Ultra-Thin Wrinkled Carbon Sheet as an Anode Material of High-Power-Density Potassium-Ion Batteries.

Although K is readily inserted into graphite, the volume expansion of graphite of up to 60% upon the formation of KC, together with its slow diffusion kinetics, prevent graphite from being used as an anode for potassium-ion batteries (PIBs). Soft carbon with low crystallinity and an incompact carbon structure can overcome these shortcomings of graphite. Here, ultra-thin two-dimensional (2D) wrinkled soft carbon sheets (USCs) are demonstrated to have high specific capacity, excellent rate capability, and outstanding reversibility.

Bamboo Weaving Inspired Design of a Carbonaceous Electrode with Exceptionally High Volumetric Capacity.

A highly densified electrode material is desirable to achieve large volumetric capacity. However, pores acting as ion transport channels are critical for high utilization of active material. Achieving a balance between high volume density and pore utilization remains a challenge particularly for hollow materials.

Seed-Free Selective Deposition of Lithium Metal into Tough Graphene Framework for Stable Lithium Metal Anode.

Graphene has been wildly used as a host to suppress dendrite growth to stabilize the lithium metal anode. However, the high overpotential of lithium deposition on pure graphene has to be lowered by doping or employing precious metals. Additionally, the soft nature of graphene rendered itself to aggregate, consequently squeezing room for lithium accommodation.

Prolonging the Cycle Life of a Lithium-Air Battery by Alleviating Electrolyte Degradation with a Ceramic-Carbon Composite Cathode.

Carbon materials with a high specific surface area are usually preferred to construct the air cathode of lithium-air batteries due to their abundant sites for oxygen reduction and discharge product growth. However, the high surface area also amplifies electrolyte degradation during charging, which would become the threshold of cyclability after addressing the issue of electrode passivation and pore clogging, but is usually overlooked in relevant research. Herein, it is proven that the critical influence of cathode surface area on electrolyte consumption by adopting carbon-ceramic composites to reduce the surface area of the air cathode.

Efficient removal of lead and copper ions from water by enhanced strength-toughness alginate composite fibers.

In this study, we designed and synthesized an enhanced strength-toughness alginate composite fiber by using graphene oxide as reinforcing filler for removing heavy metal ions from water media. The as-prepared alginate composite fiber exhibits high affinity to Pb ion, and the maximum adsorption capacity for Pb reached 386.2 mg/g, which is higher than the reported Pb-sorbent.

Efficient Removal of Lead, Copper and Cadmium Ions from Water by a Porous Calcium Alginate/Graphene Oxide Composite Aerogel.

In this study, we fabricated a porous calcium alginate/graphene oxide composite aerogel by using polystyrene colloidal particles as sacrificial template and graphene oxide as a reinforcing filler. Owing to the excellent metal chelation ability of calcium alginate and controlled nanosized pore structure, the as-prepared calcium alginate/graphene oxide composite aerogel (mp-CA/GO) can reach the adsorption equilibrium in 40 min, and the maximum adsorption capacity for Pb, Cu and Cd is 368.2, 98.