Sabatier principle guiding the design of cathode catalysts for Li-CO_(2) batteries

The Sabatier principle has been widely used for designing electrocatalysts for energy conversion applications,but it is rarely mentioned in the research of cathode catalyst of Li-CO_(2) batteries.In our work,the"volcanic"relationship between the catalytic activity and the adsorption energy of the catalyst to the intermediates is first demonstrated based on the first-principles calculation,which meets the Sabatier principle and can be used to design the cathode catalysts.The increases in the number of nitrogenvacancy in WN shift the d-band center and increase the interaction with the reactants.The catalytic activity increases first and then decreases with the increase of adsorption energy,which was proved in the experiment.The optimal catalyst for moderate adsorption of intermediate makes the thin LiaCO_(3) distribute evenly.It exhibits a median voltage difference of 0.68 V and an energy efficiency of 84.33%at20μA cm^(-2)with a limited capacity of 200μA h cm^(-2).

Armoring lithium metal anode with soft–rigid gradient interphase toward high-capacity and long-life all-solid-state battery

Solid polymer electrolytes(SPEs)are highly promising for realizing high-capacity,low-cost,and safe Li metal batteries.However,the Li dendritic growth and side reactions between Li and SPEs also plague these systems.Herein,a fluorinated lithium salt coating(FC)with organic-inorganic gradient and soft–rigid feature is introduced on Li surface as an artificial protective layer by the in-situ reaction between Li metal and fluorinated carboxylic acid.The FC layer can improve the interface stability and wettability between Li and SPEs,assist the transport of Li ions,and guide Li nucleation,contributing to a dendrite-free Li deposition and long-lifespan Li metal batteries.The symmetric cell with FC-Li anodes exhibits a high areal capacity of 1 mAh cm^(-2)at 0.5 mA cm^(-2),and an ultra-long lifespan of 2000 h at a current density of 0.1 mA cm^(-2).Moreover,the full cell paired with the LiFePO4 cathode exhibits improved cycling stability,remaining 83.7%capacity after 500 cycles at 1 C.When matching with the S cathode,the FC layer can prevent the shuttle effect,contributing to stable and high-capacity Li–S battery.This work provided a promising way for the construction of stable all-solid-state lithium metal batteries with prolonged lifespan.

Effect of Ni,Fe and Fe-Ni alloy catalysts on the synthesis of metal contained carbon nano-onions and studies of their electrochemical hydrogen storage properties

Three types of carbon nano-onions（CNOs） including Ni@CNOs.Fe3C@CNOs and Fe0.64Ni0.36@CNOs nanoparticles have been synthesized by catalytic decomposition of methane at 850 ℃ using nickel,iron and iron-nickel alloy catalysts.Comparative and systematic studies have been carried out on the morphology,structural characteristics and graphitic crystallinity of these CNOs products.Furthermore,the electrochemical hydrogen storage properties of three types of CNOs have been investigated.Measurements show that the Ni@CNOs have the highest discharge capacity of 387.2 mAh/g,coiTesponding to a hydrogen storage of 1.42%.This comparison study shows the advantages of each catalyst in the growth of CNOs.enabling the controllable synthesis and tuning the properties of CNOs by mediating different metals and their alloy for using in the fuel cell system.

Evaluation matrix with the speed feature based on double inspiriting control lines

Methods of the comprehensive evaluation have been studied for many years. However, the change speed of evaluated objects was rarely considered by the existing evaluation methods. An evaluation matrix is proposed to remedy this deficiency. Firstly, the change speed state （CSS） of the evaluated objects is analyzed based on double inspiriting control lines （DICLs）, and a matrix of the CSS is constructed. Then, 72 elements in the matrix are analyzed, and formulas describing each CSS are given. The efficiency of the proposed evaluation matrix is proved when the CSS merges with the change speed trend （CST） in the dynamic comprehensive evaluation. Finally, a computing example shows that the proposed evaluation matrix is feasible in the dynamic comprehensive evaluation with the speed feature.

Lithiophilic seeds and rigid arrays synergistic induced dendrite-free and stable Li anode towards long-life lithium-oxygen batteries

High energy density lithium-oxygen battery(LOB) is currently regraded as a promising candidate for next-generation power system.However,the dendrite and instability issues of Li metal anode lead to its poor cyclic stability and low energy density.In this work,lithiophilic Al_(2) O_(3) seeds induced rigid carbon nanotube arrays(CNTA)/three-dimensional graphene(3 DG) is developed as a host material for Li anode,namely Al_(2) O_(3)-CNTA/3 DG.It is demonstrated that the lithiophilic feature of Al_(2) O_(3) seeds and the enhanced rigidity of arrays can synergistically induce the uniform Li flux,inhibit the collapse of arrays,and stabilize electrolyte/electrode interfaces.As a result,the Al_(2) O_(3)-CNTA/3 DG-Li anode delivers a high Coulombic efficiency above 97% after 140 cycles(8 mAh cm^(-2) at 4 mA cm^(-2)).With this anode and the breathable CNTA/3 DG cathode,the full LOB exhibits a significantly increased life-span up to 160 cycles(500 mAh g^(-1) at 100 mA g^(-1)),which is almost 3 times longer than that with pure Li foil as the anodes.This work demonstrates a new approach to highly reversibly long-cycling performance of LOBs towards practical application.

Preparation of Three-Dimensional Carbon Network Reinforced Epoxy Composites and Their Thermal Conductivity

As a thermosetting resin with excellent properties,epoxy resin is used in many areas such as electronics,transportation,aerospace,and other fields.However,its relatively low thermal conductivity limits its wide application in more demanding fields.Here,a three-dimensional carbon(3DC)network was prepared through NaCl template-assisted in situ chemical vapor deposition(CVD)and used to reinforce epoxy resin for enhancing its thermal conductivity.The 3DC was prepared with a molar ratio of sodium atom to carbon atom of 100:20,and argon atmosphere in CVD led to an optimal improvement in the thermal conductivity of epoxy resin.The thermal conductivity of epoxy resin increased by 18%when the filling content was 3 wt.%of 3DC network because of the high contact area,uniform dispersion,and enhanced formation of conductive paths with epoxy resin.As the amount of 3DC addition increases,the thermal conductivity of composites also increases.As an innovative exploration,the work presented in this paper is of great significance for the thermal conductivity application of epoxy resin in the future.

Achieving high mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of Al-Zn-Mg matrix composites via regulating intragranular reinforcements

1.Introduction Driven by the engineering application of transportation and aerospace,simultaneously achieving excellent mechanical properties and corrosion resistance are urgently required for the next-generation Al matrix composites(AMCs)[1,2].

Effect of Sc and Zr additions on microstructures and corrosion behavior of Al-Cu-Mg-Sc-Zr alloys

The effects of adding the alloy element Sc to Al alloys on strengthening, recrystallization and modification of the grain microstructure have been investigated. The combination of Sc and Zr alloying not only produces a remarkable synergistic effect of inhibition of recrystallization and refinement of grain size but also substantially reduce the amount of high-cost additional Sc. In this work, the microstructures and corrosion behavior of a new type of Al-Cu-Mg-Sc-Zr alloy with Sc/Zr ratio of 1/2 were investigated.The experimental results showed that the Sc and Zr additions to Al-Cu-Mg alloy could strongly inhibit recrystallization, refine grain size, impede the segregation of Cu element along the grain boundary and increase the spacing of grain boundary precipitates. In addition, adding Sc and Zr to Al-Cu-Mg alloy effectively restricts the corrosion mechanism conversion associated with Al2 Cu Mg particles, which resulted in the change of the cross-section morphology of inter-granular corrosion from an undercutting to an elliptical shape. The susceptibility to inter-granular corrosion was significantly decreased with increasing Sc and Zr additions to the Al-Cu-Mg alloy. The relationships between microstructures evolution and inter-granular corrosion mechanism of Al-Cu-Mg-Sc-Zr alloys were also discussed.

Simultaneously optimizing pore morphology and enhancing mechanical properties of Al-Si alloy composite foams by graphene nanosheets

The integrity and regularity of pore morphology play an important role in determining the mechanical properties of the metallic foam materials.The conventional methods on refining pore morphology are mainly focused on the optimization of fabrication techniques,however,they are usually inconvenient and complicated.Recently,incorporating nano reinforcement is considered to be a suitable way to fabricate metallic composite foams accompanied by optimized pore morphology and enhanced mechanical properties.In this work,through a facile and rapid powder metallurgy foaming method,the aluminum-silicon(Al-Si)alloy composite foams reinforced by graphene nanosheets(GNSs)are successfully fabricated.The microstructure analyses reveal that,for the Al-Si alloy foams incorporating the GNSs(GNSs/Al-Si composite foams),the pore size is transformed to be smaller,the pore size distributions become more homogeneous and the pore shape is also refined to a regular and roundish state.Meanwhile,the shape of Si precipitates is found transforming from an irregular long strip(length of~20μm,width of~5μm)to a fine particle state(diameter of~5μm).Moreover,the compressive testing results show that,the 0.4wt%GNSs/Al-Si composite foams own the optimal compression stress of 11.7±0.5 MPa,plateau stress of 10.0±1.0 MPa and energy absorption capacity of 6.8±0.7 MJ/m^(3),which have improvement of 58.1%,53.8%and 51.1%in comparison with the Al-Si alloy foams counterpart,respectively.The present findings may pave a new way for developing new generation of metallic composite foams that with stable microstructure and excellent mechanical performance.

Self-anchored catalysts for substrate-free synthesis of metal-encapsulated carbon nano-onions and study of their magnetic properties

We demonstrate the synthesis of a novel self-anchored catalyst structure containing a Fe-Ni alloy nanosheet generated by phase separation for the substrate-free synthesis of carbon nanostructures. Fast Fourier transform analysis was carried out in order to investigate both the phase and structural evolution of the alloy nanosheet during reduction and chemical vapor deposition （CVD） growth. y-Fe-Ni （Feo.64Nio.36） and a-Fe-Ni （kamacite） phases were formed and separated on the NiFe204 nanosheet catalyst precursor during H2 reduction, forming selfanchored mono-dispersed y-Fe-Ni nanocrystals on a a-Fe-Ni matrix. The Fe-Ni alloy nanosheet serves both as a catalyst for growing metal-encapsulated carbon nano-onions （CNOs）, and as a support for anchoring these preformed nano- particles, yielding mono-dispersed catalyst nanoparticles with no requirement of additional substrates for the CVD growth. This synthesis is capable of mitigating the coalescence and Ostwald ripening without the assistance of an additional substrate. This structure allows for the growth of uniform-sized CNOs despite the aggregation, crumbling, and stacking of the alloy sheet. This study provides a promising design for novel catalyst structures by phase separation towards the substrate-free synthesis of carbon nanostructures in large scale. Finally, the ferromagnetic Feo.64Ni0.36@#CNOs particles demonstrate their application in both magnetic storage and water purification, as a non-toxic water treatment material.