Flexible coal-derived carbon fibers via electrospinning for self-standing lithium-ion battery anodes

A series of flexible and self-standing coal-derived carbon fibers(CCFs)were fabricated through electro-spinning coupled with carbonization using bituminous coal and polyacrylonitrile(PAN)as the carbon precursors.These CCFs were utilized as free-standing lithium-ion battery(LIB)anodes.Optimizing car-bonization temperature reveals that the CCFs exhibit a one-dimensional solid linear structure with a uni-form distribution of graphite-like microcrystals.These fibers possess a dense structure and smooth surface,with averaging diameter from approximately 125.0 to 210.0 nm at carbonization temperatures ranging from 600 to 900℃.During electrospinning and carbonization,the aromatic rings enriched in bituminous coal crosslink with PAN chains,forming a robust three-dimensional(3D)framework.This 3D microstructure significantly enhances the flexibility and tensile strength of CCFs,while increasing the graphite-like sp^(2)microcrystalline carbon content,thus improving electrical conductivity.The CCFs carbonized at 700℃demonstrate an optimal balance of sp^(3)amorphous and sp^(2)graphite-like carbons.The average diameter of CCFs-700 is 177 nm and the specific surface area(SSA)is 7.2 m^(2)g^(-1).Additionally,the fibers contain oxygen-containing functional groups,as well as nitrogen-containing func-tional groups,including pyridinic nitrogen and pyrrolic nitrogen.Owing to its characteristics,the CCFs-700 showcases remarkable electrochemical performance,delivering a high reversible capacity of 631.4 mAh g^(-1).CCFs-700 also exhibit outstanding cycle stability,which retains approximately all of their first capacity(400.1 mAh g^(-1))after 120 cycles.This research offers an economical yet scalable approach for producing flexible and self-supporting anodes for LIBs that do not require current collectors,binders and conductive additives,thereby simplifying the electrode fabrication process.

Interlayer and intralayer co-modified flexible V_(2)CT_(X) MXene@SWCNT films for high-power Li-ion capacitors

As an emerging member of the two-dimensional(2D)material family,V_(2)CT_(X)MXene shows great potential in the application of lithium-ion capacitors(LICs)due to its unique structure and excellent electrical conductivity.However,severe nanosheets stacking and intra-layer transport barriers have limited the further development of V_(2)CT_(X)MXene-based materials.Herein,we prepared Kions and–O functional group co-modified V_(2)CT_(X)MXene(VCT-K)and further incorporated it with single-walled carbon nanotube(SWCNT),obtaining freestanding V_(2)CT_(X)composite films(VCT-K@C)with the 3D conductive network.Significantly,K+ions were introduced into V_(2)CT_(X)MXene to stabilize the interlayer structure and prevent the aggregation of nanosheets,the terminal group of–O was controllably modified on the surface of MXene to improve the Li+ions storage reversible capacities and the SWCNT acted as the bridge between MXene nanosheets to opens up the channels for ion/electron transportation in the longitudinal direction.Benefited from the synergistic effect of VCT-K and SWCNT,the VCT-K@C exhibits superior reversible specific capacities of 671.8 mA h g^(-1)at 0.1 A g^(-1)and 318 mA h g^(-1)at 1.0 A g^(-1).Furthermore,the assembled LICs with VCT-K@C anode coupling activated carbon(AC)cathode deliver an outstanding power density of 19.0 kW kg^(-1)at 67.4 Wh kg^(-1),a high energy density of 140.5 Wh kg^(-1)at 94.8 W kg^(-1)and a stable capacitance retention of 86%after 6000 cycles at 10 A g^(-1).Such unique structures and excellent electrochemical properties are expected to pave the way for the large-scale application in LICs of MXene-based materials.

Freestanding film formed with Sb-nanoplates embedded in flexible porous carbon nanofibers as a binder-free anode for high-performance wearable potassium-ion battery

Antimony-based materials are considered as promising anodes for potassium ion batteries due to their high theoretical capacity and low electrode potential. However, the aggregation and bulk expansion of Sb particles in cycling will cause capacity attenuation and poor rate performance. In this paper, Sb nanoplates were designed to be embedded in flexible porous N-dopped carbon nanofibers(Sb@PCNFs)by a simple electrospinning deposition(ESD) method. In this structural design, Sb nanoplates of high capacity were employed as active materials, N-dopped carbon nanofibers were used to improve conductivity and structural stability. The introduction of pore-forming agent enables the nanofibers to possess porous structure, thus buffering the huge volume change and promoting the transfer of electrolyte/ions.More importantly, the freestanding film can be directly used as a working electrode, reducing the redundancy in the battery and the cost. Benefitting from the favorable structure, the freestanding flexible Sb@PCNFs electrode shows excellent potassium storage performance with a capacity of 314 m Ah/g after 2000 cycles at 500 m A/g. This strategy of employing active material with high capacity in porous and conductive flexible nanofibers represents an effective method of achieving binder-free electrode with good electrochemical performance towards wearable energy storage devices.