Metallic TiN-mediated interface to boost charge transfer of bismuth vanadate toward enhanced photoelectrochemical water oxidation.

Surface modification of cocatalysts is one of the most efficient strategies to improve the surface charge transfer of bismuth vanadate (BVO) photoanodes. However, the interfacial recombination between BVO semiconductors and cocatalysts is seriously undervalued. Herein, metallic titanium nitride (TiN) nanoparticles are decorated on the surface of BVO to tune the carrier dynamics at BVO/cocatalysts interface.

TiCT MXene-Mediated Synthesis of a Prussian Blue Nanocomposite Film for a Flexible Large-Area Electrochromic Device.

Smart window applications are highly promising for tuning the sunlight intensity in buildings and vehicles. Large-area flexible smart windows are easily integrated with any curved surface compared to the conventional rigid devices yet are challenging due to the difficulty in fabricating large-area homogeneous electrochromic films. Herein, we demonstrate a MXene mediated Prussian blue synthesis strategy to fabricate a large-area MXene@Prussian blue composite film (MPB) on rigid (up to 900 cm) and flexible ITO substrates with high homogeneity and adjustable thickness.

Reconfiguring Terminal Species of Bituminous Coal to Steer Hard Carbon toward High-Capacity and Fast Sodium Storage.

Hard carbons derived from coal precursors have shown bright industrial prospect as the low cost anode materials of sodium-ion batteries. However, it is of extreme necessity yet challenge to regulate carbon microstructure toward superior sodium energy storage. In this study, we propose a powerful chemical reconfiguration tactic to steer hard carbons toward high-capacity and fast sodium storage.

Designing Multi-functional Separators With Regulated Ion Flux and Selectivity for Macrobian Zinc Ion Batteries.

The success of achieving scale-up deployment of zinc ion batteries is to selectively regulate the rapid and dendrite-free growth of zinc anodes. Herein, this is proposed that a creative design strategy of constructing multi-functional separators (MFS) to stabilize the zinc anodes. By in situ decorating metal-organic-framework coating on commercial glass fiber, the upgraded separator is of remarkable benefit for strong anion (SO ) anchoring, uniform ion flux across the interface, and boosted Zn desolvation.

A Nanocluster Colloidal Electrolyte Enables Highly Stable and Reversible Zinc Anodes.

Aqueous zinc-ion batteries represent a favorable technology for stationary energy storage systems owing to their safety, reliability, and cost-effectiveness. However, Zn anodes suffer uncontrollable dendrite formation and harmful side reactions that lead to a short lifespan. Herein, we demonstrate a nanocluster colloidal electrolyte strategy for stabilizing the zinc anodes.

Green Phytic Acid-Assisted Synthesis of LiMnFePO/C Cathodes for High-Performance Lithium-Ion Batteries.

As a promising cathode material, olivine-structured LiMnPO holds enormous potential for lithium-ion batteries. Herein, we demonstrate a green biomass-derived phytic-acid-assisted method to synthesize a series of LiMnFePO/C composites. The effect of Fe doping on the crystal structure and morphology of LiMnPO particles is investigated.

Molecular Engineering to Regulate the Pseudo-Graphitic Structure of Hard Carbon for Superior Sodium Energy Storage.

Resin-derived hard carbons have shown great advantages in serving as promising anode materials for sodium-ion batteries due to their flexible microstructure tunability. However, it remains a daunting challenge to rationally regulate the pseudo-graphitic crystallite and defect of hard carbon toward advanced sodium storage performance. Herein, a molecular engineering strategy is demonstrated to modulate the cross-linking degree of phenolic resin and thus optimize the microstructure of hard carbon.

Achieving high-capacity and durable sodium storage by constructing a binder-free nanotube array architecture of iron phosphide/carbon.

The conversion-type anode material of iron phosphide (FeP) promises enormous prospects for Na-ion battery technology due to its high theoretical capacity and cost-effectiveness. However, the poor reaction kinetics and large volume expansion of FeP significantly degrade the sodium storage, which remains a daunting challenge. Herein, we demonstrate a binder-free nanotube array architecture constructed by FeP@C hybrid on carbon cloth as advanced anodes to achieve fast and stable sodium storage.

Binder-free barium-implanted MnO2 nanosheets on carbon cloth for flexible zinc-ion batteries.

The intrinsically low electrical conductivity and poor structural fragility of MnO2 have significantly hampered the zinc storage performance. In this work, Ba2+-implanted δ-MnO2 nanosheets have been hydrothermally grown on a carbon cloth (Ba-MnO2@CC) as an extremely stable and efficient cathode material of aqueous zinc-ion batteries. The three-dimensionally porous architecture composed of interwoven thin MnO2 nanosheets effectively shortens the electron/ion transport distances, enlarges the electrode/electrolyte contact area, and increases the active sites for the electrochemical reaction.

Resolving Deactivation of Low-Spin Fe Sites by Redistributing Electron Density toward High-Energy Sodium Storage.

Prussian blue (PB) has been an emerging class of cathode material for sodium-ion batteries due to its low cost and high theoretical capacity. However, their working voltage and capacity are substantially restricted due to the deactivation of low-spin Fe sites. Herein, we demonstrate a universal strategy to activate the low-spin Fe sites of PB by hybridizing them with the π-π conjugated electronic conductors.

Manipulating the Host-Guest Chemistry of Cucurbituril to Propel Highly Reversible Zinc Metal Anodes.

Rechargeable aqueous zinc-ion batteries are practically plagued by the short lifespan and low Coulombic efficiency (CE) of Zn anodes resulting from random dendrite deposition and parasitic reactions. Herein, the host-guest chemistry of cucurbituril additive with Zn to achieve longstanding Zn anodes is manipulated. The macrocyclic molecule of cucurbit[5]uril (CB[5]) is delicately designed to reconstruct both the CB[5]-adsorbed electric-double layer (EDL) structure at the Zn interface and the hydrated sheath of Zn ions.

Recycling spent masks to fabricate flexible hard carbon anode toward advanced sodium energy storage.

The massive discard of spent masks during the COVID-19 pandemic imposes great environmental anxiety to the human society, which calls for a reliable and sustainable outlet to mitigate this issue. In this work, we demonstrate a green design strategy of recycling the spent masks to fabricate hard carbon fabrics toward high-efficient sodium energy storage. After a simple carbonization treatment, flexible hard carbon fabrics composed of interwoven microtubular fibers are obtained.

Biomass-Derived Hard Carbon with Interlayer Spacing Optimization toward Ultrastable Na-Ion Storage.

Hard carbons as a kind of nongraphitized amorphous carbon have been recognized as potential anode materials for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) due to its large interlayer spacing. However, the issues in terms of onerous synthetic procedure and elusive working mechanism remains critical bottlenecks for practical implement. Herein, we report a facile production of tubular hard carbon through direct carbonization of platanus flosses (FHC) for the first time.

Boosting large-current-density water oxidation activity and stability by phytic acid-assisted rapid electrochemical corrosion.

Corrosion engineering is an efficient strategy to achieve durable oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalysts at high current densities beyond 500 mA cm. However, the spontaneous electrochemical corrosion has a slow reaction rate, and most of them need to add large amounts of salts (such as NaCl) to accelerate the corrosion process. In this report, a novel and effective phytic acid (PA)-assisted in situ electrochemical corrosion strategy is demonstrated to accelerate the the corrosion process and form bimetallic active catalysts to show excellent OER performance at large current densities.

N -(2-aminoethyl) Acetamide Additive Enables Phase-Pure and Stable α-FAPbI for Efficient Self-Powered Photodetectors.

Formamidinium-lead triiodide (FAPbI ) perovskite is considered as one of the most promising perovskite materials for high-performance photodetectors because of its narrow bandgap and superior thermal stability. Nevertheless, to realize efficient carrier transport and highly performing photodetectors, it imposes the requirement of fabricating α-FAPbI with pure phase, preferred crystal orientation, large grain size, and passivated interface, which still remains challenging. Here, a facile strategy based on additive engineering to obtain pure-phase FAPbI perovskite films by introducing N-(2-aminoethyl) acetamide into perovskite precursors is reported.

Surface-Fe enriched trimetallic (oxy)hydroxide engineered by S-incorporation and ligand anchoring toward efficient water oxidation.

Surface Fe with low-coordination plays a decisive role in the performance of OER catalysts in basic media, however, it is still a huge challenge to construct a Fe-enriched surface. Herein, a novel S-incorporation and ligand anchoring strategy is reported for in-situ synthesis of surface-Fe enriched OER catalysts. During the OER test, the co-etching of S elements and ligands enables the formation of surface-Fe enriched trimetallic (oxy)hydroxide OER catalysts.

Boosting photoelectrochemical activity of bismuth vanadate by implanting oxygen-vacancy-rich cobalt (oxy)hydroxide.

Surface charge recombination is regarded as a detrimental factor that severely downgrades the photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance of bismuth vanadate (BiVO). In this work, we demonstrate defect-rich cobalt (oxy)hydroxides (Co(O)OH) as an excellent cocatalyst nanolayer sheathed on BiVO to substantially improve the PEC water oxidation activity. The self-transformation of metal-organic framework produces an ultrathin Co(O)OH layer rich in oxygen vacancies, which could serve as a powerful hole extraction engine to promote the charge transfer/separation efficiency as well as an excellent oxygen evolution reaction catalyst to accelerate the surface water oxidation kinetics.

Ultrafine MoS Nanosheets Vertically Patterned on Graphene for High-Efficient Li-Ion and Na-Ion Storage.

Hierarchically two-dimensional (2D) heteroarchitecture with ultrafine MoS nanosheets vertically patterned on graphene is developed by using a facile solvothermal method. It is revealed that the strong interfacial interaction between acidic Mo precursors and graphene oxides allows for uniform and tight alignment of edge-oriented MoS nanosheets on planar graphene. The unique sheet-on-sheet architecture is of grand advantage in synergistically utilizing the highly conductive graphene and the electroactive MoS, thus rendering boosted reaction kinetics and robust structural integrity for energy storage.

Building Ohmic Contact Interfaces toward Ultrastable Zn Metal Anodes.

Zn metal holds grand promise as the anodes of aqueous batteries for grid-scale energy storage. However, the rampant zinc dendrite growth and severe surface side reactions significantly impede the commercial implementation. Herein, a universal Zn-metal oxide Ohmic contact interface model is demonstrated for effectively improving Zn plating/stripping reversibility.

Superfine MnO Nanowires with Rich Defects Toward Boosted Zinc Ion Storage Performance.

The core challenge of MnO as the cathode material of zinc-ion batteries remains to be their poor electrochemical kinetics and stability. Herein, MnO superfine nanowires (∼10 nm) with rich crystal defects (oxygen vacancies and cavities) are demonstrated to possess high efficient zinc-ion storage capability. Experimental and theoretical studies demonstrate that the defects facilitate the adsorption and diffusion of hydrogen/zinc for fast ion transportation and the build of a local electric field for improved electron migration.

Mechanistic investigation of silver vanadate as superior cathode for high rate and durable zinc-ion batteries.

Rechargeable aqueous Zn-ion batteries have shown considerable potential for stationary grid-scale energy storage systems owing to their characteristics of low cost and non-pollution. Nevertheless, the development of high-performance cathode materials is still a formidable challenge. In this work, for the first time, we report a superior silver vanadate (β-AgVO) cathode for Zn-ion batteries, and demonstrate the fundamental Zn storage mechanism in detail.

Highly Lithiophilic Cobalt Nitride Nanobrush as a Stable Host for High-Performance Lithium Metal Anodes.

Lithium metal is considered to be a holy grail of the battery anode chemistry due to its large specific capacity. Nevertheless, the uncontrollable formation of lithium dendrites resulting from uneven lithium nucleation/growth and the associated safety risk and short cyclability severely impede the practical use of lithium metal anodes. Herein, we demonstrate a highly lithiophilic cobalt nitride nanobrush on a Ni foam (CoN/NF) current collector as a stable three-dimensional (3D) framework to inhibit the dendrite formation of lithium.