An Amphiphilic Molecule Induced Anion-Enrichment Interface for Next-Generation Lithium Metal Batteries.

The electrolyte engineering enables the fabrication of robust electrode/electrolyte interphase with excellent electrochemical stability for reliable lithium (Li) metal batteries (LMBs). Herein, an amphiphilic molecule nonafluoro-1-butanesulfonate (NFSA) is employed in electrolytes to realize anion-enrichment interfacial design. The functions of such an amphiphilic molecule in the electrolyte and anode/electrolyte interphases of LMBs are elucidated via theoretical and experimental analyses.

Structure and Charge Regulation Strategy Enabling Superior Cycling Stability of Ni-Rich Cathode Materials.

Ni-rich layered oxides LiNiCoMnO (NCMs, > 0.8) are the most promising cathode candidates for Li-ion batteries because of their superior specific capacity and cost affordability. Unfortunately, NCMs suffer from a series of formidable challenges such as structural instability and incompatibility with commonly used electrolytes, which seriously hamper their practical applications on a large scale.

Adjusting the 3d Orbital Occupation of Ti in Ti C MXene via Nitrogen Doping to Boost Oxygen Electrode Reactions in Li-O Battery.

Rationally designing efficient catalysts is the key to promote the kinetics of oxygen electrode reactions in lithium-oxygen (Li-O ) battery. Herein, nitrogen-doped Ti C MXene prepared via hydrothermal method (N-Ti C (H)) is studied as the efficient Li-O battery catalyst. The nitrogen doping increases the disorder degree of N-Ti C (H) and provides abundant active sites, which is conducive to the uniform formation and decomposition of discharge product Li O .

A multifunctional protective layer with biomimetic ionic channel suppressing dendrite and side reactions on zinc metal anodes.

A multifunctional graphitic carbon nitride (GCN) protective layer with bionic ion channels and high stability is prepared to inhibit dendrite growth and side reactions on zinc (Zn) metal anodes. The high electronegativity of the nitrogen-containing organic groups (NOGs) in the GCN layer can effectively promote the dissociation of solvated Zn and its rapid transportation in bionic ion channels via a hopping mechanism. In addition, this GCN layer exhibits excellent mechanical strength to suppress the growth of Zn dendrites and the volume expansion of Zn metal anodes during the plating process.

Synergy of cobalt vacancies and iron doping in cobalt selenide to promote oxygen electrode reactions in lithium-oxygen batteries.

Electronic structural engineering plays a key role in the design of high-efficiency catalysts. Here, to achieve optimal electronic states, introduction of exotic Fe dopant and Co vacancy into CoSe nanosheet (denoted as Fe-CoSe-V) is presented. The obtained Fe-CoSe-V demonstrates excellent catalytic activity as compared to CoSe.

Boosted Li transference number enabled interfacial engineering for dendrite-free lithium metal anodes.

Adverse dendritic growth destabilizes Li metal anodes (LMAs), dramatically limiting the commercial applications of Li metal batteries (LMBs). Herein, ZIF-67 with unsaturated coordinative metal sites is used to construct a protective coating to immobilize anions, which is capable of increasing the Li transference number () to mitigate the electrolyte concentration gradient in the vicinity of LMAs. In addition, the ZIF-67-based layer provides highly ordered ionic diffusion pathways, thus enabling dendrite-free Li deposition.

Rationalizing Surface Electronic Configuration of Ni-Fe LDO by Introducing Cationic Nickel Vacancies as Highly Efficient Electrocatalysts for Lithium-Oxygen Batteries.

Cationic defect engineering is an effective strategy to optimize the electronic structure of active sites and boost the oxygen electrode reactions in lithium-oxygen batteries (LOBs). Herein, Ni-Fe layered double oxides enriched with cationic nickel vacancies (Ni-Fe LDO-V ) are first designed and studied as the electrocatalysts for LOBs. Based on the density functional theory calculation, the existence of nickel vacancy in Ni-Fe LDO-V significantly improves its intrinsic affinity toward intermediates, thereby fundamentally optimizing the formation and decomposition pathway of Li O .

Adjusting the Covalency of Metal-Oxygen Bonds in LaCoO by Sr and Fe Cation Codoping to Achieve Highly Efficient Electrocatalysts for Aprotic Lithium-Oxygen Batteries.

Developing high-efficiency dual-functional catalysts to promote oxygen electrode reactions is critical for achieving high-performance aprotic lithium-oxygen (Li-O) batteries. Herein, Sr and Fe cation-codoped LaCoO perovskite (LaSrCoFeO, LSCFO) porous nanoparticles are fabricated as promising electrocatalysts for Li-O cells. The results demonstrate that the LSCFO-based Li-O batteries exhibit an extremely low overpotential of 0.

Surface atomic modulation of CoP bifunctional catalyst for high performance Li-O battery enabled by high-index (211) facets.

The rational design of the surface structure and morphology characteristics of the catalyst at atomic level are the key to improve the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in lithium-oxygen (Li-O) battery. Here a series of cobalt phosphide (CoP) electrocatalysts with a variety of index facets are successfully prepared including concave polyhedrons CoP exposing with (211) crystal planes (CoP CPHs) spherical nanoparticles CoP exposed with (011) crystal planes and polyhedron particles CoP exposing with (011) and (111) crystal planes. The results show that CoP CPHs based Li-O battery presents a large discharge capacity of 33743 mA h g at current density of 50 mA g and a remarkable long cycle life of up to 950 h.

A 3D free-standing Co doped NiP nanowire oxygen electrode for stable and long-life lithium-oxygen batteries.

Exploring oxygen electrodes with superior bifunctional catalytic activity and suitable architecture is an effective strategy to improve the performance of lithium-oxygen (Li-O) batteries. Herein, the internal electronic structure of NiP is regulated by heteroatom Co doping to improve its catalytic activity for oxygen redox reactions. Meanwhile, magnetron sputtering N-doped carbon cloth (N-CC) is used as a scaffold to enhance the electrical conductivity.

Configuration of gradient-porous ultrathin FeCoS nanosheets vertically aligned on Ni foam as a noncarbonaceous freestanding oxygen electrode for lithium-oxygen batteries.

The degradation of oxygen electrodes caused by oxygen species in lithium-oxygen (Li-O2) batteries deteriorates their energy efficiency and cyclability and seriously hinders their commercial application. To achieve high energy efficiency and long-term cycle life, gradient-porous ultrathin FeCo2S4 nanosheets on Ni foam (FeCo2S4@Ni) were deliberately designed as a noncarbonaceous freestanding oxygen electrode for Li-O2 batteries. Notably, the gradient-porous structure in FeCo2S4@Ni can offer sufficient active sites as well as mitigate polarization caused by the mass transfer during discharge and charge.

In Situ Fabricating Oxygen Vacancy-Rich TiO Nanoparticles via Utilizing Thermodynamically Metastable Ti Atoms on TiCTx MXene Nanosheet Surface To Boost Electrocatalytic Activity for High-Performance Li-O Batteries.

Catalysts with high performance are urgently needed in order to accelerate the reaction kinetics of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in lithium-oxygen (Li-O) batteries. Herein, utilizing thermodynamically metastable Ti atoms on the TiCTx MXene nanosheet surface as the nucleation site, oxygen vacancy-rich TiO nanoparticles were in situ fabricated on TiCTx nanosheets (V-TiO/TiCTx) and used as the oxygen electrode of Li-O batteries. Oxygen vacancy (Vo) can boost the migration rate of electrons and Li as well as act as the active sites for catalyzing the ORR and OER.

Heteroatom-Induced Electronic Structure Modulation of Vertically Oriented Oxygen Vacancy-Rich NiFe Layered Double Oxide Nanoflakes To Boost Bifunctional Catalytic Activity in Li-O Battery.

NiFe-based transition metal oxide (NiFe-TMO) has been identified as an effective electrocatalyst for lithium-oxygen (Li-O) batteries due to its superior catalytic activity for oxygen evolution reaction. Improving the bifunctional catalytic ability of NiFe-TMO is essential for the further performance improvement of Li-O batteries. Herein, we regulated the electronic structure of free-standing NiFe LDO nanosheets array via introducing foreign Co ion to improve its bifunctional catalytic activity in Li-O batteries.