N-doped engineering of a high-voltage LiNiMnO cathode with superior cycling capability for wide temperature lithium-ion batteries.

Spinel LiNiMnO (LNMO) is one potential cathode candidate for next-generation high energy-density lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, serious capacity decay from its poor structural stability, especially at high operating temperatures, shadows its application prospects. In this work, N-doped LNMO (LNMON) was synthesized by a facile co-precipitation method and multistep calcination, exhibiting a unique yolk-shell architecture.

Fe nanopowder-assisted fabrication of FeO/porous carbon for boosting potassium-ion storage performance.

The electrode materials of potassium ion storage system have attracted considerable attention given the promising prospect of a potassium ion system in large-scale electrochemical energy storage applications. Despite the excellent anode performance of metal oxides in Li and Na batteries, the study on their K storage performance is still rarely reported. In this study, we report a safe and low-cost strategy to prepare FeO/N-doped carbons by using NaHCO and Fe nanopowder.

Fatigue-Resistant, Notch-Insensitive Zwitterionic Polymer Hydrogels with High Self-Healing Ability.

Introducing self-healing properties into hydrogels can prolong their application lifetime. However, achieving mechanical strength without sacrificing self-healing properties is still a major challenge. We prepared a series of zwitterionic polymer hydrogels by random copolymerization of zwitterionic ionic monomer (SBMA), cationic monomer (DAC) and hydrophilic monomer (HEMA).

Template-assisted loading of FeO nanoparticles inside hollow carbon "rooms" to achieve high volumetric lithium storage.

The design of electrodes with simultaneously high compaction density, developed porosity, and structural stability has always been a challenge so as to meet the demand of high volumetric performance lithium ion storage devices. In this paper, we demonstrate a new compositing method for hollow carbon "room" loading of FeO nanoparticles (HCR@FeO) with the assistance of NaCO salt crystal templates. The as-obtained HCR@FeO composites have a massive compaction density (1.

Rigid-Flexible Coupling Carbon Skeleton and Potassium-Carbonate-Dominated Solid Electrolyte Interface Achieving Superior Potassium-Ion Storage.

Potassium-ion energy-storage devices are highly attractive in the large-scale energy storage field, but the intercalation of large K ions greatly worsens the stability of electrode structures and solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) films, causing slow reaction dynamics and poor durability. In this Article, inspired by bubble wraps in our life, a bubble-wrap-like carbon sheet (BPCS) with a rigid-flexible coupling porous architecture is fabricated on the microscale, exhibiting strong structural stability and good accommodation for volume expansion. In the meantime, a KCO·1.

Cable-like heterogeneous porous carbon fibers with ultrahigh-rate capability and long cycle life for fast charging lithium-ion storage devices.

In this paper, we propose a space-confined foaming approach to fabricate cable-like heterogeneous porous carbon fibers (Si-CPCFs) containing an inner graphitized carbon "conductor" and an outer Si-doping amorphous carbon "shield". Benefiting from the fast Li intercalation and high conductivity of the "inner conductor", and the rich pseudocapacitance of the "outer shield", the Si-CPCFs exhibit an ultrahigh-rate capability and cycling performance, leading to a high capacity of 132 mA h g even at an ultra-high current density of 100 A g after 10 000 cycles. The assembled lithium ion hybrid supercapacitors (LIHCs) also deliver a superior energy density of 50 W h kg at an ultra-high power density of 113 kW kg, really achieving both a high energy density and power density of LIHCs.

Bioinspired Mineralization under Freezing Conditions: An Approach to Fabricate Porous Carbons with Complicated Architecture and Superior K Storage Performance.

Bioinspired mineralization is a powerful method for designing and preparing nanomaterials. In this work, we developed a bioinspired mineralization approach under freezing conditions and fabricated methyl cellulose (MC)/NaHCO flake precursors with a sophisticated hierarchical structure. Based on this, amazing wing-like porous carbon sheets (WPCSs) assembled by numerous interconnected hollow carbon bubbles were obtained after carbonization and removal of inorganic crystals, which are seldom obtained by other artificial methods.

Recent Achievements of Self-Healing Graphene/Polymer Composites.

Self-healing materials have attracted much attention because that they possess the ability to increase the lifetime of materials and reduce the total cost of systems during the process of long-term use; incorporation of functional material enlarges their applications. Graphene, as a promising additive, has received great attention due to its large specific surface area, ultrahigh conductivity, strong antioxidant characteristics, thermal stability, high thermal conductivity, and good mechanical properties. In this brief review, graphene-containing polymer composites with self-healing properties are summarized including their preparations, self-healing conditions, properties, and applications.