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Shuttling of lithium polysulfides and slow redox kinetics seriously limit the rate and cycling performance of lithium-sulfur batteries. In this study, Fe3O4-dopped carbon cubosomes with a plumber's nightmare structure (SP-Fe3O4-C) are prepared as sulfur hosts to construct cathodes with high rate capability and long cycling life for Li-S batteries. Their three-dimensional continuous mesochannels and carbon frameworks, along with the uniformly distributed Fe3O4 particles, enable smooth mass/electron transport, strong polysulfides capture capability, and fast catalytic conversion of the sulfur species. Impressively, the SP-Fe3O4-C cathode exhibits top-level comprehensive performance, with high specific capacity (1303.4 mAh g−1 at 0.2 C), high rate capability (691.8 mAh gFe3O41 at 5 C), and long cycling life (over 1200 cycles). This study demonstrates a unique structure for high-performance Li-S batteries and opens a distinctive avenue for developing multifunctional electrode materials for next-generation energy storage devices. Shuttling of lithium polysulfides and slow redox kinetics seriously limit the rate and cycling performance of lithium-sulfur batteries. Here, the authors report a Fe3O4 nanoparticle doped mesoporous carbon cathode with a plumber's nightmare structure that can achieve high-rate and long performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rechargeable sodium/chlorine (Na/Cl2) batteries are emerging candidates for sustainable energy storage owing to their superior energy densities and the high abundance of Na and Cl elements. However, their practical applications have been plagued by the poor rate performance (e.g., a maximum discharge current density of 150 mA g−1), as the widely used carbon nanosphere cathodes show both sluggish electron‐ion transport and reaction kinetics. Here, by mimicking the sufficient mass and energy transport in a sponge, we report a bicontinuous‐structured carbon cubosome with heteroatomic doping, which allows efficient Na+ and electron transport and promotes Cl2 adsorption and conversion, thus unlocking ultrahigh‐rate Na/Cl2 batteries, e.g., a maximum discharge current density of 16,000 mA g−1 that is more than two orders of magnitude higher than previous reports. The optimized solid–liquid–gas (carbon–electrolyte–Cl2) triple interfaces further contribute to a maximum reversible capacity and cycle life of 2,000 mAh g−1 and 250 cycles, respectively. This study establishes a universal approach for improving the sluggish kinetics of conversion‐type battery reactions, and provides a new paradigm to resolve the long‐standing dilemma between high energy and power densities in energy storage devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rechargeable sodium/chlorine (Na/Cl 2 ) batteries are emerging candidates for sustainable energy storage owing to their superior energy densities and the high abundance of Na and Cl elements. However, their practical applications have been plagued by the poor rate performance (e.g., a maximum discharge current density of 150 mA g -1 ), as the widely used carbon nanosphere cathodes show both sluggish electron-ion transport and reaction kinetics. Here, by mimicking the sufficient mass and energy transport in a sponge, we report a bicontinuous-structured carbon cubosome with heteroatomic doping, which allows efficient Na + and electron transport and promotes Cl 2 adsorption and conversion, thus unlocking ultrahigh-rate Na/Cl 2 batteries, e.g., a maximum discharge current density of 16,000 mA g -1 that is more than two orders of magnitude higher than previous reports. The optimized solid-liquid-gas (carbon-electrolyte-Cl 2 ) triple interfaces further contribute to a maximum reversible capacity and cycle life of 2,000 mAh g -1 and 250 cycles, respectively. This study establishes a universal approach for improving the sluggish kinetics of conversion-type battery reactions, and provides a new paradigm to resolve the long-standing dilemma between high energy and power densities in energy storage devices., (© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

The self-assembly of alternating copolymers (ACPs) has attracted considerable interest due to their unique alternating nature. However, compared with block copolymers, their self-assembly behavior remains much less explored and their reported self-assembled structures are limited. Here, the formation of supramolecular helical structures by the self-assembly of an achiral rod-coil alternating copolymer named as poly(quarter(3-hexylthiophene)-alt-poly(ethylene glycol)) (P(Q3HT-alt-PEG)), is reported. The copolymer exhibits an interesting hierarchical self-assembly process, driven by the π-π stacking of the Q3HT segments and the solvophobic interaction of the alkyl chains in tetrahydrofuran (THF)-isopropanol mixed solvents. The copolymer first self-assembled into thin nanobelts with a uniform size, then grows to helical nanoribbons and eventually twisted into helical nanowires with an average diameter of 25 ± 9 nm and a mean pitch of 80 ± 10 nm. Dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) simulation supports the formation course of the helical nanowires. Furthermore, the addition of (S)-ethyl lactate and (R)-ethyl lactate in the self-assembly of P(Q3HT-alt-PEG) results in the formation of left-handed and right-handed chiral nanowires, respectively, demonstrating the tunability of the chirality of the helical wires. This study expands the library of ordered self-assembled structures of ACPs, and also brings a new strategy and mechanism to construct helical supramolecular structures., (© 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)