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Lithium anodes suffer from severe safety problems in liquid electrolyte systems that result from an unstable Li plating/stripping process and Li dendrite growth, leading to rapid degradation of Li metal batteries. A polyethylene (PE)-supported gel polymer electrolyte (GPE) with excellent electrolyte uptake/retention capability was simply prepared in this paper by the construction of cross-linked polymer networks (PNs) on the surface of a poly(ethylenimine)-primed PE separator to stabilize the lithium anode. The highly delocalized negative charge of p-styrene sulfonate groups on PNs plays a role in regulating the Li + and anion transport, giving rise to a high Li + transference number. This GPE extended the electrochemical stability to 4.8 V and improved the stability of interface between the electrolyte and lithium metal anode (reduced overpotential and suppressed lithium dendrites) during storage and repeated lithium plating/stripping cycling. The Li metal anode-based battery employing this GPE exhibits excellent cycling stability and C-rate capability.

The transmittance and conductivity of fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) conductive glasses are the critical factors limiting the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Here, the transmittance and conductivity of commercial FTO glasses were improved via a colloid-solution deposition planarization (CSDP) process. The process includes two steps. First, the FTO nanocrystal colloid was deposited on the FTO glasses by spin-coating. Secondly, the coated glasses were treated by FTO precursor solution. Compared to the bare FTO glasses, the modified FTO glasses by the CSDP process achieved 4% increase in transmittance (at 550 nm) and 11% decrease in sheet resistance, respectively. In addition, the modified FTO glasses can reduce the aggregation of Pt nanoparticles and improve the electrocatalytic activity of Pt counter electrodes. When the modified FTO glasses were used to assemble DSSCs, the cells got a photoelectric conversion efficiency as high as 9.37%. In contrast, the efficiency of reference cells using bare FTO substrates was about 8.24%.

The composite of tungsten-doped SnO 2 and reduced graphene oxide was synthesized through a simple one-pot hydrothermal method. According to the structural characterization of the composite, tungsten ions were doped in the unit cells of tin dioxide rather than simply attaching to the surface. Tungsten-doped SnO 2 was in situ grown on the surface of graphene sheet to form a three-dimensional conductive network that enhanced the electron transportation and lithium-ion diffusion effectively. The issues of SnO 2 agglomeration and volume expansion could be also avoided because the tungsten-doped SnO 2 nanoparticles were homogeneously distributed on a graphene sheet. As a result, the nanocomposite electrodes of tungsten-doped SnO 2 and reduced graphene oxide exhibited an excellent long-term cycling performance. The residual capacity was still as high as 1100 mA h g -1 at 0.1 A g -1 after 100 cycles. It still remained at 776 mA h g -1 after 2000 cycles at the current density of 1A g -1 .

Charge recombination and transfer at the TiO 2 /dye/electrolyte interface play a crucial role in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Here, a fine-controlled gold nanoparticle (Au NP) via electrodeposition incorporated into a porous TiO 2 photoanode and dodecanethiol molecules as an assembled monolayer capping on Au NPs was designed and prepared. The "fence-like" structure of gold thiol molecules at the TiO 2 /dye/electrolyte interface can not only insulate the electrolyte to suppress recombination but also make full use of the plasmon-enhanced light absorption of Au NPs. The photoanodes were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, UV-vis absorption, and Mott-Schottky analyses. Compared to pure TiO 2 , the DSSC with an interface "fence" structure achieved an efficiency (η) of 8.17%, increasing by 10.4%. The enhancement results are essentially attributed to the increase of the light-harvesting and electron collection properties, accompanying a slight promotion in the Fermi level. Furthermore, after dodecanethiol molecule treatment, the Au NPs with an intensified near-field effect also acted as electron sinks to store more electrons and exhibited a well electron-transport performance from electrochemical impedance spectroscopy analysis.

Tin oxide (SnO2) is a kind of anode material with high theoretical capacity. However, the volume expansion and fast capability fading during cycling have prevented its practical application in lithium ion batteries. Herein, we report that the nanocomposite of fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) and reduced graphene oxide (RGO) is an ideal anode material with high capacity, high rate capability, and high stability. The FTO conductive nanocrystals were successfully anchored on RGO nanosheets from an FTO nanocrystals colloid and RGO suspension by hydrothermal treatment. As the anode material, the FTO/RGO composite showed high structural stability during the lithiation and delithiation processes. The conductive FTO nanocrystals favor the formation of stable and thin solid electrolyte interface films. Significantly, the FTO/RGO composite retains a discharge capacity as high as 1439 mAhg(-1) after 200 cycles at a current density of 100 mAg(-1). Moreover, its rate capacity displays 1148 mAhg(-1) at a current density of 1000 mAg(-1).

A simple layer-by-layer (LbL) self-assembly process of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) and ZrO2 was applied to construct functional ultrathin multilayers on polyethylene (PE) separators without sacrificing the excellent porous structure of separators. Such PAA/ZrO2 LbL-modified PE separators possess good electrolyte wettability, excellent electrolyte uptake, high ionic conductivity and large Li(+) transference number. More importantly, the top layer of LbL self-assembly would affect the dissociation of electrolyte and the formation of solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer in half-cells. Compared with the pristine and (PAA/ZrO2)1PAA-modified PE separators, (PAA/ZrO2)3-modified PE separator shows a larger Li(+) transference number (0.6) and a faster tendency to form a stable SEI layer, endowing half-cells with excellent capacity retention at high C-rates and superior cycling performance. These fascinating characteristics will provide the LbL self-assembly with a promising method to improve the surface property of PE separators for high performance lithium-ion batteries.

A simple and environmentally friendly self-assembly process of oppositely charged polymer PEI and inorganic oxide SiO2 was demonstrated for the construction of an ultrathin layer on the surface of PE separator. The XPS, FT-IR, SEM, and EDS characterizations give clear evidence of the successful self-assembly of PEI and SiO2 without significantly increasing the thickness and sacrificing the pristine porous structure of PE separator. This process improves a variety of crucial properties of PE separator such as the electrolyte wetting, the electrolyte uptake, the thermal stability, the ionic conductivity, Li+ transference number, the electrochemical stability and the compatibility with lithium electrode, endowing lithium-ion battery (Li as anode and LiCoO2 as cathode) with excellent capacity retention at high C-rates and superior cycling performance. At the current density of 5 C, the cell with PE separator almost loses all the capacity. In contrast, the cell with (PEI/SiO2)-modified PE separator still holds 45.2% of the discharge capacity at 0.2 C. The stabilized SEI formation and high Li+ transference number of (PEI/SiO2)-modified PE separator were interpreted to be the substantial reasons leading to the remarkably enhanced battery performance, rendering some new insights into the role of the separator in lithium-ion batteries.

The Sn(4+)-doped TiO(2) nanocrystals with controlled crystalline phase and morphology had been successfully prepared through easily adjusting the solvent system from the peroxo-metal-complex precursor by solvothermal method. The Sn(4+)-doped TiO(2) nanocrystals were characterized by XRD, Raman, TEM, HRTEM, XPS, ICP-AES, BET, and UV-vis. The experimental results indicated that the Sn(4+)-doped TiO(2) nanocrystals prepared in the pure water or predominant water system trend to form rodlike rutile, whereas the cubic-shaped anatase Sn(4+)-doped TiO(2) nanocrystals can be obtained in the alcohol system. The growth mechanism and microstructure evolution of the Sn(4+)-doped TiO(2) nanocrystals prepared in the different solvent systems are discussed. The liquid-phase photocatalytic degradation of phenol was used as a model reaction to test the photocatalytic activity of the synthesized materials. It was found that sample Sn(4+)-doped TiO(2) prepared in 1-butanol showed the maximum photoactivity, which attributed to higher band gap, optimal crystalline phase and surface state modifications., (© 2011 American Chemical Society)