Cathode

Current Li-ion battery (LIB) recycling methods exhibit the disadvantages of low metal recovery efficiencies and high levels of pollution and energy consumption. Here, products generated via the in-situ catalytic pyrolysis of bamboo sawdust (BS) were utilized to regulate the crystal phase and nanoscale size of the NCM cathode to enhance the selective Li extraction and leaching efficiencies of other valuable metals from spent LIBs. The catalytic effect of the NCM cathode significantly promoted the release of gases from BS pyrolysis...

The ever-growing requirement for electrochemical energy storage has exacerbated the production of spent batteries, and the recycling of valuable battery components has recently received a remarkable attention. Among all battery components, copper foil is widely utilized as a current collector for stable zinc platting and stripping in zinc metal batteries (ZMBs) due to the perfect lattice matching of between metal copper and zinc, which is accompanied by the formation of multiple copper-zinc alloy components during the cycling process...

Traditionally, alkaline water electrolysis (AWE) uses diaphragms to separate anode and cathode and is operated with 5-7 M KOH feed solutions. The ban of asbestos diaphragms led to the development of polymeric diaphragms, which are now the state of the art material. A promising alternative is the ion solvating membrane. Recent developments show that high conductivities can also be obtained in 1 M KOH. A third technology is based on anion exchange membranes (AEM); because these systems use 0-1 M KOH feed solutions to balance the trade-off between conductivity and the AEM's lifetime in alkaline environment, it makes sense to treat them separately as AEM WE...

Porous carbons have shown their potential in sodium-ion batteries (SIBs), but the undesirable initial Coulombic efficiency (ICE) and rate capability hinder their practical application. Herein, learning from nature, we report an efficient method for fabricating a carbon framework (CK) with delicate porous structural regulation by biomimetic mineralization-assisted self-activation. The abundant pores and defects of the CK anode can improve the ICE and rate performance of SIBs in ether-based electrolytes, whereas they are confined in carbonate ester-based electrolytes...

Zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) are promising candidates for safe energy storage applications. However, undesirable parasitic reactions such as dendrite growth, gas evaluation, anode corrosion, and structural damage to the cathode under an acidic microenvironment severely affected cell performance. To resolve these issues, an MXene entrapped in an ionic liquid semi-solid gel polymer electrolyte (GPE) composite was explored. The molecular-level mixing of poly(vinylidene fluoride- co -hexafluoropropylene) (PVHF), zinc trifluoromethanesulfonate (Zn(OTF)2 ), 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (EMIBF4 ) ionic liquid, and Ti3 C2 T x MXene provided a controlled Zn2+ shuttle toward the anode/cathode...

The membrane electrode assembly (MEA) is the core component of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), which is the place where the reaction occurrence, the multiphase material transfer and the energy conversion, and the development of MEA with high activity and long stability are crucial for the practical application of PEMFCs. Currently, efforts are devoted to developing the regulation of MEA nanostructure engineering, which is believed to have advantages in improving catalyst utilization, maximizing three-phase boundaries, enhancing mass transport, and improving operational stability...

Metal-air batteries are an emerging technology with great potential to satisfy the demand for energy in high-consumption applications. However, this technology is still in an early stage, facing significant challenges such as a low cycle life that currently limits its practical use. Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) conducting polymer has already demonstrated its efficiency as catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) discharge as an alternative to traditional expensive and nonsustainable metal catalysts...

An ultrahigh-performance magnesium/sodium hybrid-ion battery (MNHB) is developed using ternary CoSe/NiSe2 /CuSe2 (CNCS) "micro-flowers" as cathode materials, working with a coordinative [Mg2 Cl2 ][AlCl4 ]2 and bis(trifluoroethylsulfonyl)imide anionic sodium salt in triglyme electrolyte. After 2000 cycles at 2.0 A g-1 , the MNHB shows a stable capacity of 115.5 mA h g-1 and a high Coulombic efficiency exceeding 99.8%. The battery shows very rapid charging, and good stability in extreme environments, providing new opportunities to develop other hybrid-ion systems...

Tavorite LiFeSO4 F with high Li-ion conductivity has been considered a promising alternative to LiFePO4 . However, its poor cycle stability and low electronic conductivity limit the practical application of Tavorite LiFeSO4 F. In the present study, we employ a solvothermal method to produce magnesium-substitution LiMg x Fe1- x SO4 F ( x = 0, 0.02, 0.04) cathode materials in which the Mg substitutes the Fe(2) sites. The first-principles calculations demonstrate that Mg-substitution could reduce the bandgap of LiFeSO4 F and increase its electronic conductivity to 2...

Solid-state lithium metal batteries (SSLMBs) show great promise in terms of high-energy-density and high-safety performance. However, there is an urgent need to address the compatibility of electrolytes with high-voltage cathodes/Li anodes, and to minimize the electrolyte thickness to achieve high-energy-density of SSLMBs. Herein, we develop an ultrathin (12.6 µm) asymmetric composite solid-state electrolyte with ultralight areal density (1.69 mg cm-2 ) for SSLMBs. The electrolyte combining a garnet (LLZO) layer and a metal organic framework (MOF) layer, which are fabricated on both sides of the polyethylene (PE) separator separately by tape casting...

2D conjugated metal-organic frameworks (2D c-MOFs) with large pore sizes and high surface areas are advantageous for adsorbing iodine species to enhance the electrochemical performance of aqueous dual-ion batteries (ADIBs). However, most of the reported 2D c-MOFs feature microporous structures, with few examples exhibiting mesoporous characteristics. Herein, we developed two mesoporous 2D c-MOFs, namely PA-TAPA-Cu-MOF and PA-PyTTA-Cu-MOF, using newly designed arylimide based multitopic catechol ligands (6OH-PA-TAPA and 8OH-PA-PyTTA)...

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries with a high theoretical energy density of 2600 Wh·kg-1 are hindered by challenges such as low S conductivity, the polysulfide shuttle effect, low S reduction conversion rate, and sluggish Li2 S oxidation kinetics. Herein, single-atom non-noble metal catalysts (SACs) loaded on two-dimensional (2D) vanadium disulfide (VS2 ) as the potential host materials for the cathode in Li-S batteries were investigated systematically by using first-principles calculations. Based on the comparisons of structural stability, the ability to immobilize sulfur, electrochemical reactivity, and the kinetics of Li2 S oxidation decomposition between these non-noble metal catalysts and noble metal candidates, Nb@VS2 and Ta@VS2 were identified as the potential candidates of SACs with the decomposition energy barriers for Li2 S of 0...

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) offer a significant advantage over other fuel cells in terms of flexibility in the choice of fuel. Ammonia stands out as an excellent fuel choice for SOFCs due to its easy transportation and storage, carbon-free nature and mature synthesis technology. For direct-ammonia SOFCs (DA-SOFCs), the development of anode catalysts that have efficient catalytic activity for both NH3 decomposition and H2 oxidation reactions is of great significance. Herein, we develop a Mo-doped La0.6 Sr0...

Li-O2 batteries are considered a highly promising energy storage solution. However, their practical implementation is hindered by the sluggish kinetics of the oxygen reduction (ORR) and oxygen evolution (OER) reactions at cathodes during discharging and charging, respectively. In this work, we investigated the catalytic performance of Wn+1 Cn and Wn+1 Cn O2 MXenes (n = 1, 2, and 3) as cathodes for Li-O2 batteries using first principles calculations. Both Wn+1 Cn and Wn+1 Cn O2 MXenes show high conductivity, and their conductivity is further enhanced with increasing atomic layers, as reflected by the elevated density of states at the Fermi level...

Lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs) are recognized as among the best potential alternative battery systems to lithium-ion batteries and have been widely investigated. However, the shuttle effect has severely restricted the advancement in their practical applications. Here, we prepare vanadium nitride (VN) nanoparticles grown in situ on a nitrogen-doped carbon skeleton (denoted as VN@NC) derived from the MAX phase and use it as separator modification materials for LSBs to suppress the shuttle effect and optimize electrochemical performance...

Investigating the oxygen transport law within the Membrane Electrode Assembly at intermediate temperatures (80-120 °C) is crucial for enhancing fuel cell efficiency. This study analyzed the resistance to oxygen transport within the Membrane Electrode Assembly at intermediate temperatures using limiting current density and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The study findings reveal that, as temperature progressively increases, the Ostwald ripening effect leads to a 34% rise in the local oxygen transport resistance (Rlocal ) in relation to the pressure-independent resistance (Rnp ) within the cathode catalytic layer...

Silicon (Si) and silicon/graphite (Si/Gr) composite anodes are promising candidates due to their high theoretical capacity, low operating potential and natural abundance for high energy density Li-ion batteries. Green electrode production, eliminating organic volatile solvents require advancement of aqueous electrodes. Engineering the binder plays a critical role for improving waterborne electrodes. Lithium substituted polyacrylic acid LiPAA has been demonstrated as a promising binder for Si/Gr anodes and for Ni-rich cathodes in different cell configurations...

Vanadium-based oxides are considered potential cathode materials for aqueous zinc ion batteries (AZIBs) due to their distinctive layered (or tunnel) structure suitable for zinc ion storage. However, the structural instability and sluggish kinetics of vanadium-based oxides have limited their capacity and cycling stability for large-scale applications. To overcome these shortcomings, here a porous vanadium-based oxide doped with zinc ions and carbon with the molecular formula ZnV2 O4 @C (ZVO@C) as the cathode material is synthesized by the pyrolysis of a bimetallic MOF precursor containing Zn/V...

Prussian blue analogs (PBAs) are considered as one of the most potential electrode materials in capacitive deionization (CDI) due to their unique 3D framework structure. However, their practical applications suffer from low desalination capacity and poor cyclic stability. Here, an entropy engineering strategy is proposed that incorporates high-entropy (HE) concept into PBAs to address the unfavorable multistage phase transitions during CDI desalination. By introducing five or more metals, which share N coordination site, high-entropy hexacyanoferrate (HE-HCF) is constructed, thereby increasing the configurational entropy of the system to above 1...

Dendrite growth and other side-reaction problems of zinc anodes in aqueous zinc-ion batteries heavily affect their cycling lifespan and Coulombic efficiency, which can be effectively alleviated by the application of polymer-based functional protection layer on the anode. However, the utilization rate of functional groups is difficult to improve without destroying the polymer chain. Here, a simple and well-established strategy is proposed by controlling the orientation of functional groups (─SO3 H) to assist the optimization of zinc anodes...