Polyethylene glycol-based colloidal electrode via water competition for ultra-stable aqueous Zn-I batteries.

Current solid- and liquid-state electrode materials with extreme physical states show inherent limitation in achieving the ultra-stable batteries. Herein, we present a colloidal electrode design with an intermediate physical state to integrate the advantages of both solid- and liquid-state materials. The colloidal electrode was designed based on the inherent water competition effect of (SO) from the aqueous electrolyte and inherently water-soluble polyethylene glycol (PEG)/ZnI from the cathode.

Soft Colloidal Electrode Enabled by Water Distribution Control for Ultra-Stable Aqueous Zn-I Batteries.

Designing effective electrode material is crucial for developing ultra-long lifetime batteries, thereby reducing daily battery costs. Current electrode materials are typically solid or liquid state, with an intermediate colloidal state offering the advantages of fixed redox-active species, akin to solid-state materials, and the absence of rigid atomic structure, akin to liquid-state materials, while avoiding the particle pulverization and uncontrolled migration. Herein, an aqueous Zn||Pluronic F127 (PF127)/ZnI colloid battery is developed utilizing the inherent water molecular control effect of ZnSO.

Inherent Water Competition Effect-Enabled Colloidal Electrode for Ultra-stable Aqueous Zn-I Batteries.

Electrode material stability is crucial for the development of next-generation ultralong-lifetime batteries. However, current solid- and liquid-state electrode materials face challenges such as rigid atomic structure collapse and uncontrolled species migration, respectively, which contradict the theoretical requirements for ultralong operation lifetimes. Herein, we present a design concept for a soft colloid polyvinylpyrrolidone iodine (PVP-I) electrode, leveraging the inherent water molecule competition effect between (SO) from the electrolyte and PVP-I from the cathode in an aqueous Zn||PVP-I battery.

Extended Battery Compatibility Consideration from an Electrolyte Perspective.

The performance of electrochemical batteries is intricately tied to the physicochemical environments established by their employed electrolytes. Traditional battery designs utilizing a single electrolyte often impose identical anodic and cathodic redox conditions, limiting the ability to optimize redox environments for both anode and cathode materials. Consequently, advancements in electrolyte technologies are pivotal for addressing these challenges and fostering the development of next-generation high-performance electrochemical batteries.

A Comprehensive Evaluation of Battery Technologies for High-Energy Aqueous Batteries.

Aqueous batteries have garnered significant attention in recent years as a viable alternative to lithium-ion batteries for energy storage, owing to their inherent safety, cost-effectiveness, and environmental sustainability. This study offers a comprehensive review of recent advancements, persistent challenges, and the prospects of aqueous batteries, with a primary focus on energy density compensation of various battery engineering technologies. Additionally, cutting-edge high-energy aqueous battery designs are emphasized as a reference for future endeavors in the pursuit of high-energy storage solutions.

A Separator with Double Coatings of Li Ti O and Conductive Carbon for Li-S Battery of Good Electrochemical Performance.

The market demand for energy pushes researchers to pay a lot of attention to Li-S batteries. However, the 'shuttle effect', the corrosion of lithium anodes, and the formation of lithium dendrites make the poor cycling performances (especially under high current densities and high sulfur loading) of Li-S batteries, which limit their commercial applications. Here, a separator is prepared and modified with Super P and LTO (abbreviation SPLTOPD) through a simple coating method.

space-confined growth of CoO nanoparticles inside N-doped hollow porous carbon nanospheres as bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysts for high-performance rechargeable zinc-air batteries.

Developing high-performance and low-cost bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysts for both the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is of great significance for accelerating the commercialization of rechargeable zinc-air batteries (RZABs). Herein, grown CoO nanoparticle-embedded N-doped hollow porous carbon nanospheres (CoO@N-HPCNs) are synthesized template-assisted pyrolysis as efficient bifunctional ORR/OER electrocatalysts. The N-HPCNs efficiently seize and confine CoO nanoparticles to enhance electronic conductivity and structural stability, while the hollow porous architecture offers adequate mass diffusion pathways to improve the accessibility of reactants and electrolytes on active sites.

Limiting Performance of the Ejector Refrigeration Cycle with Pure Working Fluids.

An ejector refrigeration system is a promising heat-driven refrigeration technology for energy consumption. The ideal cycle of an ejector refrigeration cycle (ERC) is a compound cycle with an inverse Carnot cycle driven by a Carnot cycle. The coefficient of performance () of this ideal cycle represents the theoretical upper bound of ERC, and it does not contain any information about the properties of working fluids, which is a key cause of the large energy efficiency gap between the actual cycle and the ideal cycle.

RuO-Incorporated CoO Nanoneedles Grown on Carbon Cloth as Binder-Free Integrated Cathodes for Tuning Favorable LiO Formation.

Developing ideal Li-O batteries (LOBs) requires the discharge product to have a large quantity, have large contact area with the cathode, and not passivate the porous surface after discharge, which put forward high requirement for the design of cathodes. Herein, combining the rational structural design and high activity catalyst selection, minor amounts of RuO-incorporated CoO nanoneedles grown on carbon cloth are successfully synthesized as binder-free integrated cathodes for LOBs. With this unique design, plenty of electron-ion-oxygen tri-phase reaction interface is created, the side reaction from carbon is isolated, and oxygen reduction reaction/oxygen evolution reaction (OER) kinetics are significantly facilitated.

Strategies toward anode stabilization in nonaqueous alkali metal-oxygen batteries.

Alkali metal-O batteries exhibit ultra-high theoretical energy density which is even on par with fossil energy and are expected to become the next generation energy storage devices. However, to maintain the advantages of high energy density of alkali metal-O batteries, the reversibility of alkali metal anodes with high capacity is of vital importance. But the alkali metal anode with high chemical activity often faces a variety of challenges, including various side reactions, dendrite formation and volume expansion.

bridging nanotwinned all-solid-state Z-scheme g-CN/CdCO/CdS heterojunction photocatalyst by metal oxide for H evolution.

Nanotwin and all-solid-state (ASS) Z-scheme heterojunction engineering are two widely used strategies for improving photocatalytic activity in H production. However, both strategies fail to produce a satisfactory effect when used alone due to their own limitations. Hence, combining nanotwin and ASS Z-scheme heterojunction engineering is expected to improve photocatalytic activity effectively.

Li O Formation Electrochemistry and Its Influence on Oxygen Reduction/Evolution Reaction Kinetics in Aprotic Li-O Batteries.

Aprotic Li-O batteries are regarded as the most promising technology to resolve the energy crisis in the near future because of its high theoretical specific energy. The key electrochemistry of a nonaqueous Li-O battery highly relies on the formation of Li O during discharge and its reversible decomposition during charge. The properties of Li O and its formation mechanisms are of high significance in influencing the battery performance.