Spontaneous anchoring Cl intoα-Co(OH)_(2) as efficient and stable oxygen reduction electrocatalysts for seawater battery

Seawater battery is an advanced energy storage system that enables conversion of chemical energy to electricity by consuming metals,dissolved oxygen and seawater in anode,cathode and electrolyte,respectively.However,the oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)activity and stability of electrocatalysts can be easily deactivated due to the severe Cl~-permeation and corrosion in seawater electrolyte.Herein,we developed a structural buffer engineering strategy by spontaneously anchoring Cl~-intoα-Co(OH)_(2) as efficient and stable ORR electrocatalysts,in which the ultrathinα-Co(OH)_(2) nanosheets were synthesized using an ultrafast solution high-temperature shock(SHTS)strategy.The large lattice space(~0.8 nm)of layeredα-Co(OH)_(2) ensured the spontaneously penetration of Cl~-into the lattice structure and replaced part of OH~-to formα-Co(OH)_(2-x)Cl_x.The continuous leaching and compensating of saturated Cl inα-Co(OH)_(2-x)Cl_x could enhance the Cl~-corrosion resistance and modulate electronic structure of Co metallic sites,thus improving the ORR electrocatalytic activity and stability in seawater electrolyte.Theα-Co(OH)_(2-x)Cl_x seawater batteries display superior onset and half-wave potentials of 0.71 and 0.66 V,respectively,which are much better than the counterparts ofα-Co(OH)_(2) and ofβ-Co(OH)_(2) with no Cl~-penetrating and no buffer structure.Theα-Co(OH)_(2-x)Cl_x-based seawater batteries display stable open-circuit potential of 1.69 V and outstanding specific capacity of 1345 mAh·g^(-1).

Recent advances in Ir/Ru-based perovskite electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction

Oxygen evolution reaction(OER)is a kinetically harsh four-electron anode reaction that requires a large overpotential to provide current and is of great importance in renewable electrochemical technique.Ir/Rubased perovskite oxides hold great significance for application as OER electrocatalysts,due to that their multimetal-oxide forms can reduce the use of noble metals,and their compositional tunability can modulate the electronic structure and optimize OER performance.However,high operating potentials and corrosive environments pose a serious challenge to the development of durable Ir-based and Ru-based perovskite electrocatalysts.Tremendous efforts have been dedicated to improving the Ir/Ru-based perovskite activity to enhance the efficiency;however,progress in improving the durability of Ir/Ru-based perovskite electrocatalysts has been rather limited.In this review,the recent research progress of Ir/Ru-based perovskites is reviewed from the perspective of heteroatom doping,structural modulation,and formation of heterostructures.The dissolution mechanism studies of Ir/Ru and experimental attempts to improve the durability of Ir/Ru-based perovskite electrocatalysts are discussed.Challenges and outlooks for further developing Ru-and Irbased perovskite oxygen electrocatalysts are also presented.

A review of non-noble metal-based electrocatalysts for CO_(2)electroreduction

The excessive emission of CO_(2) has caused many environmental issues and is severely threatening the eco-system.CO_(2) electroreduction reaction(CO_(2) RR) that driven by sustainable power is an ideal route for realizing the net reduction of CO_(2) and carbon recycle.Developing efficient electrocatalysts with low cost and high performance is critical for the wide applications of CO_(2) RR electrolysis.Among the various explored CO_(2) RR catalysts,non-noble metal(NNM)-based nanomaterials have drawn increasing attentions due to the remarkable performance and low cost.In this mini-review,the recent advances of NNM-based CO_(2) RR catalysts are summarized,and the catalysts are classified based on their corresponding reduction products.The preparation strategies for engineering the electrocatalysts are introduced,and the relevant CO_(2) RR mechanisms are discussed in detail.Finally,the current challenges in CO_(2) RR research are presented,and some perspectives are proposed for the future development of CO_(2) RR technology.This mini-review introduces the recent advances and frontiers of NNM-based CO_(2) RR catalysts,which should shed light on the further exploration of efficient CO_(2) RR electrocatalysts.

High-voltage LiCoO_(2) cathodes for high-energy-density lithiumion battery

As the earliest commercial cathode material for lithium-ion batteries,lithium cobalt oxide(LiCoO_(2)) shows various advantages,including high theoretical capacity,excellent rate capability,compressed electrode density,etc.Until now,it still plays an important role in the lithium-ion battery market.Due to these advantages,further increasing the charging cutoff voltage of LiCoO_(2)to guarantee higher energy density is an irresistible development trend of LiCoO_(2)cathode materials in the future.However,using high charging cutoff voltage may induce a lot of negative effects,especially the rapid decay of cycle capacity.These are mainly caused by rapid destruction of crystal structure and aggravation of interface side reaction at high voltage during the cycle.Therefore,how to maintain a stable crystal structure of LiCoO_(2)to ensure the excellent long cycle performance at high voltage is a hot research issue in the further application of LiCoO_(2).In this review,we summarized the failure causes and extensive solutions of LiCoO_(2)at high voltage and promoted some new modification strategies.Moreover,the development trend of solving the failure problem of high-voltage LiCoO_(2)in the future such as defect engineering and high-temperature shock technique is also discussed.

Improving Li reversibility in Li metal batteries through uniform dispersion of Ag nanoparticles on graphene

Li metal is the most attractive and promising anode material for next-generation high-energy batteries.However,uncontrolled Li dendrite growth during cycling remains a highly challenging drawback.To solve this problem,silver-coated graphene(Ag/GH)was prepared via a simple liquid-phase reduction method.The effect of Ag/GH on Li deposition behavior was investigated by adjusting the dispersion of Ag nanoparticles(Ag NPs).Subsequently,a composite electrode was fabricated via uniform deposition of metallic Li on Ag/GH.Ag was used as a lithiophilic nucleating agent to ensure uniform deposition of Li and inhibit the growth of Li dendrites on the anode.The prepared composite anode showed a significantly improved performance compared to the unmodified electrode.The symmetric cell comprising this composite electrode exhibited a stable cycling performance with a low hysteresis of~40 mV and a lifetime of>2000 h at a current density of 0.5 mA·cm^(-2).Meanwhile,the discharge capacity reached 0.5 mAh·cm^(-2).In addition,Ag/GH was found to be amenable to large-scale synthesis.Thus,the composite Ag/GH anode exhibited improved performance and the preparation method showed significant potential for application in the manufacture of Li metal batteries.

Size-controllable synthesis and high-performance formic acid oxidation of polycrystalline Pd nanoparticles

A facile approach was developed for the synthesis of polycrystalline palladium nanoparticles(Pd NPs)by using tannic acid(TA) as green reagent and stabilizer in a 30 ℃ water bath. The size of Pd NPs can be tuned in a range of 10–60 nm simply by adjusting the concentration of Pd precursor. The catalytic activity and stability of the as-obtained Pd NPs toward formic acid oxidation were analyzed. It is found that these Pd NPs with different sizes exhibit size-dependent and enhanced formic acid oxidation performance compared to the commercial Pd black catalyst. It should be noted that the Pd catalysts with an average size of 24 nm demonstrate the best catalytic activity and stability among the other prepared Pd NPs, which can be ascribed to its larger electrochemical surface area(ECSA)and polycrystalline structure with defects.