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We report a defect-engineered self-assembly route to a mesoporous ternary ZnCo 2 O 4 /nitrogen-doped graphene nanoarchitecture as an anode material for lithium ion batteries through a hydrothermal and thermal annealing process. A hetero-nanostructure showed flower-like ZnCo 2 O 4 nanosheets which were well dispersed and firmly decorated on nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide, as atomic-scale defects such as nitrogen-doped sites and oxygen-functional groups in chemically modified graphene oxide can be more reactive nucleation sites to anchor metallic nanoparticles strongly. Strong synergy between N-doped graphene and ZnCo 2 O 4 is observed as a high-performance anode electrode material for much higher capacity levels and more durable electrochemical stability in lithium ion batteries. The mesoporous nanoarchitecture electrode shows enhanced reversible performance in cyclic anode tests, maintaining a specific energy capacity of 998 mAh g −1 after 30 cycles at current density of 100 mA g −1 .

We report a microwave-assisted synthesis of a self-assembled three-dimensional graphene-carbon nanotube-nickel (3D G-CNT-Ni) nanostructure, which can be used as a high capacity anode material in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). The unique 3D G-CNT-Ni nanostructure shows that CNTs are grown on graphene sheets through tip growth mechanism by Ni nano-particles. Bunches of CNTs and graphene sheets produce 3D network nanostructures with ultrahigh surface area, a large number of activation sites, and efficient ion pathways, all of which are crucial for high capacity anode materials in LIBs. The synthesized 3D nanostructure maintains a reversible specific capacity of 648.2 mA h/g after 50 cycles at a current density of 100 mA/g, as high capacity electrode structures in LIBs.

Bioinspired soft ionic actuators, which exhibit large strain and high durability under low input voltages, are regarded as prospective candidates for future soft electronics. However, due to the intrinsic drawback of weak blocking force, the feasible applications of soft ionic actuators are limited until now. An electroactive artificial muscle electro-chemomechanically reinforced with 3D graphene-carbon nanotube-nickel heteronanostructures (G-CNT-Ni) to improve blocking force and bending deformation of the ionic actuators is demonstrated. The G-CNT-Ni heteronanostructure, which provides an electrically conductive 3D network and sufficient contact area with mobile ions in the polymer electrolyte, is embedded as a nanofiller in both ionic polymer and conductive electrodes of the ionic actuators. An ionic exchangeable composite membrane consisting of Nafion, G-CNT-Ni and ionic liquid (IL) shows improved tensile modulus and strength of up to 166% and 98%, respectively, and increased ionic conductivity of 0.254 S m-1 . The ionic actuator exhibits enhanced actuation performances including three times larger bending deformation, 2.37 times higher blocking force, and 4 h durability. The electroactive artificial muscle electro-chemomechanically reinforced with 3D G-CNT-Ni heteronanostructures offers improvements over current soft ionic actuator technologies and can advance the practical engineering applications.