Publications by authors named "Zhen-Yi Gu"

Zn-Mn aqueous batteries (ZMABs) are widely recognized as a promising candidate for large-scale energy storage due to their cost-effectiveness, high safety and environmental friendliness. However, the practical application of ZMABs is hindered by inherent electrical contact loss, hydrogen evolution and dendrite growth on traditional anodes. Here, a three-tiered golf anode with high conductivity is developed to simultaneously enhance the reversibility of Zn and Mn metals.

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Metal phosphide anode materials encounter poor reversibility of the discharge product (metal and NaP) and large volume variation, resulting in low initial Coulombic efficiency (ICE) and severe capacity degradation. Herein, a bimetallic phosphide (CoMoP) with three-dimensional ordered porous (3DOP) nanoconstruction was fabricated, which presents a reduced Gibbs free energy change (Δ) of redox reaction between Co-Mo/NaP and CoMoP and improved conductivity compared to CoP and MoP. Additionally, the 3DOP architecture could disperse stress and reduce strain during cycling, thus improving structural stability of CoMoP.

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Article Synopsis
  • Sodium super-ionic conductor NaMnTi(PO) (NMTP) cathodes are promising due to their affordability and high voltages but suffer from voltage hysteresis caused by anti-site defects from manganese occupying sodium vacancies, leading to poor energy efficiency.
  • This study introduces a method involving partial replacement of titanium with vanadium to enhance electronic interactions that prevent manganese migration and decrease defect formation, ultimately improving energy efficiency.
  • The resultant Na-rich NaMnTiV(PO) (NMTVP) material exhibited impressive performance with a capacity of 182.7 mAh/g and energy output of 513.8 Wh/kg, representing a 35.5% increase in energy efficiency, providing new insights for developing better Na-ion battery
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2D compounds exfoliated from weakly bonded bulk materials with van der Waals (vdW) interaction are easily accessible. However, the strong internal ionic/covalent bonding of most inorganic crystal frameworks greatly hinders 2D material exfoliation. Herein, we first proposed a radical/strain-synergistic strategy to exfoliate non-vdW interacting pseudo-layered phosphate framework.

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Due to the rapid increase in the number of spent lithium-ion batteries, there has been a growing interest in the recovery of degraded graphite. In this work, a rapid thermal shock (RTS) strategy is proposed to regenerate spent graphite for use in lithium-ion batteries. The results of structural and morphological characterization demonstrate that the graphite is well regenerated by the RTS process.

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The unique electronic and crystal structures of rare earth metals (RE) offer promising opportunities for enhancing the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) properties of materials. In this work, a series of RE (Sm, Nd, Pr and Ho)-doped Rh@NSPC (NSPC stands for N, S co-doped porous carbon nanosheets) with sizes less than 2 nm are prepared, utilizing a simple, rapid and solvent-free joule-heat pyrolysis method for the first time. The optimized Sm-Rh@NSPC achieves HER performance.

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Expanded graphite (EG) stands out as a promising material for the negative electrode in potassium-ion batteries. However, its full potential is hindered by the limited diffusion pathway and storage sites for potassium ions, restricting the improvement of its electrochemical performance. To overcome this challenge, defect engineering emerges as a highly effective strategy to enhance the adsorption and reaction kinetics of potassium ions on electrode materials.

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NaMnTi(PO) (NMTP) emerges as a promising cathode material with high-performance for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). Nevertheless, its development has been limited by several challenges, including poor electronic conductivity, the Mn Jahn-Teller effect, and the presence of a Na/Mn cation mixture. To address these issues, we have developed a cation/anion-dual regulation strategy to activate the redox reactions involving manganese, thereby significantly enhancing the performance of NMTP.

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The stable phase transformation during electrochemical progress drives extensive research on vanadium-based polyanions in sodium-ion batteries (SIBs), especially NaV(PO) (NVP). And the electron transfer between V redox couple in NVP could be generally achieved, owing to the confined crystal variation during battery service. However, the more favorable V redox couple is still in hard-to-access situation due to the high barrier and further brings about the corresponding inefficiency in energy densities.

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All-weather operation is considered an ultimate pursuit of the practical development of sodium-ion batteries (SIBs), however, blocked by a lack of suitable electrolytes at present. Herein, by introducing synergistic manipulation mechanisms driven by phosphorus/silicon involvement, the compact electrode/electrolyte interphases are endowed with improved interfacial Na-ion transport kinetics and desirable structural/thermal stability. Therefore, the modified carbonate-based electrolyte successfully enables all-weather adaptability for long-term operation over a wide temperature range.

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Article Synopsis
  • The research on energy storage is shifting towards next-generation aqueous batteries, with a focus on sustainability and performance, particularly aqueous Zn-I batteries, which are recognized for their cost-effectiveness and eco-friendly features.
  • However, their commercial use faces challenges due to the shuttle effect caused by polyiodides during operation.
  • A new Janus functional binder made from chitosan has been developed, significantly improving the battery's electrochemical performance and sustainability, achieving impressive capacity and efficiency while resolving issues like self-discharging.
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During multivalent ions insertion processes, intense electrostatic interaction between charge carriers and host makes the high-performance reversible Al storage remains an elusive target. On account of the strong electrostatic repulsion and poor robustness, Prussian Blue analogues (PBAs) suffer severely from the inevitable and large strain and phase change during reversible Al insertion. Herein, we demonstrate an entropy-driven strategy to realize ultralong life aqueous Al-ion batteries (AIBs) based on medium entropy PBAs (ME-PBAs) host.

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Since sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) have become increasingly commercialized in recent years, NaV(PO)OF (NVPOF) offers promising economic potential as a cathode for SIBs because of its high operating voltage and energy density. According to reports, NVPOF performs poorly in normal commercial poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) binder systems and performs best in combination with aqueous binder. Although in line with the concept of green and sustainable development for future electrode preparation, aqueous binders are challenging to achieve high active material loadings at the electrode level, and their relatively high surface tension tends to cause the active material on the electrode sheet to crack or even peel off from the collector.

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  • Highlighted challenges include poor electronic conductivity and significant volume changes during charging and discharging processes.
  • A new strategy involving the creation of a CuSe/Cu VSe biphasic heterostructure using MXene as a precursor significantly improves the anode's performance, providing excellent Na ion storage capacity (576.8 mAh/g at 0.1 A/g) and addressing issues with conductivity and lifespan.
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After application in electric vehicles, spent LiFePO (LFP) batteries are typically decommissioned. Traditional recycling methods face economic and environmental constraints. Therefore, direct regeneration has emerged as a promising alternative.

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Flexible quasi-solid-state sodium ion batteries featuring their low-cost, high safety and excellent mechanical strength have attracted widespread interest in the field of wearable electronic devices. However, the development of such batteries faces great challenges including the construction of interfacial compatible flexible electrode materials and addressing the high safety demands of electrolyte. Here selenium-vacancies regulated bimetallic selenide heterojunctions anchored on waste cotton cloth-derived flexible carbon cloth (FCC) with robust interfacial C-Se-Co/Fe chemical bonds as a flexible anode material (CCFSF) is proposed by ultrafast microwave pyrolysis method.

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Based on the favorable ionic conductivity and structural stability, sodium superionic conductor (NASICON) materials especially utilizing multivalent redox reaction of vanadium are one of the most promising cathodes in sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). To further boost their application in large-scale energy storage production, a rational strategy is to tailor vanadium with earth-abundant and cheap elements (such as Fe, Mn), reducing the cost and toxicity of vanadium-based NASICON materials. Here, the Na V Fe (PO ) (NVFP) is synthesized with highly conductive Ketjen Black (KB) by ball-milling assisted sol-gel method.

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With the rapid development of sodium-ion batteries (SIBs), it is urgent to exploit the cathode materials with good rate capability, attractive high energy density and considerable long cycle performance. NaV(PO)(NVP), as a NASICON-type electrode material, is one of the cathode materials with great potential for application because of its good thermal stability and stable. However, NVP has the inherent problem of low electronic conductivity, and various strategies are proposed to improve it, moreover, nanotechnology or nanostructure are involved in these strategies, the construction of nanostructured active particles and nanocomposites with conductive carbon networks have been shown to be effective in improving the electrical conductivity of NVP.

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Although graphite anodes operated with representative de/intercalation patterns at low potentials are considered highly desirable for K-ion batteries, the severe capacity fading caused by consecutive reduction reactions on the aggressively reactive surface is inevitable given the scarcity of effective protecting layers. Herein, by introducing a flame-retardant localized high-concentration electrolyte with retentive solvation configuration and relatively weakened anion-coordination and non-solvating fluorinated ether, the rational solid electrolyte interphase characterized by well-balanced inorganic/organic components is tailored in situ. This effectively prevented solvents from excessively decomposing and simultaneously improved the resistance against K-ion transport.

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In recent years, rechargeable aqueous zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) have shown extraordinary potential due to their safety, nontoxicity, sustainable zinc resources, and low price. However, the lack of suitable cathode materials hinders the development of ZIBs. Recently, layered phosphates have been widely used as cathode materials.

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All-solid-state hybrid-ion batteries exhibiting a synergistic Na/Li de/intercalation mechanism were designed and assembled, by using modified PEO-based solid polymer electrolyte, NaV(PO)OF cathode, and Li metal anode. The batteries exhibited a high average working voltage of 3.88 V, and an energy density of 432.

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In recent years, with the vigorous development and gradual deployment of new energy vehicles, more attention has been paid to the research on lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Compared with the booming LIBs, lithium primary batteries (LPBs) own superiority in specific energy and self-discharge rate and are usually applied in special fields such as medical implantation, aerospace, and military. Widespread application in special fields also means more stringent requirements for LPBs in terms of energy density, working temperature range and shelf life.

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