Solvent Co-Intercalation Reactions for Batteries and Beyond.

Solvent co-intercalation is a process in which ions and solvents jointly intercalate into a layered electrode material during battery charging/discharging. It typically leads to rapid electrode degradation, but new findings show that it can be highly reversible, lasting several thousand cycles. Solvent co-intercalation has two important characteristics: (1) the charge transfer resistance is minimized as stripping of the solvation shell is eliminated and (2) the fact that solvents become part of the electrode reaction provides another means of designing electrode materials.

Carbon Nanocluster-Mediated Nanoblending Assembly for Binder-Free Energy Storage Electrodes with High Capacities and Enhanced Charge Transfer Kinetics.

The effective spatial distribution and arrangement of electrochemically active and conductive components within metal oxide nanoparticle (MO NP)-based electrodes significantly impact their energy storage performance. Unfortunately, conventional electrode preparation processes have much difficulty addressing this issue. Herein, this work demonstrates that a unique nanoblending assembly based on favorable and direct interfacial interactions between high-energy MO NPs and interface-modified carbon nanoclusters (CNs) notably enhances the capacities and charge transfer kinetics of binder-free electrodes in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs).