Synergistic enhancement of cathode/anode interfaces with high water-retentive organohydrogel enabling highly stable zinc ion batteries

Current aqueous battery electrolytes,including conve ntional hydrogel electrolytes,exhibit unsatisfactory water retention capabilities.The sustained water loss will lead to subsequent polarization and increased internal resistance,ultimately resulting in battery failure.Herein,a double network(DN) orga no hydrogel electrolyte based on dimethyl sulfoxide(DMSO)/H_(2)O binary solvent was proposed.Through directionally reconstructing hydrogen bonds and reducing active H_(2)O molecules,the water retention ability and cathode/anode interfaces were synergistic enhanced.As a result,the synthesized DN organohydrogel demonstrates exceptional water retention capabilities,retaining approximately 75% of its original weight even after the exposure to air for 20 days.The Zn MnO_(2) battery delivers an outstanding specific capacity of275 mA h g^(-1) at 1 C,impressive rate performance with 85 mA h g^(-1) at 30 C,and excellent cyclic stability(95% retention after 6000 cycles at 5 C).Zn‖Zn symmetric battery can cycle more than 5000 h at 1 mA cm^(-2) and 1 mA h cm^(-2) without short circuiting.This study will encourage the further development of functional organohydrogel electrolytes for advanced energy storage devices.

Preparation of lithium-ion battery anode materials from graphitized spent carbon cathode derived from aluminum electrolysis

Graphitized spent carbon cathode(SCC)is a hazardous solid waste generated in the aluminum electrolysis process.In this study,a flotation-acid leaching process is proposed for the purification of graphitized SCC,and the use of the purified SCC as an anode material for lithium-ion batteries is explored.The flotation and acid leaching processes were separately optimized through one-way experiments.The maximum SCC carbon content(93wt%)was achieved at a 90%proportion of−200-mesh flotation particle size,a slurry concentration of 10wt%,a rotation speed of 1600 r/min,and an inflatable capacity of 0.2 m^(3)/h(referred to as FSCC).In the subsequent acid leaching process,the SCC carbon content reached 99.58wt%at a leaching concentration of 5 mol/L,a leaching time of 100 min,a leaching temperature of 85°C,and an HCl/FSCC volume ratio of 5:1.The purified graphitized SCC(referred to as FSCC-CL)was utilized as an anode material,and it exhibited an initial capacity of 348.2 mAh/g at 0.1 C and a reversible capacity of 347.8 mAh/g after 100 cycles.Moreover,compared with commercial graphite,FSCC-CL exhibited better reversibility and cycle stability.Thus,purified SCC is an important candidate for anode material,and the flotation-acid leaching purification method is suitable for the resourceful recycling of SCC.

Defect Engineering:Can it Mitigate Strong Coulomb Effect of Mg^(2+)in Cathode Materials for Rechargeable Magnesium Batteries?

Rechargeable magnesium batteries(RMBs)have been considered a promising“post lithium-ion battery”system to meet the rapidly increasing demand of the emerging electric vehicle and grid energy storage market.However,the sluggish diffusion kinetics of bivalent Mg^(2+)in the host material,related to the strong Coulomb effect between Mg^(2+)and host anion lattices,hinders their further development toward practical applications.Defect engineering,regarded as an effective strategy to break through the slow migration puzzle,has been validated in various cathode materials for RMBs.In this review,we first thoroughly understand the intrinsic mechanism of Mg^(2+)diffusion in cathode materials,from which the key factors affecting ion diffusion are further presented.Then,the positive effects of purposely introduced defects,including vacancy and doping,and the corresponding strategies for introducing various defects are discussed.The applications of defect engineering in cathode materials for RMBs with advanced electrochemical properties are also summarized.Finally,the existing challenges and future perspectives of defect engineering in cathode materials for the overall high-performance RMBs are described.

Lithium-ion full cell with high energy density using nickel-rich LiNi_(0.8)Co_(0.1)Mn_(0.1)O_2 cathode and SiO-C composite anode

A high-energy-density Li-ion battery with excellent rate capability and long cycle life was fabricated with a Ni-rich layered LiNi_(0.8)Co_(0.1)Mn_(0.1)O_2 cathode and Si O-C composite anode. The LiNi_(0.8)Co_(0.1)Mn_(0.1)O_2 and Si O-C exhibited excellent electrochemical performance in both half and full cells. Specifically, when integrated into a full cell configuration, a high energy density(280 Wh·kg^(-1)) with excellent rate capability and long cycle life was attained. At 0.5 C, the full cell retained 80% of its initial capacity after 200 charge/discharge cycles, and 60% after 600 cycles, indicating robust structural tolerance for the repeated insertion/extraction of Li^+ ions. The rate performance showed that, at high rate of 1 C and 2 C, 96.8% and 93% of the initial capacity were retained, respectively. The results demonstrate strong potential for the development of high energy density Li-ion batteries for practical applications.

A hydrophilic poly(methyl vinyl ether-alt-maleic acid) polymer as a green, universal, and dual-functional binder for high-performance silicon anode and sulfur cathode

Binders could play crucial or even decisive roles in the fabrication of low-cost, stable and high-capacity electrodes. This is especially the case for the silicon (Si) anodes and sulfur (S) cathodes that undergo large volume change and active material loss in lithium-ion batteries during prolonged cycles. Herein, a hydrophilic polymer poly(methyl vinyl ether-alt-maleic acid) (PMVEMA) was explored as a dual-functional aqueous binder for the preparation of high-performance silicon anode and sulfur cathode. Benefiting from the dual functions of PMVEMA, i.e., the excellent dispersion ability and strong binding forces, the as-prepared electrodes exhibit improved capacity, rate capability and long-term cycling performance. In particular, the as-prepared Si electrode delivers a high initial discharge capacity of 1346.5 mAh g^(−1) at a high rate of 8.4 A/g and maintains 834.5 mAh g^(−1) after 300 cycles at 4.2 A/g, while the as-prepared S cathode exhibits enhanced cycling performance with high remaining discharge capacities of 663.4 mAh g^(−1) after 100 cycles at 0.2 C and 487.07 mAh g^(−1) after 300 cycles at 1 C, respectively. These encouraging results suggest that PMVEMA could be a universal binder to facilitate the green manufacture of both anode and cathode for high-capacity energy storage systems.

Theoretical and Experimental Sets of Choice Anode/Cathode Architectonics for High-Performance Full-Scale LIB Built-up Models

To control the power hierarchy design of lithium-ion battery(LIB)builtup sets for electric vehicles(EVs),we offer intensive theoretical and experimental sets of choice anode/cathode architectonics that can be modulated in full-scale LIB built-up models.As primary structural tectonics,heterogeneous composite superstructures of full-cell-LIB(anode//cathode)electrodes were designed in closely packed flower agave rosettes TiO2@C(FRTO@C anode)and vertical-star-tower LiFePO4@C(VST@C cathode)building blocks to regulate the electron/ion movement in the three-dimensional axes and orientation pathways.The superpower hierarchy surfaces and multi-directional orientation components may create isosurface potential electrodes with mobile electron movements,in-to-out interplay electron dominances,and electron/charge cloud distributions.This study is the first to evaluate the hotkeys of choice anode/cathode architectonics to assemble different LIB-electrode platforms with high-mobility electron/ion flows and high-performance capacity functionalities.Density functional theory calculation revealed that the FRTO@C anode and VST-(i)@C cathode architectonics are a superior choice for the configuration of full-scale LIB built-up models.The integrated FRTO@C//VST-(i)@C full-scale LIB retains a huge discharge capacity(~94.2%),an average Coulombic efficiency of 99.85%after 2000 cycles at 1 C,and a high energy density of 127 Wh kg?1,thereby satisfying scale-up commercial EV requirements.

A rapid one-step electrodeposition process for fabrication of superhydrobic surfaces on anode and cathode

This work presents a method to solve the weak solubility of zinc chloride(ZnCl_2) in the ethanol by adding some reasonable water into an ethanol electrolyte containing ZnCl_2 and myristic acid(CH_3(CH_2)_(12)COOH).A rapid one-step electrodeposition process was developed to fabricate anodic(2.5 min) and cathodic(40 s) superhydrophobic surfaces of copper substrate(contact angle more than 150°) in an aqueous ethanol electrolyte.Morphology,composition,chemical structure and superhydrophobicity of these superhydrophobic surfaces were investigated by SEM,FTIR,XRD,and contact angle measurement,respectively.The results indicate that water ratio of the electrolyte can reduce the required deposition time,superhydrophobic surface needs over 30 min with anhydrous electrolyte,while it needs only 2.5 min with electrolyte including 10 mL water,and the maximum contact angle of anodic surface is 166° and that of the cathodic surface is 168°.Two copper electrode surfaces have different reactions in the process of electrodeposition time,and the anodic copper surface covers copper myristate(Cu[CH_3(CH_2)_(12)COO]_2) and cupric chloride(CuCl);while,zinc myristate(Zn[CH_3(CH_2)_(12)COO]_2) and pure zinc(Zn) appear on the cathodic surface.

Effect of samarium doped ceria nanoparticles impregnation on the performance of anode supported SOFC with(Pr_(0.7)Ca_(0.3))_(0.9)MnO_(3-δ) cathode

Solid oxide fuel cell(SOFC) electrodes,after a high temperature sintering,may be impregnated to deposit nanoparticles within their pores to enhance the catalytic function.Samarium doped CeO2(SDC) nanoparticles were infiltrated into(Pr0.7Ca0.3)0.9MnO3-δ(PCM) cathode of anode supported SOFC cells.The cell with 2.6 mg/cm2 SDC impregnated in cathode showed the maximum power density of 580 mW/cm2 compared with 310 mW/cm2 of the cell without impregnation at 850 °C.The cells were also characterized with the impeda...

In-situ fabrication of dual porous titanium dioxide films as anode for carbon cathode based perovskite solar cell

We develop a dual porous （DP） TiO2 film for the electron transporting layer （ETL） in carbon cathode based perovskite solar cells （C-PSCs）. The DP TiO2 film was synthesized via a facile PS-templated method with the thickness being controlled by the spin-coating speed. It was found that there is an optimum DP TiO2 film thickness for achieving an effective ETL, a suitable perovskite]TiO2 interface, an efficient light harvester and thus a high performance C-PSC. In particular, such a DP TiO2 film can act as a scaffold for complete-filling of the pores with perovskite and for forming high-quality perovskite crystals that are seamlessly interfaced with Ti02 to enhance interracial charge injection. Leveraging the unique advantages of DP TiO2 ETL, together with a dense-packed and pinhole-free TiO2 compact layer, PCE of the C-PSCs has reached 9.81% with good stability.

Iodine Promoted Ultralow Zn Nucleation Overpotential and Zn-Rich Cathode for Low-Cost, Fast-Production and High-Energy Density Anode-Free Zn-Iodine Batteries

The anode-free design is a promising strategy to increase the energy density of aqueous Zn metal batteries(AZMBs).However,the scarcity of Zn-rich cathodes and the rapid loss of limited Zn greatly hinder their commercial applications.To address these issues,a novel anode-free Zniodine battery(AFZIB)was designed via a simple,low-cost and scalable approach.Iodine plays bifunctional roles in improving the AFZIB overall performance:enabling high-performance Zn-rich cathode and modulating Zn deposition behavior.On the cathode side,the ZnI_(2) serves as Zn-rich cathode material.The graphene/polyvinyl pyrrolidone heterostructure was employed as an efficient host for ZnI_(2) to enhance electron conductivity and suppress the shuttle effect of iodine species.On the anode side,trace I_(3)^(−) additive in the electrolyte creates surface reconstruction on the commercial Cu foil.The in situ formed zincophilic Cu nanocluster allows ultralow-overpotential and uniform Zn deposition and superior reversibility(average coulombic efficiency>99.91% over 7,000 cycles).Based on such a configuration,AFZIB exhibits significantly increased energy density(162 Wh kg^(−1)) and durable cycle stability(63.8% capacity retention after 200 cycles)under practical application conditions.Considering the low cost and simple preparation methods of the electrode materials,this work paves the way for the practical application of AZMBs.

Phase Transformation of Lithium-rich Oxide Cathode in Full Cell and its Suppression by Solid Electrolyte Interphase on Graphite Anode

Lithium-rich oxide is one of the most promising cathodes that meet high energy density requirement for batteries of the future, but its phase transformation from layer to spinel structure caused by the lattice instability presents severe challenge to cycling stability and the actually accessible capacity. The currently available approaches to suppress this undesired irreversible process often resort to limit the high voltages that lithium-rich oxide is exposed to. However, cycling stability thus improved is at the expense of the eventual energy output. In this work, we identified a new mechanism that is directly responsible for the lithium-rich oxide phase transformation and established a clear correlation between the successive consumption of Li+on anode due to incessant interphase repairing and the over-delithiation of lithium-rich oxide cathode. This new mechanism enables a simple but effective solution to the cathode degradation, in which an electrolyte additive is used to build a dense and protective interphase on anode with the intention to minimize Li depletion at cathode. The application of this new interphase effectively suppresses both electrolyte decomposition at anode and the phase transformation of lithium-rich oxide cathode, leading to high capacity and cycling stability.

Fabricating a PVDF skin for PEO-based SPE to stabilize the interface both at cathode and anode for Li-ion batteries

Poly(ethylene oxide)(PEO)-based solid polymer electrolyte is always the most promising candidate for preparing thinner, lighter and safer lithium-ion batteries. However, the lithium dendrites growth of lithium anode and the high-voltage oxidation of cathode are easy to cause the PEO-based battery failure.The way to deal with the different challenges on both sides of the anode and cathode is pursued all the time. In this study, we reported a new strategy to construct the PVDF/PEO/PVDF three-layer structure for solid polymer electrolyte(marked as PVDF@PEO) using PVDF as the functional “skin”. The PVDF@PEO electrolyte can effectively prevent from the lithium dendrites, and shows a stable cycling life over1000 h in the Li/PVDF@PEO/Li cell. In addition, the PVDF@PEO electrolyte exhibits higher oxidation resistance and can be matched with high-voltage LiCoO_(2) cathode. The Li/PVDF@PEO/LiCoO_(2) cell delivered a specific capacity of about 150 m Ah g^(-1) over 150 cycles and maintained good cycling stability. Our research provides insights that the polymer electrolytes constructed with PVDF functional “skin” can simultaneously meet the challenges of both anode and cathode in solid-state lithium-ion batteries(SSLIBs).

HCFL Lamp Only Lights Up under Coexistence of Cathode and Anode in Ar Gas Space for Half Cycle of AC Driving Circuit

Vacuum space between Ar atoms in unlighted HCFL lamps is an electric insulator, because vacuum fills up with strong negative electric field from orbital electrons in 3p6 electron shell of Ar atoms. Vacuum space in lighted FL lamps changes to the neutral vacuum that provides a superconductive vacuum for moving electrons at above room temperature. The complications of lighting mechanisms of HCFL lamps for more than 80 years have clearly solved with coexistence of disparate external and internal electric circuits for each half cycle. External electric circuit acts as two roles. One helps for formation of internal electric circuit in Ar gas space by electric field. Other picks up induced voltages from capacitor CFL. HCFL lamp only lights up with moving electrons in internal DC driving circuit. Electrons in HCFL lamp only move from cathode to anode, which respectively have negative and positive potentials against grand (V = 0), and which are formed with volumes of heated corona light (4G) at around W-filament metal electrodes with a help of heated BaO particles. The HCFL lamp that emits thermoelectrons is a false story. Here we have totally revised the fundamentals of the lighting mechanism of the established HCFL lamps for last 80 years.

Commercially Viable Hybrid Li-Ion/Metal Batteries with High Energy Density Realized by Symbiotic Anode and Prelithiated Cathode

The energy density of commercial lithium(Li)ion batteries with graphite anode is reaching the limit.It is believed that directly utilizing Li metal as anode without a host could enhance the battery’s energy density to the maximum extent.However,the poor reversibility and infinite volume change of Li metal hinder the realistic implementation of Li metal in battery community.Herein,a commercially viable hybrid Li-ion/metal battery is realized by a coordinated strategy of symbiotic anode and prelithiated cathode.To be specific,a scalable template-removal method is developed to fabricate the porous graphite layer(PGL),which acts as a symbiotic host for Li ion intercalation and subsequent Li metal deposition due to the enhanced lithiophilicity and sufficient ion-conducting pathways.A continuous dissolution-deintercalation mechanism during delithiation process further ensures the elimination of dead Li.As a result,when the excess plating Li reaches 30%,the PGL could deliver an ultrahigh average Coulombic efficiency of 99.5% for 180 cycles with a capacity of 2.48 m Ah cm^(-2) in traditional carbonate electrolyte.Meanwhile,an air-stable recrystallized lithium oxalate with high specific capacity(514.3 m Ah g^(-1))and moderate operating potential(4.7-5.0 V)is introduced as a sacrificial cathode to compensate the initial loss and provide Li source for subsequent cycles.Based on the prelithiated cathode and initial Li-free symbiotic anode,under a practical-level3 m Ah capacity,the assembled hybrid Li-ion/metal full cell with a P/N ratio(capacity ratio of Li Ni_(0.8)Co_(0.1)Mn_(0.1)O_(2) to graphite)of 1.3exhibits significantly improved capacity retention after 300 cycles,indicating its great potential for high-energy-density Li batteries.

Organic Light Emitting Diodes with p-Si Anodes and Semitransparent Ce/Au Cathodes

The Ce （x nm）/Au （15 nm） stacked layers were used as semitransparent cathodes in the top-emission organic light emitting devices （TOLEDs） fabricated on a p-type silicon anodes and substrate,where x varies from 4 to 16.The consequence of the Ce layer thickness on transmittance and the device performance were studied when the organic layers NPB （60 nm）/ALQ （60 nm） were kept unchanged,where NPB was N,N＇-bis-（1-naphthl）-diphenyl-1,1＇-biphenyl-4,4＇-diamine,and AlQ is tris-（8-hydroxyquinoline） aluminum.The cathode of Ce （11 nm）/Au （15 nm） has a transparency of 46%,and the TOLED with it achieves the highest luminescence efficiencies：a current efficiency of 0.91 cd/A at 13.7 V and a peak power efficiency of 0.28 lm/W at 9 V.The turn-on voltage is 3.0 V.The Ce/Au cathode is both chemically and electrically stable.

Experimental Investigation to Evaluate LiFePO4Batteries Anode and Cathode Elastic Properties under Cyclic Temperature Loading Conditions

Experimental investigations and associated methods are provided to characterize the mechanical properties of a lithium-ion battery accounting for operating temperature variation and thermal effects. Material properties for LiFeP04 cathode and anode samples taken from an off-the-shelf battery are evaluated in new and fatigued （subjec- ted to charging and discharging cycles） conditions.

Top-Emitting White Organic Light-Emitting Diodes Based on Cu as Both Anode and Cathode

It is still challenging to obtain broadband emission covering visible light spectrum as much as possible with negligible angular dependence. In this work, we demonstrate a low driving voltage top-emitting white organic light-emitting diode （TEWOLED） based on complementary blue and yellow phosphor emitters with negligible angular dependence. The bottom copper anode with medium reflectance, which is compatible with the standard complementary metal oxide semiconductor （CMOS） technology below 0.13 μm, and the semitransparent multi- layer Cs2CO3/AI/Cu cathode as a top electrode, are introduced to realize high-performance TEWOLED. Our TEWOLED achieves high efficiencies of 15.4callA and 12.1 1m/W at a practical brightness of lO00cd/m2 at low voltage of 4 V.

Chemical reaction model of cathode failure in large prebaked anode aluminum reduction cells

By partial and general dissection of large prebaked alumina electrolysis cells, the macro appearance, chemical composition and phase variations were studied employing actual observations and measurements on the cells together with X ray diffraction phase analysis and scanning electron microscopy of samples from different locations. According to the practical production, a chemical reaction model of aluminum reduction cell failure was set up in order to reduce the incidence of cell failure and extend pot service life.

Influence of Cathode Plasma on Breakdown Formation in Plasma-Anode Explosive-Emission Source

Breakdown formation in an explosive-emission electron source is related to the interelectrode gap filling with plasma propagating from the cathode and formed at the anode and in the interelectrode gap under the electron beam action. Plasma anode is used to increase the beam current density. Preliminary interelectrode gap filling with plasma in the explosive-emission source decreases the influence of uncontrolled plasma arrival from the anode on the diode processes, promotes current density increase and duration of generated electron beams. The paper considers the influence of the cathode geometry on the breakdown formation in the plasma-anode explosive-emission electron source. The data on obtaining of microsecond electron beams with current density of 30 A/cm^2 and 1.5-2 kA/cm^2 are presented.

Layered Potassium Titanium Niobate/Reduced Graphene Oxide Nanocomposite as a Potassium‑Ion Battery Anode

With graphite currently leading as the most viable anode for potassium-ion batteries(KIBs),other materials have been left relatively underexamined.Transition metal oxides are among these,with many positive attributes such as synthetic maturity,longterm cycling stability and fast redox kinetics.Therefore,to address this research deficiency we report herein a layered potassium titanium niobate KTiNbO5(KTNO)and its rGO nanocomposite(KTNO/rGO)synthesised via solvothermal methods as a high-performance anode for KIBs.Through effective distribution across the electrically conductive rGO,the electrochemical performance of the KTNO nanoparticles was enhanced.The potassium storage performance of the KTNO/rGO was demonstrated by its first charge capacity of 128.1 mAh g^(−1) and reversible capacity of 97.5 mAh g^(−1) after 500 cycles at 20 mA g^(−1),retaining 76.1%of the initial capacity,with an exceptional rate performance of 54.2 mAh g^(−1)at 1 A g^(−1).Furthermore,to investigate the attributes of KTNO in-situ XRD was performed,indicating a low-strain material.Ex-situ X-ray photoelectron spectra further investigated the mechanism of charge storage,with the titanium showing greater redox reversibility than the niobium.This work suggests this lowstrain nature is a highly advantageous property and well worth regarding KTNO as a promising anode for future high-performance KIBs.