene (H-220) exhibits ultrahigh specific capacitance (1030 F g in a potential window of 0.85 V), and excellent rate and cycling performance simultaneously in a sulfuric acid electrolyte, and can act as an anode material of proton batteries.

Critical Role of Aromatic C(sp)-H in Boosting Lithium-Ion Storage.

Exploring high-sloping-capacity carbons is of great significance in the development of high-power lithium-ion batteries/capacitors (LIBs/LICs). Herein, an ion-catalyzed self-template method is utilized to synthesize the hydrogen-rich carbon nanoribbon (HCNR), achieving high specific and rate capacity (1144.2/471.

FeNbO nanochains with a five-electron transfer reaction toward high capacity and fast Li storage.

High capacity and outstanding rate performance of the FeNbO nanochain anode with both intercalation and conversion reactions for lithium-ion batteries are demonstrated. The unique one-dimensional structure and intercalation pseudocapacitive behavior of FeNbO accelerate the reaction kinetics. X-ray diffractometer measurement confirms a five-electron transfer mechanism for Li storage.

Ion-catalyzed synthesis of N/O co-doped carbon nanorods with hierarchical pores for high-rate Na-ion storage.

Appropriate heteroatom doping and pore structure optimization are cost-effective technologies to improve the electronic conductivity and ion diffusion kinetics of hard carbons (HCs). Here, we report an ion-catalyzed synthesis of N/O co-doped carbon nanorods (NOCNRs) with abundant hierarchical pores, achieving high-capacity and high-rate Na-ion storage (336 mA h g at 0.1 A g and 196 mA h g at 20.

Synthesis of Si/C Composites by Silicon Waste Recycling and Carbon Coating for High-Capacity Lithium-Ion Storage.

It is of great significance to recycle the silicon (Si) kerf slurry waste from the photovoltaic (PV) industry. Si holds great promise as the anode material for Li-ion batteries (LIBs) due to its high theoretical capacity. However, the large volume expansion of Si during the electrochemical processes always leads to electrode collapse and a rapid decline in electrochemical performance.

Enhancing High-Capacity and High-Rate Sodium-Ion Storage through Synergistic N,S Dual Doping of Hard Carbon.

Hard carbon, as the most promising commercial anode materials of sodium-ion batteries (SIBs), has suffered from the coupling limitations on initial Coulombic efficiency (ICE), capacity, and rate capability. Herein, to break such coupling limitations, sulfur-rich nitrogen-doped carbon nanomaterials (S-NC) were synthesized by a synergistic modification strategy, including structure/morphology regulation and dual heteroatom doping. The small specific surface area of S-NC is beneficial for inhibiting excessive growth of solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) film and irreversible interfacial reaction.

In Situ Construction of ZnMoO/ZnO Hierarchical Nanosheets on Graphene as Advanced Anode Materials for Lithium-Ion Batteries.

Transition-metal oxides as anodes for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have attracted enormous interest because of their high theoretical capacity, low cost, and high reserve abundance. Unfortunately, they commonly suffer from poor electronic and ionic conductivity and relatively large volume expansion during discharge/charge processes, thereby triggering inferior cyclic performance and rate capability. Herein, a molybdenum-zinc bimetal oxide-based composite structure (ZnMoO/ZnO/rGO) with rectangular ZnMoO/ZnO nanosheets uniformly dispersed on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) has been prepared by using a simple and controllable cyanometallic framework template method.

Storage of Lithium-Ion by Phase Engineered MoO Homojunctions.

With high theoretical specific capacity, the low-cost MoO is known to be a promising anode for lithium-ion batteries. However, low electronic conductivity and sluggish reaction kinetics have limited its ability for lithium ion storage. To improve this, the phase engineering approach is used to fabricate orthorhombic/monoclinic MoO (α/h-MoO) homojunctions.

Nb and Ni Nanoparticles Anchored on N-Doped Carbon Nanofiber Membrane as Self-Supporting Anode for High-Rate Lithium-Ion Batteries.

A flexible N-doped carbon nanofiber membrane loaded with Nb and Ni nanoparticles (Nb/Ni@NC) was prepared using electrospinning technology and a subsequent thermal annealing method and used as a self-supporting anode material for lithium-ion batteries. The Nb/Ni@NC nanofiber membrane had excellent flexibility and could be folded and bent at will without fragmentation and wrinkling; the nanofibers also had a uniform and controllable morphology with a diameter of 300-400 nm. The electrochemical results showed that the flexible Nb/Ni@NC electrode could deliver a high discharge capacity of 378.

Regulating Oxygen Configuration in Hierarchically Porous Carbon Nanosheets for High-Rate and Durable Na Storage.

Surface oxygen functionalities (particularly C-O configuration) in carbon materials have negative influence on their electrical conductivity and Na storage performance. Herein, we propose a concept from surface chemistry to regulate the oxygen configuration in hierarchically porous carbon nanosheets (HPCNS). It is demonstrated that the C-O/C=O ratio in HPCNS reduces from 1.

Ferroelectric benzimidazole additive-induced interfacial water confinement for stable 2.2 V supercapacitor electrolytes exposed to air.

Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) are known as low-cost and environmentally friendly electrolytes for supercapacitors. However, because DESs are particularly vulnerable to moisture adsorption in the air, the voltage window (<1.2 V) is significantly lower than expected.

Kinetic Analysis of Bio-oil Derived Hierarchically Porous Carbon for Superior Li/Na Storage.

Herein, an efficient biomass utilization is proposed to prepare bio-oil-derived carbon (BODPC) with hierarchical pores and certain H/O/N functionalities for superior Li/Na storage. Kinetic analyses reveal that BODPC has similar behavior in the electrochemical Li and Na storage processes, in terms of physical adsorption (Stage I), chemical redox reactions with surface functionalities (Stage II), and insertion into the graphitic interlayer (Stage III). Promisingly, BODPC exhibits a high reversible specific capacity (1881.

Sawdust-Derived Activated Carbon with Hierarchical Pores for High-Performance Symmetric Supercapacitors.

The recyclable utilization of waste biomass is increasingly important for the development of a sustainable society. Here, the sawdust-derived activated carbon (SD-AC) has been prepared via a convenient HPO-based activation method and further trialed as an electrode for use as a high-performance symmetric supercapacitor. The as-prepared SD-AC possesses a hierarchically porous structure with micropores (0.

Operando mechanistic and dynamic studies of N/P co-doped hard carbon nanofibers for efficient sodium storage.

Raman and electrochemical results reveal that Na adsorbs on the surface/defective sites of N/P-HCNF and inserts randomly into its turbostratic nanodomains in the dilute state without a staged formation, which can facilitate fast Na diffusion kinetics for efficient sodium storage.

Heterogeneous cobalt polysulfide leaf-like array/carbon nanofiber composites derived from zeolite imidazole framework for advanced asymmetric supercapacitors.

Developing new electrode materials is one of the keys to improving the energy density of supercapacitors. In this article, a novel cobalt polysulfide/carbon nanofibers (C,N-CoS/CNF) film derived from zeolitic imidazolate framework is first prepared by a facile strategy. The composite material with two-dimensional leaf-shaped nanoarray neatly grown on the surface of carbon nanofibers is composed of CoS, CoS, CoS, N-doped carbon nanosheets, and carbon nanofibers.

Oxygen vacancies boosted the electrochemical kinetics of NbO for superior lithium storage.

The introduction of oxygen vacancies (OVs) into NbO can not only provide more active sites for lithium storage but also change the electronic structure of NbO to boost electron/ion transport kinetics. Consequently, the defective NbO exhibits high lithium storage capacity, superior rate capability, and cycling stability.

Facile Synthesis of Uniform Mesoporous NbO Micro-Flowers for Enhancing Photodegradation of Methyl Orange.

The removal of organic pollutants using green environmental photocatalytic degradation techniques urgently need high-performance catalysts. In this work, a facile one-step hydrothermal technique has been successfully applied to synthesize a NbO photocatalyst with uniform micro-flower structure for the degradation of methyl orange (MO) under UV irradiation. These nanocatalysts are characterized by transmission and scanning electron microscopies (TEM and SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) method, and UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS).

Porous α-FeO nanoparticles encapsulated within reduced graphene oxide as superior anode for lithium-ion battery.

A facile route for the controllable synthesis of porous α-FeO supported by three-dimensional reduced graphene oxide (rGO) is presented. The synergistic effect between α-FeO and rGO can increase the electrolyte infiltration and improve lithium ion diffusion as well. Moreover, the combination of rGO nanosheets can increase the available surface area to provide more active sites and prevent α-FeO nanoparticles from agglomeration during the cycling process to ensure its long-term cycle performance.

Sonochemical assisted fabrication of 3D hierarchical porous carbon for high-performance symmetric supercapacitor.

A scalable fabrication of 3D hierarchical porous carbon structure (3D-HPC) has been achieved via a simple sonochemical route at different pyrolysis temperatures. It is worth noting that all the 3D-HPC samples possess oxygen-functional groups after activation by KOH and self-doped by nitrogen, which are beneficial to improving their surface wettability as well as increasing the electro-active surface area between the electrode and the surrounding electrolyte, consequently enhancing their electrochemical performance. Remarkably, the resulting carbon sample pyrolyzed at 850 °C (AC-850) possesses a maximum doping level of 2.

Multiple Active Sites of Carbon for High-Rate Surface-Capacitive Sodium-Ion Storage.

Although sodium ion batteries (SIBs) possess many beneficial features, their rate performance, cycling stability, and safety need improvement for commercial applications. Based on the mechanisms of the sodium ions storage in carbon materials, herein we present a multiple active sites decorated amorphous carbon (MAC) with rich structural defects and heteroatom doping as an anode material for SIBs. The full utilization of fast bonding-debonding processes between the active sites and sodium ions could bring a capacitive strategy to achieve superior sodium storage properties.