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Abstract: Pure Ni and three Ni–Co alloys films, i.e. Ni–4wt.%Co, Ni–18wt.%Co, and Ni–40wt.%Co, are electrodeposited at room temperature from the choline chloride/ethylene glycol deep eutectic solvent dissolved by nickel or/and cobalt chlorides. Electrodeposition mechanism, microstructure, and corrosion properties of the films are investigated. Surface morphology and chemical composite of the films are significantly dependent on the Ni2+ and Co2+ concentrations in the electrolytes. Interestingly, it is found that the amount of cobalt in the Ni–Co alloy films is significantly lower than that present in the electrolytes, which indicates an absence of anomalous codeposition process for the non-aqueous electrolytes. However, anomalous codeposition of Ni–Co deposits is frequently observed for the aqueous electrolytes. The Ni–Co alloy films possess face-centered cubic structures and refined grains revealed by X-ray diffractometer and scanning electron microscope. Potentiodynamic polarization measurements show that the Ni film exhibits the noblest corrosion potential and the lowest corrosion current compared with the Ni–Co alloys films. Moreover, the more Co content the Ni–Co films have, the more negative corrosion potential and the higher corrosion current the films exhibit. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: All the Li metal anode-based batteries suffer from a high propensity to form Li dendrites. To prevent the formation of dendritic lithium on the electrodes, amorphous carbon coatings are deposited onto the surface of metallic lithium foil by magnetron sputtering technique. The electrochemical performances of the amorphous carbon-coated lithium (Li/C) electrodes are investigated by galvanostatic charge/discharge tests, cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The compact carbon coatings on the surface of lithium foil can suppress the growth of dendritic lithium during charge–discharge process. The thickness of amorphous carbon coating affects the electrode from two aspects; the thick coating can prevent the formation of dendritic lithium much efficiently, but lead to a large impedance of Li+ transfer. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A hierarchically porous NiO film on nickel foam substrate is prepared by a facile ammonia-evaporation method. The self-assembled film possesses a structure consisting of NiO triangular prisms and randomly porous NiO nanoflakes. The pseudocapacitive behaviors of the porous NiO film are investigated by cyclic voltammograms and galvanostatic charge–discharge tests in 1M KOH. The hierarchically porous NiO film exhibits a high discharge capacitance and excellent rate capability with 232Fg−1, 229Fg−1, 213Fg−1 and 200Fg−1 at 2, 4, 10, and 20Ag−1, respectively. The specific capacitance of 87% is maintained from 2Ag−1 to 20Ag−1. The porous NiO film also shows rather good cycling stability and exhibits a specific capacitance of 348Fg−1 after 4000 cycles. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]