In situ formation of multiple catalysts for enhancing the hydrogen storage of MgH_(2) by adding porous Ni_(3)ZnC_(0.7)/Ni loaded carbon nanotubes microspheres

MgH_(2) is considered one of the most promising hydrogen storage materials because of its safety,high efficiency,high hydrogen storage quantity and low cost characteristics.But some shortcomings are still existed:high operating temperature and poor hydrogen absorption dynamics,which limit its application.Porous Ni_(3)ZnC_(0.7)/Ni loaded carbon nanotubes microspheres(NZC/Ni@CNT)is prepared by facile filtration and calcination method.Then the different amount of NZC/Ni@CNT(2.5,5.0 and 7.5 wt%)is added to the MgH_(2) by ball milling.Among the three samples with different amount of NZC/Ni@CNT(2.5,5.0 and 7.5 wt%),the MgH_(2)-5 wt%NZC/Ni@CNT composite exhibits the best hydrogen storage performances.After testing,the MgH_(2)-5 wt%NZC/Ni@CNT begins to release hydrogen at around 110℃ and hydrogen absorption capacity reaches 2.34 wt%H_(2) at 80℃ within 60 min.Moreover,the composite can release about 5.36 wt%H_(2) at 300℃.In addition,hydrogen absorption and desorption activation energies of the MgH_(2)-5 wt%NZC/Ni@CNT composite are reduced to 37.28 and 84.22 KJ/mol H_(2),respectively.The in situ generated Mg_(2)NiH_(4)/Mg_(2)Ni can serve as a"hydrogen pump"that plays the main role in providing more activation sites and hydrogen diffusion channels which promotes H_(2) dissociation during hydrogen absorption process.In addition,the evenly dispersed Zn and MgZn2 in Mg and MgH_(2) could provide sites for Mg/MgH_(2) nucleation and hydrogen diffusion channel.This attempt clearly proved that the bimetallic carbide Ni_(3)ZnC_(0.7) is a effective additive for the hydrogen storage performances modification of MgH_(2),and the facile synthesis of the Ni_(3)ZnC_(0.7)/Ni@CNT can provide directions of better designing high performance carbide catalysts for improving MgH_(2).

Construction of MnS/MoS_(2) heterostructure on two-dimensional MoS_(2) surface to regulate the reaction pathways for high-performance Li-O_(2) batteries

The inherent catalytic anisotropy of two-dimensional(2D) materials has limited the enhancement of LiO_(2) batteries(LOBs) performance due to the significantly different adsorption energies on 2D and edge surfaces.Tuning the adsorption strength in 2D materials to the reaction intermediates is essential for achieving high-performance LOBs.Herein,a MnS/MoS_(2) heterostructure is designed as a cathode catalyst by adjusting the adsorption behavior at the surface.Different from the toroidal-like discharge products on the MoS_(2) cathode,the MnS/MoS_(2) surface displays an improved adsorption energy to reaction species,thereby promoting the growth of the film-like discharge products.MnS can disturb the layer growth of MoS_(2),in which the stack edge plane features a strong interaction with the intermediates and limits the growth of the discharge products.Experimental and theoretical results confirm that the MnS/MoS_(2) heterostructure possesses improved electron transfer kinetics at the interface and plays an important role in the adsorption process for reaction species,which finally affects the morphology of Li_2O_(2),In consequence,the MnS/MoS_(2) heterostructure exhibits a high specific capacity of 11696.0 mA h g^(-1) and good cycle stability over 1800 h with a fixed specific capacity of 600 mA h g^(-1) at current density of100 mA g^(-1) This work provides a novel interfacial engineering strategy to enhance the performance of LOBs by tuning the adsorption properties of 2D materials.

Recent advances in the nanoconfinement of Mg-related hydrogen storage materials:A minor review

Hydrogen is an ideal clean energy because of its high calorific value and abundance of sources.However,storing hydrogen in a compact,inexpensive,and safe manner is the main restriction on the extensive utilization of hydrogen energy.Magnesium(Mg)-based hydrogen storage material is considered a reliable solid hydrogen storage material with the advantages of high hydrogen storage capacity(7.6wt%),good performance,and low cost.However,the high thermodynamic stability and slow kinetics of Mg-based hydrogen storage materials have to be overcome.In this paper,we will review the recent advances in the nanoconfinement of Mg-related hydrogen storage materials by loading Mg particles on different supporting materials,including carbons,metal-organic frameworks,and other materials.Perspectives are also provided for designing high-performance Mg-based materials using nanoconfinement.

Initiating Binary Metal Oxides Microcubes Electromagnetic Wave Absorber Toward Ultrabroad Absorption Bandwidth Through Interfacial and Defects Modulation

Cobalt nickel bimetallic oxides(NiCo_(2)O_(4))have received numerous attentions in terms of their controllable morphology,high temperature,corrosion resistance and strong electromagnetic wave(EMW)absorption capability.However,broadening the absorption bandwidth is still a huge challenge for NiCo_(2)O_(4)-based absorbers.Herein,the unique NiCo_(2)O_(4)@C core-shell microcubes with hollow structures were fabricated via a facile sacrificial template strategy.The concentration of oxygen vacancies and morphologies of the three-dimensional(3D)cubic hollow core-shell NiCo_(2)O_(4)@C framework were effectively optimized by adjusting the calcination temperature.The specially designed 3D framework structure facilitated the multiple reflections of incident electromagnetic waves and provided rich interfaces between multiple components,generating significant interfacial polarization losses.Dipole polarizations induced by oxygen vacancies could further enhance the attenuation ability for the incident EM waves.The optimized NiCo_(2)O_(4)@C hollow microcubes exhibit superior EMW absorption capability with minimum RL(RLmin)of-84.45 dB at 8.4 GHz for the thickness of 3.0 mm.Moreover,ultrabroad effective absorption bandwidth(EAB)as large as 12.48 GHz(5.52-18 GHz)is obtained.This work is believed to illuminate the path to synthesis of high-performance cobalt nickel bimetallic oxides for EMW absorbers with excellent EMW absorption capability,especially in broadening effective absorption bandwidth.

Neutral color and self-healable electrochromic system based on CuI/Cu and I_(3)^(-)/I^(-)conversions

The electrochromic(EC)mechanisms of inorganic materials are usually based on reversible cation insertion/extraction or metal deposition/dissolution,which are plagued by ion trapping and dendrite growth,respectively.In this paper,a novel conversion-type electrochromic mechanism is proposed,by making good use of the CuI/Cu redox couple.This CuI-based electrochromic system shows a neutral color switching from transparent and dim grey.By simply increasing the bleaching voltage,I_(3)^(-)/I^(-)redox couple can be further activated.The generated I_(3)^(-)will readily react with Cu,effectively improving the conversion reversibility and thereby rejuvenating the degraded electrochromic performance.Thanks to the well-designed electrode and the self-healing ability,this conversion electrochromic system achieves rapid response times(tcoloring:23 s,tbleaching:6 s),decant optical modulation amplitude(26.4%),high coloration efficiency(86.15 cm^(2)·C^(-1)),admirable cyclic durability(without performance degradation after 480 cycles)and excellent optical memory ability(transmittance variation<1%after 10 h open-circuit storage).The establishment of this conversion-type electrochromism may inspire the exploration of novel electrochromic materials and devices.

Boosted lithium storage performance by local build-in electric field derived by oxygen vacancies in 3D holey N-doped carbon structure decorated with molybdenum dioxide

Three-dimensional holey nitrogen-doped carbon matrixes decorated with molybdenum dioxide(MoO_(2))nanoparticles have been successfully synthesized via a NaCl-assisted template strategy.The obtained MoO_(2)/C composites offered multi-advantages,including higher specific surface area,more active sites,more ions/electrons transmission channels,and shorter transmission path due to the synergistic effect of the uniformly distributed MoO_(2) nanoparticles and porous carbon structure.Especially,the oxygen vacancies were introduced into the prepared composites and enhanced the Li^(+)intercalation/deintercalation process during electrochemical cycling by the Coulomb force.The existence of the local built-in electric field was proved by experimental data,differential charge density distribution,and density of states calculation.The uniquely designed structure and introduced oxygen vacancy defects endowed the MoO_(2)/C composites with excellent electrochemical properties.In view of the synergistic effect of the uniquely designed morphology and introduced oxygen vacancy defects,the MoO_(2)/C composites exhibited superior electrochemical performance of a high capacity of 918.2 mAh g^(-1) at 0.1 A g^(-1) after 130 cycles,562.1 mAh g^(-1) at 1.0 A g^(-1) after 1000 cycles,and a capacity of 181.25 mAh g^(-1) even at 20.0 A g^(-1).This strategy highlights the path to promote the commercial application of MoO_(2)-based and other transition metal oxide electrodes for energy storage devices.

Morphology controllable urchin-shaped bimetallic nickel-cobalt oxide/carbon composites with enhanced electromagnetic wave absorption performance

The microscopic morphology of electromagnetic wave absorbers influences the multiple reflections of electromagnetic waves and impedance matching,determining the absorption properties.Herein,the urchin-shaped bimetallic nickel-cobalt oxide/carbon(NiCo_(2)O_(4)/C)composites are prepared via a hy-drothermal route,whose absorption properties are investigated by different morphologies regulated by changing calcination temperature.A minimum reflection loss(RL_(min))of-75.26 dB is achieved at a match-ing thickness of 1.5 mm,and the effective absorption bandwidth(EAB)of 8.96 GHz is achieved at 2 mm.Multi-advantages of the synthesized NiCo_(2)O_(4)/C composites contribute to satisfactory absorption proper-ties.First,the interweaving of the needle-like structures increases the opportunities for scattering and multiple reflections of incident electromagnetic waves,and builds up a conductive network to facilitate the enhancement of conductive losses.Second,the carbon component in the NiCo_(2)O_(4)/C composites en-hances the interfacial polarization and reduces the density of the absorber.Besides,generous oxygen va-cancy defects are introduced into the NiCo_(2)O_(4)/C composites,which induces defect polarization and dipole polarization.In summary,the ternary coordination of components,defects and morphology led to out-standing electromagnetic wave absorption,which lightened the path for improving the electromagnetic wave absorption property and enriching the family of NiCo_(2)O_(4) absorbers with excellent performance.