Stable selenium nickel-iron electrocatalyst for oxygen evolution reaction in alkaline and natural seawater.

The development of efficient and stable catalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in seawater presents a major challenge for hydrogen production through water electrolysis. In this work, we present a stable NiFe foam catalyst with a Se-doped Ni/Fe oxide surface prepared through a combination of chemical vapor deposition and electrochemical exfoliation. This method effectively modifies the surface of the commercial NiFe foam to a rough and stable Se-doped Ni/Fe oxide surface, displaying exceptional OER performance in both freshwater and seawater with more than 54 days stability in natural seawater.

Utilizing a Photocatalysis Process to Achieve a Cathode with Low Charging Overpotential and High Cycling Durability for a Li-O Battery.

The practical applications of non-aqueous lithium-oxygen batteries are impeded by large overpotentials and unsatisfactory cycling durability. Reported here is that commonly encountered fatal problems can be efficiently solved by using a carbon- and binder-free electrode of titanium coated with TiO nanotube arrays (TNAs) and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). Ultraviolet irradiation of the TNAs generates positively charged holes, which efficiently decompose Li O and Li CO during recharging, thereby reducing the overpotential to one that is near the equilibrium potential for Li O formation.

Free-Standing Crystalline@Amorphous Core-Shell Nanoarrays for Efficient Energy Storage.

Structures comprising high capacity active material are highly desirable in the development of advanced electrodes for energy storage devices. However, the structure degradation of such material still remains a challenge. The construction of amorphous and crystalline heterostructure appears to be a novel and effectual strategy to figure out the problem, owing to the distinct properties of the amorphous protective layer.

Stabilization of binder-free vanadium oxide-based oxygen electrodes using Pd clusters for Li-O batteries.

A binder-free electrode consisting of Pd clusters and vanadium oxide (VO) has been prepared via gas-phase-cluster beam deposition on carbon cloth. The Pd clusters largely improve the stability of the VO-Pd-based electrode, which can be reversibly and continuously cycled for more than 120 cycles in a Li-O2 based battery.

Hierarchical Ta-Doped TiO₂ Nanorod Arrays with Improved Charge Separation for Photoelectrochemical Water Oxidation under FTO Side Illumination.

TiO₂ is one of the most attractive semiconductors for use as a photoanode for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water oxidation. However, the large-scale application of TiO₂ photoanodes is restricted due to a short hole diffusion length and low electron mobility, which can be addressed by metal doping and surface decorating. In this paper we report the successful synthesis of hierarchical Ta doped TiO₂ nanorod arrays, with nanoparticles on the top (Ta:TiO₂), on F-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass by a hydrothermal method, and its application as photoanodes for photoelectrochemical water oxidation.

Ta-Doped porous TiO nanorod arrays by substrate-assisted synthesis: efficient photoelectrocatalysts for water oxidation.

Owing to its excellent chemical stability and low cost, titanium dioxide (TiO) has been widely studied as a photoanode for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. However, TiO's practical applications in solar energy-to-synthetic fuel conversion processes have been constrained by its inherently poor ability to transport photogenerated electrons and holes. In this paper, we report Ta-doped porous TiO nanorod arrays on Ta foil (Ta-PTNA) that do not possess this issue and that can thus efficiently photoelectrocatalyze water oxidation, helping the production of H (a clean fuel) from water at the expense of solar light.

Facile and scalable carbon- and binder-free electrode materials for ultra-stable and highly improved Li-O batteries.

A carbon- and binder-free Ti@Ru material is synthesized through a facile and controllable strategy. A Ti@Ru based Li-O battery can effectively avoid the subsidiary reactions, and can be reversibly and continuously cycled for more than 500 cycles with an efficiency ca. 100%, exhibiting an ultra-cycling stability.

Growth of Black Phosphorus Nanobelts and Microbelts.

Black phosphorus nanobelts are fabricated with a one-step solid-liquid-solid reaction method under ambient pressure, where red phosphorus is used as the precursor instead of white phosphorus. The thickness of the as-fabricated nanobelts ranges from micrometers to tens of nanometers as studied by scanning electron microscopy. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction indicate that the nanobelts have the composition and the structure of black phosphorus, transmission electron microscopy reveals a typical layered structure stacked along the b-axis, and scanning transmission electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis demonstrates the doping of bismuth into the black phosphorus structure.

Chestnut-Like TiO@α-FeO Core-Shell Nanostructures with Abundant Interfaces for Efficient and Ultralong Life Lithium-Ion Storage.

Transition metal oxides caused much attention owing to the scientific interests and potential applications in energy storage systems. In this study, a free-standing three-dimensional (3D) chestnut-like TiO@α-FeO core-shell nanostructure (TFN) is rationally synthesized and utilized as a carbon-free electrode for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Two new interfaces between anatase TiO and α-FeO are observed and supposed to provide synergistic effect.

Research on Effective Oxygen Window Influencing the Capacity of Li-O2 Batteries.

Li-O2 batteries have attracted extensive attention recently due to the extremely huge specific energy. Similar to research mode of Li-ion batteries, nowadays specific capacity based on the mass of cathode material is widely adopted to evaluate the electrochemical performance of Li-O2 batteries. However, the prerequisite of linear correlation between the delivered capacity and active mass is easily neglected.

Ordered mesoporous TiC-C composites as cathode materials for Li-O2 batteries.

Ordered mesoporous TiC-C (OMTC) composites were prepared and served as catalysts for nonaqueous Li-O2 batteries. The OMTC cathodes showed high specific capacity, low overpotential and good cyclability. Furthermore, the reaction mechanism of Li-O2 batteries during charge and discharge processes was investigated extensively by XRD, XPS and in situ GC-MS methods.

Binder-free carbonized bacterial cellulose-supported ruthenium nanoparticles for Li-O2 batteries.

Network structured carbonized bacterial cellulose-supported Ru nanoparticles (CBC/Ru), which provide sufficient space for Li2O2 deposition without a significant volume effect and improve the transport of oxygen and electrons, were used as the binder-free oxygen electrode in a Li-O2 battery. The CBC/Ru exhibited high activities and good stability during discharge-recharge processes.

Three-dimensional network films of electrospun copper oxide nanofibers for glucose determination.

Copper oxide nanofibers (CuO-NFs) prepared by electrospinning and subsequent thermal treatment processes were demonstrated for the first time for glucose non-enzymatic determination. The structures and morphologies of CuO-NFs were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction spectrum (XRD). Different dispersants were utilized for the suspension preparation and effects of ultrasonic time on the films electrode fabrication were investigated in detail.

Investigations on copper-titanate intercalation materials for amperometric sensor.

Copper-based titanate intercalation electrode materials (referred as Cu-TO) were achieved by electrochemical reduction of the intercalated cupric ions that were ion exchanged on the layer structured titanate films by using n-propylamine as an exfoliating agent. The copper-based titanate intercalation electrode materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), electrochemical techniques and inductive coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES). These copper-based titanate materials were exploited to fabricate the enzymeless glucose sensors, and their assay performances to glucose were evaluated by conventional electrochemical techniques.