Recent advances in producing hollow carbon spheres for use in sodium−sulfur and potassium−sulfur batteries

Sodium-sulfur(Na-S)and potassium-sulfur(K-S)batteries for use at room temperature have received widespread attention because of the abundance and low cost of their raw materials and their high energy density.However,their development is restricted by the shuttling of polysulfides,large volume expansion and poor conductivity.To overcome these obstacles,an effective approach is to use carbon-based materials with abundant space for the sulfur that has sulfiphilic sites to immobilize it,and a high electrical conductivity.Hollow carbon spheres(HCSs)with a controllable structure and composition are promising for this purpose.We consider recent progress in optimizing the electrochemical performance of Na-/K-S batteries by using these materials.First,the advantages of HCSs,their synthesis methods,and strategies for preparing HCSs/sulfur composite materials are reviewed.Second,the use of HCSs in Na-/K-S batteries,along with mechanisms underlying the resulting performance improvement,are discussed.Finally,prospects for the further development of HCSs for metal−S batteries are presented.

Core-shell mesoporous carbon hollow spheres as Se hosts for advanced Al-Se batteries

Incorporating a selenium(Se)positive electrode into aluminum(Al)-ion batteries is an effective strategy for improving the overall battery performance.However,the cycling stability of Se positive electrodes has challenges due to the dissolution of intermediate reaction products.In this work,we aim to harness the advantages of Se while reducing its limitations by preparing a core-shell mesoporous carbon hollow sphere with a titanium nitride(C@TiN)host to load 63.9wt%Se as the positive electrode material for Al-Se batteries.Using the physical and chemical confinement offered by the hollow mesoporous carbon and TiN,the obtained core-shell mesoporous carbon hollow spheres coated with Se(Se@C@TiN)display superior utilization of the active material and remarkable cycling stability.As a result,Al-Se batteries equipped with the as-prepared Se@C@TiN composite positive electrodes show an initial discharge specific capacity of 377 mAh·g^(-1)at a current density of 1000 mA·g^(-1)while maintaining a discharge specific capacity of 86.0 mAh·g^(-1)over 200 cycles.This improved cycling performance is ascribed to the high electrical conductivity of the core-shell mesoporous carbon hollow spheres and the unique three-dimensional hierarchical architecture of Se@C@TiN.

Poly(ethylenimine)-assisted synthesis of hollow carbon spheres comprising multi-sized Ni species for CO_(2) electroreduction

Electrochemical CO_(2) reduction to produce value-added chemicals and fuels is one of the research hotspots in the field of energy conversion.The development of efficient catalysts with high conductivity and readily accessible active sites for CO_(2) electroreduction remains challenging yet indispensable.In this work,a reliable poly(ethyleneimine)(PEI)-assisted strategy is developed to prepare a hollow carbon nanocomposite comprising a single-site Ni-modified carbon shell and confined Ni nanoparticles(NPs)(denoted as Ni@NHCS),where PEI not only functions as a mediator to induce the highly dispersed growth of Ni NPs within hollow carbon spheres,but also as a nitrogen precursor to construct highly active atomically-dispersed Ni-Nx sites.Benefiting from the unique structural properties of Ni@NHCS,the aggregation and exposure of Ni NPs can be effectively prevented,while the accessibility of abundant catalytically active Ni-Nx sites can be ensured.As a result,Ni@NHCS exhibits a high CO partial current density of 26.9 mA cm^(-2) and a Faradaic efficiency of 93.0% at-1.0 V vs.RHE,outperforming those of its PEI-free analog.Apart from the excellent activity and selectivity,the shell confinement effect of the hollow carbon sphere endows this catalyst with long-term stability.The findings here are anticipated to help understand the structure-activity relationship in Ni-based carbon catalyst systems for electrocatalytic CO_(2) reduction.Furthermore,the PEI-assisted synthetic concept is potentially applicable to the preparation of high-performance metal-based nanoconfined materials tailored for diverse energy conversion applications and beyond.

Highly crystalline carbon nitride hollow spheres with enhanced photocatalytic performance

Graphitic carbon nitride(g-C_(3)N_(4))has emerged as a remarkably promising photocatalyst for addressing environmental and energy issues;however,it exhibits only moderate photocatalytic activity because of its low specific surface area and high recombination of carriers.Preparation of crystalline g-C_(3)N_(4) by the molten salt method has proven to be an effective method to improve the photocatalytic activity.However,crystalline g-C_(3)N_(4) prepared by the conventional molten salt method exhibits a less regular morphology.Herein,highly crystalline g-C_(3)N_(4) hollow spheres(CCNHS)were successfully prepared by the molten salt method using cyanuric acid-melamine as a precursor.The higher crystallization of the CCNHS samples not only repaired the structural defects at the surface of the CCNHS samples but also established a built-in electric field between heptazine-based g-C_(3)N_(4) and triazine-based g-C_(3)N_(4).The hollow structure improved the level of light energy utilization and increased the number of active sites for photocatalytic reactions.Because of the above characteristics,the as-prepared CCNHS samples simultaneously realized photocatalytic hydrogen evolution with the degradation of the plasticizer bisphenol A.This research offers a new perspective on the structural optimization of supramolecular self-assembly.

Hierarchical porous nitrogen,oxygen,and phosphorus ternary doped hollow biomass carbon spheres for high-speed and long-life potassium storage

Limited lithium resources have promoted the exploration of new battery technologies.Among them,potassium-ion batteries are considered as promising alternatives.At present,commercial graphite and other carbon-based materials have shown good prospects as anodes for potassium-ion batteries.However,the volume expansion and structural collapse caused by periodic K+insertion/extraction have severely restricted further development and application of potassium-ion batteries.A hollow biomass carbon ball(NOP-PB)ternarily doped with N,O,and P was synthesized and used as the negative electrode of a potassium-ion battery.X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy,Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy,and transmission electron microscopy confirmed that the hollow biomass carbon spheres were successfully doped with N,O,and P.Further analysis proved that N,O,and P ternary doping expands the interlayer distance of the graphite surface and introduces more defect sites.DFT calculations simultaneously proved that the K adsorption energy of the doped structure is greatly improved.The solid hollow hierarchical porous structure buffers the volume expansion of the potassium insertion process,maintains the original structure after a long cycle and promotes the transfer of potassium ions and electrons.Therefore,the NOP‐PB negative electrode shows extremely enhanced electrochemical performance,including high specific capacity,excellent long‐term stability,and good rate stability.

Fabrication of functional hollow carbon spheres with large hollow interior as active colloidal catalysts

In this study, we have established a facile method to synthesize functional hollow carbon spheres with large hollow interior, which can act as active colloidal catalysts. The method includes the following steps： first, hollow polymer spheres with large hollow interior were prepared using sodium oleate as the hollow core generator, and 2,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid and hexamethylene tetramine （HMT） as the polymer precursors under hydrothermal conditions; Fe3＋ or Ag＋ cations were then introduced into the as-prepared hollow polymer spheres through the carboxyl groups; finally, the hollow polymer spheres can be pseudomorphically converted to hollow carbon spheres during pyrolysis process, meanwhile iron or silver nanoparticles can also be formed in the carbon shell simultaneously. The structures of the obtained functional hollow carbon spheres were characterized by TEM, XRD, and TG. As an example, Ag-doped hollow carbon spheres were used as colloid catalysts which showed high catalytic activity in 4-nitrophenol reduction reaction.

A Bi-layer Composite Film Based on TiO_2 Hollow Spheres, P25,and Multi-walled Carbon Nanotubes for Efficient Photoanode of Dye-sensitized Solar Cell

A bi-layer photoanode for dye-sensitized solar cell(DSSC) was fabricated, in which TiO_2 hollow spheres(THSs) were designed as a scattering layer and P25/multi-walled carbon nanotubes(MWNTs) as an under-layer. The THSs were synthesized by a sacrifice template method and showed good light scattering ability as an over-layer of the photoanode. MWNTs were mixed with P25 to form an under-layer of the photoanode to improve the electron transmission ability of the photoanode. The power conversion efficiency of this kind of DSSC with bi-layer was enhanced to 5.13 %,which is 14.25 % higher than that of pure P25 DSSC.Graphical Abstract A bi-layer composite photoanode based on P25/MWNTs-THSs with improved light scattering and electron transmission, which will provide a new insight into fabrication and structure design of highly efficient dyesensitized solar cells.

Electrochemical hydrogen evolution efficiently boosted by interfacial charge redistribution in Ru/MoSe_(2) embedded mesoporous hollow carbon spheres

The strong metal-support interaction inducing combined effect plays a crucial role in the catalysis reaction. Herein, we revealed that the combined advantages of MoSe_(2), Ru, and hollow carbon spheres in the form of Ru nanoparticles(NPs) anchored on a two-dimensionally ordered MoSe_(2) nanosheet-embedded mesoporous hollow carbon spheres surface(Ru/MoSe_(2)@MHCS) for the largely boosted hydrogen evolution reaction(HER) performance. The combined advantages from the conductive support, oxyphilic MoSe_(2), and Ru active sites imparted a strong synergistic effect and charge redistribution in the Ru periphery which induced high catalytic activity, stability, and kinetics for HER. Specifically, the obtained Ru/MoSe_(2)@MHCS required a small overpotential of 25.5 and 38.4 mV to drive the kinetic current density of 10 mA cm^(-2)both in acid and alkaline media, respectively, which was comparable to that of the Pt/C catalyst. Experimental and theoretical results demonstrated that the charge transfer from MoSe_(2) to Ru NPs enriched the electronic density of Ru sites and thus facilitated hydrogen adsorption and water dissociation. The current work showed the significant interfacial engineering in Ru-based catalysts development and catalysis promotion effect understanding via the metal-support interaction.

Consecutive hybrid mechanism boosting Na+storage performance of dual-confined SnSe2 in N,Se-doping double-walled hollow carbon spheres

Rationally designed hierarchical structures and heteroatomic doping of carbon are effective strategies to enhance the stability and electrical conductivity of materials.Herein,SnSe_(2)flakes were generated in the double-walled hollow carbon spheres(DWHCSs),in which N and Se atoms were doped in the carbon walls,to construct SnSe_(2)@N,Se-DWHCSs by confined growth and in-situ derivatization.The N and Sedoped DWHCSs can effectively limit the size increase of SnSe_(2),promote ion diffusion kinetics,and buffer volume expansion,which can be proved by electron microscope observation and density functional theory calculation.Consequently,the SnSe_(2)@N,Se-DWHCSs as an anode material for sodium ion batteries(SIBs)demonstrated a distinguished reversible capacity of 322.8 mAh g^(-1)at 5 A g^(-1)after 1000 cycles and a superior rate ability of 235.3 m Ah g^(-1)at an ultrahigh rate of 15 A g^(-1).Furthermore,the structure evolution and electrochemical reaction processes of SnSe2@N,Se-DWHCSs in SIBs were analyzed by exsitu methods,which confirmed the consecutive hybrid mechanism and the phase transition process.

Catalytic oxidation of pentanethiol on basic nitrogen doped carbon hollow spheres derived from waste tires

A series of basic nitrogen doped carbon hollow spheres(p-N-C) catalysts derived from waste tires were prepared by a green, facile and environmental “leavening” strategy for the catalytic oxidation of pentanethiol. Compared to pristine carbon, the p-N-C has a higher surface curvature conducive to the enrichment of substrates, leading to an excellent catalytic performance. This increased surface curvature of p-N-C was fabricated on the synergistic effect of two foaming agents((NH4)2 C2 O4 and NaHCO3), and the released gas also endows the spherical shell of p-N-C with a hierarchical porous structure, promoting the accessibility of active sites with pentanethiol. Pyridine-like and pyrrolic-like nitrogen atoms were investigated as reactive sites on the p-N-C to accelerate the electron transfer from sulfur to active surface oxygen and enhance the adsorption/oxidation process. As a result, the optimal p-N-C catalyst exhibits superior adsorption and oxidation performance(99.9%) of pentanethiol, outperforming the “unleavened”catalyst(20.8%). This work offers a new avenue for the fabrication of highly efficient materials for the desulfurization of fuel.

Enhanced photocatalytic H_(2) production performance of CdS hollow spheres using C and Pt as bi-cocatalysts

Photocatalytic H2 production from water splitting is an effective method to solve energy crisis and environmental pollution simultaneously.Herein,carbon@CdS composite hollow spheres(C@CdS-HS)are fabricated via a facile hydrothermal method using porous carbon hollow spheres(C-HS)as the template.The C@CdS-HS shows an excellent photocatalytic H2-generation rate of 20.9 mmol h^(−1) g^(−1)(apparent quantum efficiency of 15.3%at 420 nm),with 1.0 wt%Pt as a cocatalyst under simulated sunlight irradiation;this rate is 69.7,13.9,and 3.9 times higher than that obtained with pure CdS hollow spheres(CdS-HS),C@CdS-HS,and CdS-HS/Pt,respectively.The enhanced photocatalytic H_(2)-evolution activity of C@CdS-HS/Pt is due to the synergistic effect of C and Pt as the bi-cocatalyst.The C-HS serves not only as an active site provider but also as an electron transporter and reservoir.Moreover,C-HS has a strong photothermal effect that is induced by near infrared light,which kinetically accelerates the H_(2)-production reaction.Additionally,the underlying charge transfer pathway and process from CdS to C−HS is revealed.This work highlights the potential application of C-HS-based nanocomposites in solar-to-chemical energy conversion.

Amorphous Fe Nanoclusters Embedded inside Balloon-Like N-Doped Hollow Carbon for Efficient Electrocatalytic Oxygen Reduction

Rational designs of electrocatalytic active sites and architectures are of great importance to develop cost-efficient non-noble metal electrocatalysts towards efficient oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)for high-performance energy conversion and storage devices.In this work,active amorphous Fe-based nanoclusters(Fe NC)are elaborately embedded at the inner surface of balloonlike N-doped hollow carbon(Fe NC/Csphere)as an efficient ORR electrocatalyst with an ultrathin wall of about 10 nm.When evaluated for electrochemical performance,Fe NC/Csphere exhibits decent ORR activity with a diffusionlimited current density of~5.0 mA/cm^(2)and a half-wave potential of~0.81 V in alkaline solution,which is comparable with commercial Pt/C and superior to Fe nanoparticles supported on carbon sheet(Fe NP/C sheet)counterpart.The electrochemical analyses combined with electronic structure characterizations reveal that robust Fe-N interactions in amorphous Fe nanoclusters are helpful for the adsorption of surface oxygen-relative species,and the strong support effect of N-doped hollow carbon is benefitial for accelerating the interfacial electron transfer,which jointly contributes to improve ORR kinetics for Fe NC/Csphere.

Constructing a hollow core-shell structure of RuO_(2) wrapped by hierarchical porous carbon shell with Ru NPs loading for supercapacitor

Hollow core-shell structure nanomaterials have been broadly used in energy storage, catalysis, reactor,and other fields due to their unique characteristics, including the synergy between different materials,a large specific surface area, small density, large charge carrying capacity and so on. However, their synthesis processes were mostly complicated, and few researches reported one-step encapsulation of different valence states of precious metals in carbon-based materials. Hence, a novel hollow core-shell nanostructure electrode material, RuO_(2)@Ru/HCs, with a lower mass of ruthenium to reduce costs was constructed by one-step hydrothermal method with hard template and co-assembled strategy, consisting of RuO_(2) core and ruthenium nanoparticles(Ru NPs) in carbon shell. The Ru NPs were uniformly assembled in the carbon layer, which not only improved the electronic conductivity but also provided more active centers to enhance the pseudocapacitance. The RuO_(2) core further enhanced the material’s energy storage capacity. Excellent capacitance storage(318.5 F·g^(-1)at 0.5 A·g^(-1)), rate performance(64.4%) from 0.5 A·g^(-1)to 20 A·g^(-1), and cycling stability(92.3% retention after 5000 cycles) were obtained by adjusting Ru loading to 0.92%(mass). It could be attributed to the wider pore size distribution in the micropores which increased the transfer of electrons and protons. The symmetrical supercapacitor device based on RuO_(2)@Ru/HCs could successfully light up the LED lamp. Therefore, our work verified that interfacial modification of RuO_(2) and carbon could bring attractive insights into energy density for nextgeneration supercapacitors.

PtPb/HCSs催化剂制备及电催化氧化甲醇研究

以二氧化硅微球作模板,葡萄糖为碳源,通过水热法成功合成粒径均一、尺寸较小的碳空心球(HCSs),并以此为载体合成碳空心球载铂铅纳米微粒复合催化剂(PtPb/HCSs),在1 mol.L-1CH3OH+0.5mol.L-1H2SO4混合溶液中考察了PtPb/HCSs催化剂对甲醇的电催化氧化性能。样品的成份、结构和形貌分别用SEM、TEM、XRD和EDS进行表征。循环伏安(CV)及计时电流法实验表明碳空心球载铂铅催化剂对于甲醇氧化具有良好的电催化活性及稳定性。PtPb/HCSs电极优异的催化性能归因于碳空心球的高比表面积以及Pb的协同作用,是一种优良的直接甲醇燃料电池(DMFC)阳极材料。

Hollow-in-hollow carbon spheres with hollow foam-like cores for lithium-sulfur batteries

Lithium-sulfur batteries have attracted increasing attention because of their high theoretical capadty. Using sulfur/carbon composites as the cathode materials has been demonstrated as an effective strategy to optimize sulfur utilization and enhance cycle stability as well. In this work hollow-in-hollow carbon spheres with hollow foam-like cores （HCSF@C） are prepared to improve both capability and cycling stability of lithium-sulfur batteries. With high surface area and large pore volumes, the loading of sulfur in HCSF@C reaches up to 70 wt.%. In the resulting S/HCSF@C composites, the outer carbon shell serves as an effective protection layer to trap the soluble polysulfide intermediates derived from the inner component. Consequently, the S/HCSF@C cathode retains a high capacity of 780 mAh/g after 300 cycles at a high charge/discharge rate of 1 A/g.

Supercapacitor Performance of Hollow Carbon Spheres by Direct Pyrolysis of Melamine-formaldehyde Resin Spheres

The nitrogen and oxygen co-doped hollow carbon spheres（HCSs） were prepared via a simple pyrolysis of solid melamine-formaldhyde resin spheres. The carbonization temperature has an important influence on the specific surface area, pore-size distribution and heteroatom contents of HCSs. The synergistic effects of those physical and chemical properties on supercapacitor performance were systematically investigated. Among the HCSs obtained at different temperatures, HCSs-800（co-doped HCSs at 800℃） exhibits the best reversible specific capacitance in 2 mol/L H2SO4 electrolyte and meanwhile maintains a high-class capacitance retention capability. The nitrogen heteroatoms were confirmed to play a crucial role in improving capacitance in an acid medium. This kind of nitrogen doved HCSs is a potential candidate for an efficient electrode material for supercapacitors.

Facile carbonaceous microsphere templated synthesis of Co3O4 hollow spheres and their electrochemical performance in supercapacitors

Co3O4 hollow spheres assembled from nanoparticles have been successfully synthesized by a one-pot hydrothermal carbonization and calcination method. In this method, carbon spheres obtained through hydrothermal carbonization at a low temperature of 140 ℃ are used as sacrificial templates. The carbonization process was monitored by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy （FT-IR） and Raman spectroscopy. Both the carbon sphere soft templates and the NH3 released from hexamethylenetetramine play key roles in the formation of these novel hollow structures. The formation of the Co3O4 hollow spheres using hydrothermal carbon spheres as templates can be attributed to the synergetic effect of metal ion adsorption and heterogeneous nucleation of Co（OH）2, which is different from the traditional adsorption theory. The as-obtained Co3O4 hollow microspheres exhibit excellent cycling performance and good rate capacity when used as electrode materials in supercapacitors, which can be attributed to the small particle size of Co3O4 and the sufficient space available to interact with the electrolytes. This facile strategy may be extended to synthesize other metal oxide hollow spheres, which may find application in sensors and catalysts due to their unique structural features.

Hollow TiO_2 spheres with improved visible light photocatalytic activity synergistically enhanced by multi-stimulative: Morphology advantage,carbonate-doping and the induced Ti^(3+)

Great efforts have been devoted to improve the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 in the visible light region. Rational design of the external structure and adjustment of intrinsic electronic status by impurity doping are two main effective ways to achieve this purpose. A facile onepot synthetic approach was developed to prepare C-doped hollow TiO2 spheres, which simultaneously realized these advantages. The synthesized TiO2 exhibits a mesoporous hollow spherical structure composed of fine nanocrystals, leading to high specific surface area（~180 m^2/g） and versatile porous texture. Carbonate-doping was achieved by a postthermal treatment at a relatively low temperature（200°C）, which makes the absorption edge red-shifted to the visible region of the solar spectrum. Concomitantly, Ti^（3＋） induced by C-doping also functions in improving the visible-light photocatalytic activity by reducing the band gap. There exists a synergistic effect from multiple stimulatives to enhance the photocatalytic effect of the prepared TiO2 catalyst. It is not out of expectation that the asprepared C-doped hollow TiO2 spheres exhibits an improved photocatalytic activity under visible light irradiation in organic pollutant degradation.

Sculpturing solid polymer spheres into internal gridded hollow carbon spheres under controlled pyrolysis micro-environment

Porous carbon spheres with an internal gridded hollow structure and microporous shell have always been attractive as carbon hosts for electrochemical energy storage. Such carbon hosts can limit active species loss and enhance electronic conductivity throughout the entire framework. Herein, a synthesis approach of internal gridded hollow carbon spheres is developed from solid polymer spheres rather than originally gridded polymer spheres under a controlled pyrolysis micro-environment. The crucial point of this approach is the fabrication of a silica fence around solid polymer spheres, under which the free escaping of the pyrolysis gas will be partly impeded, thus offering a reconstitution opportunity for an internal structure of solid polymer spheres. As a result, the interior of carbon spheres is sculptured into a gridded hollow structure with microporous skin. Furthermore, the size and density of carbon-bridge grids can be modulated by altering the crosslinking degree of polymer spheres and varying pyrolysis conditions. Such gridded hollow carbon spheres show good performance as sulfur hosts for Li-S battery.

Fe atoms anchored on defective nitrogen doped hollow carbon spheres as efficient electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction

Defective electrocatalysts,especially for intrinsic defective carbon,have aroused a wide concern owing to high spin and charge densities.However,the designated nitrogen species favorable for creating defects by the removal of nitrogen,and the influence of defects for the coordination structure of active site and oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)activity have not been elucidated.Herein,we designed and synthesized a pair of electrocatalysts,denoted as Fe-N/C and Fe-ND/C for coordination sites of atomic iron-nitrogen and iron-nitrogen/defect configuration embedded in hollow carbon spheres,respectively,through direct pyrolysis of their corresponding hollow carbon spheres adsorbed with Fe(acac)3.The nitrogen defects were fabricated via the evaporation of pyrrolic-N on nitrogen doped hollow carbon spheres.Results of comparative experiments between Fe-N/C and Fe-ND/C reveal that Fe-ND/C shows superior ORR activity with an onset potential of 30 mV higher than that of Fe-N/C.Fe-ND sites are more favorable for the enhancement of ORR activity.Density functional theory(DFT)calculation demonstrates that Fe-ND/C with proposed coordination structure of FeN_(4-x)(0<x<4)anchored by OH as axial ligand during ORR,weakens the strong binding of OH^(*)intermediate and promotes the desorption of OH^(*)as rate-determining step for ORR in alkaline electrolyte.Thus,Fe-ND/C electrocatalysts present much better ORR activity compared with that of Fe-N/C with proposed coordination structure of FeN_(4).