Recent progress about transmission electron microscopy characterizations on lithium-ion batteries

With the rapid development of portable electronics,new energy vehicles,and smart grids,ion batteries are becoming one of the most widely used energy storage devices,while the safety concern of ion batteries has always been an urgent problem to be solved.To develop a safety-guaranteed battery,the characterization of the internal structure is indispensable,where electron microscopy plays a crucial role.Based on this,this paper summarizes the application of transmission electron microscopy(TEM)in battery safety,further concludes and analyzes the aspects of dendrite growth and solid electrolyte interface(SEI)formation that affect the safety of ion batteries,and emphasizes the importance of electron microscopy in battery safety research and the potential of these techniques to promote the future development of this field.These advanced electron microscopy techniques and their prospects are also discussed.

Structural evolution of Pt‐based oxygen reduction reaction electrocatalysts

The commercialization of proton exchange membrane fuel cells(PEMFCs)could provide a cleaner energy society in the near future.However,the sluggish reaction kinetics and harsh conditions of the oxygen reduction reaction affect the durability and cost of PEMFCs.Most previous reports on Pt-based electrocatalyst designs have focused more on improving their activity;however,with the commercialization of PEMFCs,durability has received increasing attention.In-depth insight into the structural evolution of Pt-based electrocatalysts throughout their lifecycle can contribute to further optimization of their activity and durability.The development of in situ electron microscopy and other in situ techniques has promoted the elucidation of the evolution mechanism.This mini review highlights recent advances in the structural evolution of Pt-based electrocatalysts.The mechanisms are adequately discussed,and some methods to inhibit or exploit the structural evolution of the catalysts are also briefly reviewed.

High strength and deformation stability achieved in CrCoNi alloy containing deformable oxides

Hard secondary phases usually strengthen alloys at the expense of ductility.In this work,we made a dual-phase CrCoNi-O alloy containing a face centered cubic matrix and chromium oxide.On one side,the dispersed chromium oxide nano-particles impeded dislocation movement and increased the strength of the alloy.On another side,the spreading lattice distortion in CrCoNi-O high entropy solution locally relieved the severe interfacial mismatch and led to nanoscale variation of interfacial strain at the matrix-oxide interface,which facilitated dislocations’transmission from one phase to another.Consequently,unlike the strong but brittle oxide nanoparticles used before,the oxide phase here can afford significant dislocation activities during material’s plastic deformation.Comparing the mechanical properties of CrCoNi-O alloys with and without chromium oxide particles,it was found that the yield strength of the dual-phase samples was twice of the single phase CrCoNi-O alloy and strong strain hardening was obtained with ultra-high deformation stability.High density of nanotwins formed in dual-phase samples under high stress,resulting in significant strain hardening according to the well-known twinning-induced plasticity(TWIP)effect.Our results shed light on optimizing the combination of strength and plasticity of compounds by modulating the variation of interfacial strain field based on the spreading lattice distortion.

Ternary Pt/Re/SnO2/C catalyst for EOR:Electrocatalytic activity and durability enhancement

Carbon-supported Pt/C,Pt/Re/C,Pt/SnO2/C and Pt/Re/SnO2/C,with 20 wt.%overall metal loading were prepared and their electrochemical activity towards ethanol oxidation reaction(EOR)was investigated.Transmission electron microscopy(TEM)combined with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy(EDS)revealed,that indeed binary and ternary combinations of the designed nanoparticles(NPs)were formed and successfully uniformly deposited on a carbon support.Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR)allowed to assess the chemical composition of the nanocatalysts and X-ray diffraction(XRD)allowed to determine the catalyst structure.Potentiodynamic and chronoamperometric measurements were used to establish its catalytic activity and stability.The influence of Re addition on the electrochemical activity towards ethanol oxidation reaction(EOR)was verified.Indeed,the addition of Re to the binary Pt/SnO2/C catalyst leads to the formation of ternary Pt/Re/SnO2/C with physical contact between the individual NPs,enhancing the EOR.Furthermore,the onset potential of the synthesized ternary catalyst is shifted to more negative potentials and the current densities and specific activity are nearly 11 and 5 times higher,respectively,than for commercial Pt catalyst.Additionally ternary Pt/Re/SnO2/C catalyst retained 96%of its electrochemical surface area.

Synthesis of Single-Crystal TiO_2 Nanowire Using Titanium Monoxide Powder by Thermal Evaporation

TiO 2 nanowires were synthesized successfully in a large quantity by thermal evaporation using titanium monoxide powder as precursor. X-ray diffraction results showed that all the products were pure rutile phase of TiO 2 . According to microstructural observations, the nanowires have two typical morphologies, a long straight type and a short tortuous type. The straight nanowires were obtained at a wide temperature range of 900–1050 ℃, while the tortuous ones were formed below 900 ℃. Transmission electron microscopy characterization revealed that both the straight and the tortuous nanowires are single-crystal rutile TiO 2 . The preferential growth direction of the nanowires was determined as [110] orientation according to electron diffraction and high-resolution image analyses. The morphological change of TiO 2 nanowires was discussed by considering the different atomic diffusion rates of Ti atoms caused by the phase transformation in Ti substrate at around 900 ℃.