Dendrite-free Zn anode enabled by combining carbon nanoparticles hydrophobic layer with crystal face reconstruction toward high-performance Zn-ion battery.

Aqueous zinc ion batteries (ZIBs) have been considered promising energy storage systems due to their excellent electrochemical performance, environmental toxicity, high safety and low cost. However, uncontrolled dendrite growth and side reactions at the zinc anode have seriously hindered the development of ZIBs. Herein, we prepared the carbon nanoparticles layer coated zinc anode with (103) crystal plane preferential oriented crystal structure (denoted as C@RZn) by a facile one-step vapor deposition method.

Hierarchically nanostructured ZnCS@Co(OH) for high-performance hybrid supercapacitor.

It is a great challenge to achieve both high specific capacity and high energy density of supercapacitors by designing and constructing hybrid electrode materials through a simple but effective process. In this paper, we proposed a hierarchically nanostructured hybrid material combining ZnCoS (ZCS) nanoparticles and Co(OH) (CH) nanosheets using a two-step hydrothermal synthesis strategy. Synergistic effects between ZCS nanoparticles and CH nanosheets result in efficient ion transports during the charge-discharge process, thus achieving a good electrochemical performance of the supercapacitor.

MnCoO/NiS nanocomposite for hybrid supercapacitor with superior energy density and long-term cycling stability.

MnCoO is regarded as a good electrode material for supercapacitor due to its high specific capacity and good structural stability. However, its poor electrical conductivity limits its wide-range applications. To solve this issue, we integrated the MnCoO with NiS, which has a good electrical conductivity, and synthesized a MnCoO/NiS nanocomposite using a two-step hydrothermal process.