Boosting high initial coulombic efficiency of hard carbon by in-situ electrochemical presodiation

Hard carbon(HC)is a promising anode material for sodium ion batteries(SIBs),whereas inferior initial coulombic efficiency(ICE)severely limits its practical application.In the present work,we propose an in situ electrochemical presodiation approach to improve ICE by mixing sodium biphenyl(Na-Bp)dimethoxyethane(DME)solution with DME-based ether electrolyte.A solid electrolyte interface(SEI)could be formed beforehand on the HC electrode and Na^(+)was absorbed to nanopores and graphene stacks,compensating for the sodium loss and preventing electrolyte decomposition during the initial charge and discharge cycle.By this way,the ICE of half-cells was increased to nearly 100%and that of full-cells from 45%to 96%with energy density from 132.9 to 230.5 W h kg^(-1).Our work provides an efficient and facile method for improving ICE,which can potentially promote the practical application of HCbased materials.

Flower-like ZnO modified with BiOI nanoparticles as adsorption/catalytic bifunctional hosts for lithium–sulfur batteries

Due to the high specific capacity and energy density, lithium–sulfur battery is regarded as a potential energy storage conversion system. However, the serious shuttle effect and the sluggish electrochemical reaction kinetics impede the practical use of lithium–sulfur battery. In the interests of breaking through the above knotty problems, herein we propose to use the polar flower-like Zn O modified by Bi OI nanoparticles as bifunctional host with catalytic and adsorption ability for polysulfides in lithium–sulfur battery.It can be found that this adsorption/catalytic host integrates the functions of adsorption and mutual catalytic conversion of polysulfides, in which the polar flower-like Zn O can effectively capture the polysulfides through strong polar-polar interaction, simultaneously the BiOI nanoparticles can accelerate the mutual conversion of polysulfides to Li2 S through reducing the activation energy and conversion energy barrier required for the electrochemical reaction. As a result, under a sulfur loading of 2.5 mg cm^(-2), the lithium–sulfur battery with Zn O/Bi OI/CNT/S as cathode reveals a considerable initial specific capacity of1267 mAh g^(-1) at a current density of 0.1 C. Even the current density increased to 1 C, the capacity can reach as 873.4 mAh g^(-1), together with a good capacity retention of 67.1% after 400 cycles. Therefore,after systematically study the positive effects of the flower-like ZnO modified by catalytic BiOI nanoparticles on the adsorption and catalytic conversion of polysulfides, this work provides a new idea for the development and application of high-performance lithium–sulfur batteries.

Metal-organic framework-derived porous shuttle-like vanadium oxides for sodium-ion battery application

Vanadium oxides with a layered structure are promising candidates for both lithium-ion batteries and sodium-ion batteries （SIBs）. The self-template approach, which involves a transformation from metal-organic frameworks （MOFs） into porous metal oxides, is a novel and effective way to achieve desirable electrochemical performance. In this stud~ porous shuttle-like vanadium oxides （i.e., V205, V203/C） were successfully prepared by using MIL-88B （V） as precursors with a specific calcination process. As a proof-of-concept application, the as- prepared porous shuttle-like VaOdC was used as an anode material for SIBs. The porous shuttle-like V203/C, which had an inherent layered structure with metallic behavior, exhibited excellent electrochemical properties. Remarkable rate capacities of 417, 247, 202, 176, 164, and 149 mAh.g-1 were achieved at current densities of 50, 100, 200, 500, 1,000, and 2,000 mA.g-1, respectively. Under cycling at 2 A.g-1, the specific discharge capacity reached 181 mAh.g-1, with a low capacity fading rate of 0.032% per cycle after 1,000 cycles. Density functional theory calculation results indicated that Na ions preferred to occupy the interlamination rather than the inside of each layer in the V203. Interestingly, the special layered structure with a skeleton of dumbbell-like V-V bonds and metallic behavior was maintained after the insertion of Na ions, which was beneficial for the cycle performance. We consider that the MOF precursor of MIL-88B （V） can be used to synthesize other porous V-based materials for various applications.

Nitrogen/sulfur co-doped hollow carbon nanofiber anode obtained from polypyrrole with enhanced electrochemical performance for Na-ion batteries

Polypyrrole and sulfur derived hollow carbon nanofibers co-doped with nitrogen/sulfur are synthesized and applied as the anode for Na-ion batteries(NIBs). Successful doping of hollow carbon nanofiber with nitrogen and sulfur is confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning and tunneling electron microscopy. Further analysis certifies that sulfur doping has a significant impact in improving the elecctrochemical performance of the carbon-based anodes for NIBs. The obtained N-doped hollow carbon nanofiber and N/S co-doped hollow carbon nanofiber exhibit similar morphologies but different electrochemical behavior. As expected, the N/S co-doped hollow carbon nanofiber anode exhibits enhanced electrochemical performance, including high specific capacity, outstanding long-term stability, and good rate stability.