Roles of the Polymer Backbone for Sulfurized Polyacrylonitrile Cathodes in Rechargeable Lithium Batteries.

Sulfurized polyacrylonitrile (SPAN) has emerged as a highly promising cathode material for next-generation lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries primarily due to its non-polysulfide dissolution and excellent cycle stability. Nevertheless, the specific roles and impacts of the pyrolyzed polyacrylonitrile, which constitutes the polymer backbone of SPAN, remain inadequately understood. In this study, comprehensive investigations from multiple aspects, including electrochemistry, spectroscopy, electron microscopy, and theoretical calculations, were conducted on a series of SPAN materials with various sulfur contents.

Construction of Ordered and Fast Lithium Ion Channels in Gel Electrolytes for Li-SPAN Batteries.

As one of the most promising battery systems, the lithium sulfur battery is expected to be widely used in fields of high energy density demands. Owing to the unique solid-solid conversion mechanism, there is no shuttle effect for the Li-SPAN (sulfurized polyacrylonitrile) battery. However, the compatibility between Li anode and carbonate electrolyte has not been resolved, which prevents the SPAN from practical applications.

Interphase Engineering via Solvent Molecule Chemistry for Stable Lithium Metal Batteries.

Lithium metal battery has been regarded as promising next-generation battery system aiming for higher energy density. However, the lithium metal anode suffers severe side-reaction and dendrite issues. Its electrochemical performance is significantly dependant on the electrolyte components and solvation structure.

BiMoO Embedded in 3D Porous N,O-Doped Carbon Nanosheets for Photocatalytic CO Reduction.

Artificial photosynthesis is promising to convert solar energy and CO into valuable chemicals, and to alleviate the problems of the greenhouse effect and the climate change crisis. Here, we fabricated a novel photocatalyst by directly growing BiMoO nanosheets on three-dimensional (3D) N,O-doped carbon (NO-C). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) show that the designed photocatalyst ensured the close contact between BiMoO and NO-C, and reduced the stacking of the NO-C layers to provide abundant channels for the diffusion of CO, while NO-C can allow for fast electron transfer.

Hydrofluoroether Diluted Dual-Salts-Based Electrolytes for Lithium-Sulfur Batteries with Enhanced Lithium Anode Protection.

With a high energy density, lithium-sulfur batteries (LSB) are regarded as one of the promising next-generation energy storage systems. However, many challenges hinder the practical applications of LSB, such as the dendrite formations/parasitic reactions on the Li metal anode and the "shuttle effect" of lithium polysulfides of the LSB cathode. Herein, a novel diluted medium-concentrated electrolyte (DMCE) is developed by adding 1,1,2,2-tetrafluoroethyl 2,2,3,3-tetrafluoropropyl ether (TTE) into a dual salt medium-concentrated electrolyte (MCE) consisting of lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI)-lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (LiFSI)/tetrahydrofuran (THF)-dipropyl ether (DPE).