Search

Aqueous zinc‐ion batteries (ZIBs) hold significant promise for large‐scale energy storage. While considerable strides have been made in modifying separators, the challenge of developing dendrite‐free, corrosion‐resistant, and cost‐effective separators for achieving extended cycling performance of Zn anodes persists. In light of this, a TiO2 coating separator to mitigate interfacial corrosion and passivation reactions, thereby facilitating high‐performance ZIBs is designed. This study delves into the influence of the loading amount and crystal phase of the TiO2 coating layers on separator modification. Zn symmetric cells employing the anatase TiO2‐modified glass fiber (A‐TiO2@GF) separator demonstrate superior Zn2+ ion transport kinetics in a mild ZnSO4 electrolyte, ensuring sustained long‐term stability and uniform Zn deposition. Furthermore, the reduced hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) activity of A‐TiO2 coatings curbs H+ ion migration, minimizing interfacial corrosion and HER. Consequently, the assembled Zn||CaV8O20 zinc‐ion full cells demonstrate outstanding long‐term durability and impressive specific capacity, boasting a discharge capacity of 142 mAh g−1 after 1000 cycles. This work introduces a straightforward interface engineering strategy for creating efficient separators in zinc‐ion batteries, promoting uniform Zn deposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aqueous Mg ion batteries (AMIBs) show great potential in energy storage for their advantages of high capacity, abundant resource, and environmental friendliness. However, the development of AMIBs is limited due to the scarcity of suitable anode materials. In this study, a new polymer anode material (PNTAQ) with flower‐like nanosheet structure is synthesized for aqueous Mg‐Na hybrid‐ion battery (AMNHIB). PNTAQ possess carbonyl functional groups which can be oxidized and reduced reversibly in aqueous solution containing alkaline metal ions. PNTAQ displays a discharge specific capacity of 245 mAh g−1 at 50 mA g−1 in 1 M MgCl2 + 0.5 M NaCl electrolyte, which is much higher than that in single 1 M MgCl2 or 0.5 M NaCl electrolyte. Even cycling at 1000 mA g−1 for 1000 times, the capacity retention can still maintain at 87.2%. A full Mg‐Na hybrid‐ion cell is assembled by employing β‐MnO2 as cathode and PNTAQ as anode material, it exhibits a specific capacity of 91.6 mAh g−1 at 100 mA g−1. The polymer electrode material well maintains its framework structure during the discharge/charge cycling process of the hybrid‐ion battery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To relieve the overwhelming pressure on fossil energy, aqueous magnesium ion batteries attracted tremendous attention owing to their low cost and high safety. However, the cathode materials are apt to occur lattice distortion because of the electrostatic interaction between magnesium ions and crystal. The 2×2 manganese octahedral molecular sieve with potassium ions and water located in the tunnels (K‐OMS‐2), utilized as a cathode material for chargeable magnesium ions batteries, is exposed to irreversible Mg2+ intercalation/deintercalation due to lattice distortion, which heavily damages the electrochemical properties and declines the capacity. Herein, we carry out an ion doping strategy to overcome the above issues, leading to an enhanced Mg Mg2+ storage behavior. The Nb or V cation is successfully doped into K‐OMS‐2 by a facile reflux method under room temperature. The specific surface area is enlarged by the addition of cations, which promise a large electrode‐electrolyte contact area. The Nb and V doped K‐OMS‐2 present a capacity of 252.6 and 265.9 mAh/g at 20 mA/g, respectively. This work demonstrates an ion doping approach toward exploiting the stable and high‐capacity Mg‐ion battery cathode and provides potential cathode materials for a large‐scale aqueous Mg‐ion‐based energy storage system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lithium metal anode is the most ideal candidate for next‐generation energy storage system. However, the uncontrolled dendrite growth, infinite volume expansion, and undesired side reactions lead to serious safety issues and hinder their potential application. Herein, a pre‐lithiation strategy is proposed to construct a high‐lithiophilic Cu‐Li2O matrix on commercial Cu foil. The in situ‐generated Li2O promises adequate nucleation sites and strengthens solid electrolyte interphase and lateral lithium deposition. Meanwhile, the existence of 3D matrix reduces the local current density. The synergy effect of Li2O and Cu suppresses the growth of lithium dendrites. As a result, Cu‐Li2O matrix reveals an enhanced lithium plating/stripping behavior with Coulombic efficiency of 98.46% after 270 cycles. The symmetrical cell assembled by Li‐plated electrodes displays a prolonged lifespan of 1400 h. The work demonstrates a scalable and effective approach for modified current collectors toward stable Li metal anode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a recently emerging group of 2D materials, MXene has attracted extensive attention in the energy storage field in recent years owing to their outstanding features. However, the notorious issues of inevitable oxidation stability and surface‐to‐surface self‐restacking for MXene significantly prevent its further wide‐ranging application. Herein, the 3D macroporous oxidation‐resistant Ti3C2Tx MXene/graphene/carbon nanotube (MRC) hybrid hydrogels are prepared by a simple gelation method assisted by l‐cysteine as crosslinker and l‐ascorbic acid (VC) as reductant. Benefitting from the effectively alleviated restacking, excellent electrical conductivity, and the 3D inter‐crosslinked macroporous architecture, as a supercapacitor electrode, the obtained MRC aerogel exhibits a superior specific capacitance of 349 F g−1, unparalleled rate capability (52.0% at 3000 mV s−1) and amazing cyclic stability (retention of 97.1% after 100 000 cycles). Moreover, the 3D MRC‐30 aerogel exhibits an impressive oxidation‐resistant performance with just a 9.3% increase in electrical resistance after storing in ambient condition for 60 days, effectively alleviating the oxidation problem of MXene. This work demonstrates a new method for construction of 3D oxidation‐resistant MXene hydrogel, shedding new light on the promising applications of MXene materials, especially in high humidity and oxygen environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

2D MXene materials have attracted intensive attention in energy storage application. However, MXene usually undergoes serious face‐to‐face restacking and inferior stability, significantly preventing its further commercial application. Herein, to suppress the oxidation and self‐restacking of MXene, an efficient and fast self‐assembly route to prepare a 3D porous oxidation‐resistant MXene/graphene (PMG) composite with the assistance of an in situ sacrificial metallic zinc template is demonstrated. The self‐assembled 3D porous architecture can effectively prevent the oxidation of MXene layers with no evident variation in electrical conductivity in air at room temperature after two months, guaranteeing outstanding electrical conductivity and abundant electrochemical active sites accessible to electrolyte ions. Consequently, the PMG‐5 electrode possesses a striking specific capacitance of 393 F g−1, superb rate performance (32.7% at 10 V s−1), and outstanding cycling stability. Furthermore, the as‐assembled asymmetric supercapacitor possesses a pronounced energy density of 50.8 Wh kg−1 and remarkable cycling stability with a 4.3% deterioration of specific capacitance after 10 000 cycles. This work paves a new avenue to solve the two long‐standing significant challenges of MXene in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Hollow structures are considered as promising electrode materials. Their enhanced surface‐to‐volume ratio results in an increased contact area between the electrolyte and electrode and, thereby, a higher accessibility of active material. Here, a facile hydrothermal method is applied to synthesize hollow Cu2O spheres, assembled by well‐aligned nanofibers. Based on the investigation of the samples at different reaction times, a growing mechanism is proposed. Nano building‐blocks create porous channels within the shell, which could facilitate the transfer and shorten the transportation pathway for both ions and charge. The Cu2O with its unique structure displays a high specific capacitance of 1075 F g−1 at a current density of 5 mA cm−2, a remarkable rate capability of 82 %, and an excellent cycling property of nearly 100 % of the initial value remaining after 5000 charge‐discharge cycles. Moreover, the hollow Cu2O spheres are first used for the preparation of a positive electrode in an asymmetric supercapacitor, using carbon as a negative electrode. The device exhibits a high energy density of 44.7 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 420.2 W kg−1, and when the power density reaches values as high as 4201.7 W kg−1, an energy density of 16 Wh kg−1 is still attained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the first time, hierarchically porous carbon materials with a sandwich-like structure are synthesized through a facile and efficient tri-template approach. The hierarchically porous microstructures consist of abundant macropores and numerous micropores embedded into the crosslinked mesoporous walls. As a result, the obtained carbon material with a unique sandwich-like structure has a relatively high specific surface (1235 m2 g−1), large pore volume (1.30 cm3 g−1), and appropriate pore size distribution. These merits lead to a comparably high specific capacitance of 274.8 F g−1 at 0.2 A g−1 and satisfying rate performance (87.7 % retention from 1 to 20 A g−1). More importantly, the symmetric supercapacitor with two identical as-prepared carbon samples shows a superior energy density of 18.47 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 179.9 W kg−1. The asymmetric supercapacitor based on as-obtained carbon sample and its composite with manganese dioxide (MnO2) can reach up to an energy density of 25.93 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 199.9 W kg−1. Therefore, these unique carbon material open a promising prospect for future development and utilization in the field of energy storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing advanced supercapacitors with both high areal and volumetric energy densities remains challenging. In this work, self‐supported, compact carbon composite electrodes are designed with tunable thickness using 3D printing technology for high‐energy‐density supercapacitors. The 3D carbon composite electrodes are composed of the closely stacked and aligned active carbon/carbon nanotube/reduced graphene oxide (AC/CNT/rGO) composite filaments. The AC microparticles are uniformly embedded in the wrinkled CNT/rGO conductive networks without using polymer binders, which contributes to the formation of abundant open and hierarchical pores. The 3D‐printed ultrathick AC/CNT/rGO composite electrode (ten layers) features high areal and volumetric mass loadings of 56.9 mg cm−2 and 256.3 mg cm−3, respectively. The symmetric cell assembled with the 3D‐printed thin GO separator and ultrathick AC/CNT/rGO electrodes can possess both high areal and volumetric capacitances of 4.56 F cm−2 and 10.28 F cm−3, respectively. Correspondingly, the assembled ultrathick and compact symmetric cell achieves high areal and volumetric energy densities of 0.63 mWh cm−2 and 1.43 mWh cm−3, respectively. The all‐component extrusion‐based 3D printing offers a promising strategy for the fabrication of multiscale and multidimensional structures of various high‐energy‐density electrochemical energy storage devices. The all‐graphene‐oxide (GO)‐based symmetric supercapacitor is assembled with a thin GO separator and compact active carbon/carbon nanotube/reduced graphene oxide composite electrodes with tunable thickness, which are fabricated using the advanced extrusion‐based 3D printing technology. The 3D‐printed ultrathick and compact symmetric supercapacitor with a high mass loading can achieve both high areal and volumetric energy densities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]