Multi-functional integrated design of a copper foam-based cathode for high-performance lithium-oxygen batteries.

Lithium-oxygen batteries (LOBs) with extraordinarily high energy density are some of the most captivating energy storage devices. Designing an efficient catalyst system that can minimize the energy barriers and address the oxidant intermediate and side-product issues is the major challenge regarding LOBs. Herein, we have developed a new type of integrated cathode of Cu foam-supported hierarchical nanowires decorated with highly catalytic Au nanoparticles which achieves a good combination of a gas diffusion electrode and a catalyst electrode, contributing to the synchronous multiphase transport of ions, oxygen, and electrons as well as improving the cathode reaction kinetics effectively.

In Situ Monitored (N, O)-Doping of Flexible Vertical Graphene Films with High-Flux Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition for Remarkable Metal-Free Redox Catalysis Essential to Alkaline Zinc-Air Batteries.

Rechargeable zinc-air batteries (ZABs) have attracted great interests for emerging energy applications. Nevertheless, one of the major bottlenecks lies in the fabrication of bifunctional catalysts with high electrochemical activity, high stability, low cost, and free of precious and rare metals. Herein, a high-performance metal-free bifunctional catalyst is synthesized in a single step by regulating radicals within the recently invented high-flux plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (HPECVD) system equipped with in situ plasma diagnostics.

Theoretical formulation of LiNX (X = halogen) as a potential artificial solid electrolyte interphase (ASEI) to protect the Li anode.

A major problem against the realization of high energy density and safe solid Li-ion batteries lies in detrimental reactions at the interface between the lithium anode and the solid electrolytes. This makes it necessary to develop an artificial solid electrolyte interphase (ASEI) as an effective protective coating to the lithium anode, which is the "Holy Grail" to enable high energy density batteries owing to its extremely high capacity. Here in this work, we carried out high-throughput first-principles modelling in the framework of materials genome engineering to identify potential ASEIs based on lithium nitric halides Li3a+bNaXb (X: halogen F, Cl, Br, I).