Heterointerface Engineering-Induced Oxygen Defects for the Manganese Dissolution Inhibition in Aqueous Zinc Ion Batteries

Manganese-based material is a prospective cathode material for aqueous zinc ion batteries(ZIBs)by virtue of its high theoretical capacity,high operating voltage,and low price.However,the manganese dissolution during the electrochemical reaction causes its electrochemical cycling stability to be undesirable.In this work,heterointerface engineering-induced oxygen defects are introduced into heterostructure MnO_(2)(δa-MnO_(2))by in situ electrochemical activation to inhibit manganese dissolution for aqueous zinc ion batteries.Meanwhile,the heterointerface between the disordered amorphous and the crystalline MnO_(2)ofδa-MnO_(2)is decisive for the formation of oxygen defects.And the experimental results indicate that the manganese dissolution ofδa-MnO_(2)is considerably inhibited during the charge/discharge cycle.Theoretical analysis indicates that the oxygen defect regulates the electronic and band structure and the Mn-O bonding state of the electrode material,thereby promoting electron transport kinetics as well as inhibiting Mn dissolution.Consequently,the capacity ofδa-MnO_(2)does not degrade after 100 cycles at a current density of 0.5 Ag^(-1)and also 91%capacity retention after 500cycles at 1 Ag^(-1).This study provides a promising insight into the development of high-performance manganese-based cathode materials through a facile and low-cost strategy.

Tailoring NH_(4)^(+)storage by regulating oxygen defect in ammonium vanadate

Defect engineering is an effective strategy for modifying the energy storage materials to improve their electrochemical performance.However,the impact of oxygen defect and its content on the electrochemical performances in the burgeoning aqueous NH_(4)^(+)storage field remains explored.Therefore,for the first time in this work,an oxygen-defective ammonium vanadate[(NH_(4))_(2)V_(10)O_(25)·8H_(2)O,denoted as Od-NHVO]with a novel 3D porous flower-like architecture was achieved via the reduction of thiourea in a mild reaction condition,which is a facile method that can realize the intention to regulate the oxygen defect content,with the capability of mass-production.The as-prepared Od_M-NHVO with moderate oxygen defect content can deliver a stable specific capacitance output(505 F g^(-1),252 mAh g^(-1)at 0.5 A g^(-1)with~80% capacitance retention after 10,000 cycles),which benefits from extra active sites,unimpeded NH_(4)^(+)-migration path and relatively high structure integrity.In contrast,low oxygen defect content will lead to the torpid electrochemical reaction kinetics while too high content of it will reduce the chargestorage capability and induce structural disintegration.The superior NH_(4)^(+)-storage behavior is achieved with the reversible intercalation/deintercalation process of NH_(4)^(+)accompanied by forming/breaking of hydrogen bond.As expected,the assembled flexible OdM-NHVO//PTCDI quasi-solid-state hybrid supercapacitor(FQSS HSC)also exhibits high areal capacitance,energy density and reliable flexibility.This work provides a new avenue for developing materials with oxygen-deficient structure for application in various aqueous non-metal cation storage systems.

First-principles study of the influences of oxygen defects upon the electronic properties of Nb-doped TiO_2 by GGA + U methods

The influence of oxygen defects upon the electronic properties of Nb-doped TiO2 has been studied by using the general gradient approximation （GGA）＋U method. Four independent models （i.e., an undoped anatase cell, an anatase cell with a Nb dopant at Ti site （NbTi）, an anatase cell with a Nb-dopant and an oxygen vacancy （NbTi＋Vo）, and an anatase cell with a Nb-dopant and an interstitial oxygen （NbTi＋Oi）） were considered. The density of states, effective mass, Bader charge, charge density, and electron localization function were calcul^ited. The results show that in the NbTi＋Vo cell both eg and t2g levels of Ti 3d orbits make contributions to the electronic conductivity, and the oxygen vacancies （Vo） collaborate with Nb-dopants to favor the high electrical conductivity by inducing the Nb-dopants to release more excess charges. In NbTi＋Oi, an unoccupied impurity level appears in the band gap, which served as an acceptor level and suppressed the electronic conductivity. The results qualitatively coincide with experimental results and possibly provide insights into the preparation of TCOs with desirable conductivity.

Oxygen defect-rich double-layer hierarchical porous Co3O4 arrays as high-efficient oxygen evolution catalyst for overall water splitting

Construction of oxygen evolution electrocatalysts with abundant oxygen defects and large specific surface areas can significantly improve the conversion efficiency of overall water splitting.Herein,we adopt a controlled method to prepare oxygen defect-rich double-layer hierarchical porous Co3O4 arrays on nickel foam(DL-Co3O4/NF)for water splitting.The unique array-like structure,crystallinity,porosity,and chemical states have been carefully investigated through SEM,TEM,XRD,BET,and XPS techniques.The designated DL-Co3O4/NF has oxygen defects of up to 67.7%and a large BET surface area(57.4 m2g-1).Electrochemical studies show that the catalyst only requires an overpotential of 256 mV to reach 20 mA cm-2,as well as a small Tafel slope of 60.8 mV dec-1,which is far better than all control catalysts.Besides,the catalyst also demonstrates excellent overall water splitting performance in a two-electrode system and good long-term stability,far superior to most previously reported catalysts.Electrocatalytic mechanisms indicate that abundant oxygen vacancies provide more active sites and good conductivity.At the same time,the unique porous arrays facilitate electrolyte transport and gas emissions,thereby synergistically improving OER catalytic performance.

Tunable oxygen defect density and location for enhancement of energy storage

Defect engineering is in the limelight for the fabrication of electrochemical energy storage devices.However,determining the influence of the defect density and location on the electrochemical behavior remains challenging.Herein,self-organized TiO_(2)nanotube arrays(TNTAs)are synthesized by anodization,and their oxygen defect location and density are tuned by a controllable post-annealing process.TNTAs annealed at 600℃ in N2 exhibit the highest capacity(289.2 m Ah g^(-1)at 0.8 C)for lithium-ion storage,while those annealed at 900℃ in N2 show a specific capacitance of 35.6 m F cm^(-2)and stability above96%after 10,000 cycles for supercapacitor.Ex situ electron paramagnetic resonance spectra show that the surface-exposed oxygen defects increase,but the bulk embedded oxygen defects decrease with increasing annealing temperature.Density functional theory simulations reveal that a higher density of bulk oxygen defects corresponds to higher localized electrons states,which upshift the Fermi level and facilitate the lithium intercalation kinetic process.Meanwhile,differential charge density calculation indicates that the increase of surface oxygen defects in the anatase(101)plane leads to higher density excess electrons,which act as negative charge centers to enhance the surface potential for ion adsorption.This oxygen-deficient location and density tunable strategy introduce new opportunities for high-energy and high-power-density energy storage systems.

Oxygen-defects evolution to stimulate continuous capacity increase in Co-free Li-rich layered oxides

Though oxygen defects are associated with deteriorated structures and aggravated cycling performance in traditional layered cathodes,the role of oxygen defects is still ambiguous in Li-rich layered oxides due to the involvement of oxygen redox.Herein,a Co-free Li-rich layered oxide Li_(1.286)Ni_(0.071)Mn_(0.643)O_(2)has been prepared by a co-precipitation method to systematically investigate the undefined effects of the oxygen defects.A significant O_(2)release and the propagation of oxygen vacancies were detected by operando differential electrochemical mass spectroscopy(DEMS)and electron energy loss spectroscopy(EELS),respectively.Scanning transmission electron microscopy-high angle annular dark field(STEMHAADF)reveals the oxygen vacancies fusing to nanovoids and monitors a stepwise electrochemical activation process of the large Li_(2)MnO_(3)domain upon cycling.Combined with the quantitative analysis conducted by the energy dispersive spectrometer(EDS),existed nano-scale oxygen defects actually expose more surface to the electrolyte for facilitating the electrochemical activation and subsequently increasing available capacity.Overall,this work persuasively elucidates the function of oxygen defects on oxygen redox in Co-free Li-rich layered oxides.

Introducing Ce ions and oxygen defects into V_(2)O_(5)nanoribbons for efficient aqueous zinc ion storage

Cost-effectively,eco-friendly rechargeable aqueous zinc-ion batteries(AZIBs)have reserved widespread concerns and become outstanding candidate in energy storage systems.However,the progress pace of AZIBs suffers from limitation of suitable and affordable cathode materials.Herein,a double-effect strategy is realized in a one-step hydrothermal treatment to prepare V_(2)O_(5)nanoribbons with intercalation of Ce and introduction of abundant oxygen defects(Od-Ce@V_(2)O_(5))to enhance electrochemical performance synergistically.Coupled with the theoretical calculation results,the introduction of Ce ions intercalation and oxygen vacancies in V2O5 structure enhances the electrical conductivity,reduces the adsorption energy of zinc ions,enlarges the interlayer distance,renders the structure more stable,and facilitates rapid diffusion kinetics.As expected,the desirable cathode delivers the reversible capacity of 444 mAh·g^(−1)at 0.5 A·g^(−1)and shows excellent Coulombic efficiency,as well as an extraordinary energy density of 304.9 Wh·kg^(−1).The strategy proposed here may aid in the further development of cathode materials with stable performance for AZIBs.

Dynamic investigation of oxygen defects on transition metal-based electrocatalysts:formation,characterization,and mechanism during alkaline oxygen evolution reaction

Oxygen defects play a critical role in the electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction(OER).Therefore,in-depth understanding the structure-activity-mechanism relationship of these defects is the key to design efficient OER electrocatalysts.This relationship needs to be understood dynamically due to the potential for irreversible phase transitions during OER.Consequently,significant efforts have been devoted to study the dynamic evolution of oxygen defects to shed light on the OER mechanism.This review critically examines and analyzes the dynamic processes occurring at oxygen defect sites during OER,including defect formation and defect evolution mechanisms,along with the advanced characterization techniques needed to understand these processes.This review aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of high-efficiency electrocatalysts,with a particular emphasis on the importance of in situ monitoring the dynamic evolution of oxygen defects,providing a new perspective towards efficient OER electrocatalyst design.

In-situ oriented oxygen-defect-rich Mn-N-O via nitridation and electrochemical oxidation based on industrial-scale Mn_(2)O_(3) to achieve high-performance aqueous zinc ion battery

As a general problem in the field of batteries,materials produced on a large industrial scale usually possess unsatisfactory electrochemical performances.Among them,manganese-based aqueous rechargeable zinc-ion batteries(ARZBs)have been emerging as promising large-scale energy storage systems owing to their high energy densities,low manufacturing cost and intrinsic high safety.However,the direct application of industrial-scale Mn2O3(MO)cathode exhibits poor electrochemical performance especially at high current rates.Herein,a highly reversible Mn-based cathode is developed from the industrial-scale MO by nitridation and following electrochemical oxidation,which triples the ion diffusion rate and greatly promotes the charge transfer.Notably,the cathode delivers a capacity of 161 m Ah g^(-1) at a high current density of 10 A g^(-1),nearly-three times the capacity of pristine MO(60 m Ah g^(-1)).Impressive specific capacity(243.4 m Ah g^(-1))is obtained without Mn^(2+) additive added in the electrolyte,much superior to the pristine MO(124.5 m Ah g^(-1)),suggesting its enhanced reaction kinetics and structural stability.In addition,it possesses an outstanding energy output of 368.4 Wh kg^(-1) at 387.8 W kg^(-1),which exceeds many of reported cathodes in ARZBs,providing new opportunities for the large-scale application of highperformance and low-cost ARZBs.

Oxygen‑Defect Enhanced Anion Adsorption Energy Toward Super‑Rate and Durable Cathode for Ni–Zn Batteries

The alkaline zinc-based batteries with high energy density are becoming a research hotspot.However,the poor cycle stability and low-rate performance limit their wide application.Herein,ultra-thin CoNiO2 nanosheet with rich oxygen defects anchored on the vertically arranged Ni nanotube arrays(Od-CNO@Ni NTs)is used as a positive material for rechargeable alkaline Ni–Zn batteries.As the highly uniform Ni nanotube arrays provide a fast electron/ion transport path and abundant active sites,the Od-CNO@Ni NTs electrode delivers excellent capacity(432.7 mAh g^(−1))and rate capability(218.3 mAh g^(−1) at 60 A g^(−1)).Moreover,our Od-CNO@Ni NTs//Zn battery is capable of an ultra-long lifespan(93.0%of initial capacity after 5000 cycles),extremely high energy density of 547.5 Wh kg^(−1) and power density of 92.9 kW kg^(−1)(based on the mass of cathode active substance).Meanwhile,the theoretical calculations reveal that the oxygen defects can enhance the interaction between electrode surface and electrolyte ions,contributing to higher capacity.This work opens a reasonable idea for the development of ultra-durable,ultra-fast,and high-energy Ni–Zn battery.

Synergistic effects of CeO_(2)/Cu_(2)O on CO catalytic oxidation:Electronic interaction and oxygen defect

For CO catalytic oxidation,Cu and Ce species are of great importance,between which the synergistic effect is worth investigating.In this work,CeO_(2)/Cu_(2)O with Cu_(2)O{111}and{100}planes were comparatively explored on CO catalytic oxidation to reveal the effects of interfacial electronic interactions and oxygen defects.The activity result demonstrates that CeO_(2)/o-Cu_(2)O{111}has superior performance compared with CeO_(2)/c-Cu_(2)O{100}.Credit to the coordination unsaturated copper atoms(Cu_(CUS))on oCu_(2)O{111}surface,the interfacial electronic interactions on CeO_(2)/o-Cu_(2)O{111}are more obvious than those on CeO_(2)/c-Cu_(2)O{100},leading to richer oxygen defect generation,better redox and activation abilities of CO and O_(2)reactants.Furthermore,the reaction mechanism of CeO_(2)/o-Cu_(2)O{111}on CO oxidation is revealed,i.e.,CO and O_(2)are adsorbed on the Cucus on Cu_(2)O{111}and oxygen defect of CeO_(2),respectively,and then synergistically promote the CO oxidation to CO_(2).The work sheds light on the designing optimized ceria and copper-based catalysts and the mechanism of CO oxidation.

Oxygen defects boost polysulfides immobilization and catalytic conversion:First-principles computational characterization and experimental design

Although some experiments have shown that point defects in a cathode host material may enhance its performance for lithium-sulfur battery(LSB),the enhancement mechanism needs to be well investigated for the design of desired sulfur host.Herein,the first principle density functional theory(DFT)is adopted to investigate a high-performance sulfur host material based on oxygen-defective TiO2(D-TiO2).The adsorption energy comparisons and Gibbs free energy analyses verify that D-TiO2 has relatively better performances than defect-free TiO2 in terms of anchoring effect and catalytic conversion of polysulfides.Meanwhile,D-TiO2 is capable of absorbing the most soluble and diffusive long-chain polysulfides.The newly designed D-TiO2 composited with three-dimensional graphene aerogel(D-TiO2@Gr)has been shown to be an excellent sulfur host,maintaining a specific discharge capacity of 1,049.3 mAhg^−1 after 100 cycles at 1C with a sulfur loading of 3.2 mgcm^−2.Even with the sulfur mass loading increasing to 13.7 mgcm^−2,an impressive stable cycling is obtained with an initial areal capacity of 14.6 mAhcm^−2,confirming the effective enhancement of electrochemical performance by the oxygen defects.The DFT calculations shed lights on the enhancement mechanism of the oxygen defects and provide some guidance for designing advanced sulfur host materials.

Cation ratio and oxygen defects for engineering the magnetic transition of monodisperse nonstoichiometric zinc ferrite nanoparticles

Monodisperse nonstoichiometric zinc ferrite nanoparticles with a tunable size of 4.1–32.2 nm are fabricated via thermal decomposition. An extrinsic impurity phase of the ZnO component is present in the zinc ferrite nanoparticles with a size of <10 nm, but this phase can be eliminated after the air annealing treatment. The atom ratio of Zn/Fe and concentration of oxygen vacancies decrease as the particle size of zinc ferrite increases, causing magnetic transition from superparamagnetism to ferromagnetism. The X-ray magnetic circular dichroism spectra reveal that the spin magnetic moments of Fe^(3+)are reduced, and the orbital magnetic moments are frozen with the increasing atom ratio of Zn/Fe. Therefore,saturation magnetization decreases. The saturation magnetizations of all the zinc ferrite nanoparticles decrease after the air annealing treatment, suggesting that oxygen vacancies considerably influence the magnetic properties. The air annealing treatment can minimize the number of oxygen defects,which trigger some of the Fe^(3+)–OV–Fe^(3+)ferrimagnetic couplings to transfer into the Fe^(3+)–O^(2-)–Fe^(3+)antiferromagnetic couplings. This work provides new insights regarding the magnetic performance of spinel ferrites by tuning the stoichiometric ratio and oxygen defects.

Statistical analysis of recombination properties of the boronoxygen defect in p-type Czochralski silicon

This paper presents the application of lifetime spectroscopy to the study of carrier-induced degradation ascribed to the boron-oxygen （BO） defect. Specifically, a large data set of p-type silicon samples is used to investigate two important aspects of carrier lifetime analysis： ① the methods used to extract the recombination lifetime associated with the defect and ② the underlying assumption that cartier injection does not affect lifetime components unrelated to the defect. The results demonstrate that the capture cross section ratio associated with the donor level of the BO defect （kl） vary widely depending on the specific method used to extract the defect-specific recombination lifetime. For the data set studied here, it was also found that illumination used to form the defect caused minor, but statistically significant changes in the surface passivation used. This violation of the fundamental assumption could be accounted for by applying appropriate curve fitting methods, resulting in an improved estimate of k1 （11.90±0.45） for the fully formed BO defect when modeled using the donor level alone. Illumination also appeared to cause a minor, apparently injectionindependent change in lifetime that could not be attributed to the donor level of the BO defect alone and is likely related to the acceptor level of the BO defect. While specific to the BO defect, this study has implications for the use of lifetime spectroscopy to study other carrier induced defects. Finally, we demonstrate the use of a unit-less regression goodness-of-fit metric for lifetime data that is easy to interpret and accounts for repeatability error.

Si _3O cluster:excited properties under external electric field and oxygen-deficient defect models

This paper investigates the excited states of Si3O molecule by using the single-excitation configuration interaction and density functional theory. It finds that the visible light absorption spectrum of Si3O molecule comprises the yellow and the purple light without external electric field, however all the visible light is included except the green light under the action of external electric field. Oxygen-deficient defects, which also can be found in Si3O molecule, have been used to explain the 1 from silicon-based materials but the microstructures of the materials are still uncertain Our results accord with the experimental values perfectly, this fact suggests that the structure of Si3O molecule is expected to be one of the main basic structures of the materials, so the oxygen-deficient defect structural model for Si3O molecule also has been provided to research the structures of materials.

Formation Enthalpy Calculation of Oxygen Vacancy Defect in Doped Lithium Niobate Crystals

The relationship between temperature and oxygen vacancy concentration is deduced in this paper. Based on the data of thermal weight-loss experiment, the formation enthalpies of congruent and several doped LN crystals have been calculated. It was found that the formation enthalpy of oxygen vacancies can be decreased evidently by doping valence-changeable ions. The experimental results were discussed and a new reduction process of the photorefractive LN crystal at a relatively low temperature was proposed, and the reduced crystals showed a good effect in practical use.

Oxygen defects in Fe-substituted Tl-system superconductors

For Fe-doped T1-1223 phase,the excess oxygen defects induced by Fe dopants are studied by means of Hall coefficient,thermogravimetric measurements,Mossbauer spectroscopy,and the model calculation of the effective bond valence.The extra oxygen defects have effects on carrier density and microstructure of the superconductors.In the light doping level of Fe (x=0-0.05),the superconducting transition and carrier density have significant corresponding relation--the zero resistance temperature Tco and carrier densities decrease linearly with Fe dopants increasing.The thermogravimetric measurements show that the Fe3+ ions' substituting for Cu2+ ions can bring the extra oxygen into the lattice to form extra oxygen defects.The calculation of the effective bond valence shows that the decrease of carrier density originates the strongly localized binding of the extra oxygen defects.The distortion of Cu-O layer induced by the extra oxygen defects decreases the superconductive transition temperature.The microstructures of the extra oxygen defects including the oxygen occupying and the shifts of Fe and O are discussed.

OXYGEN SELF-DIFFUSION AND INTERACTIONS BETWEEN DEFECTS IN Fe_3O_4

New experimental results on the self diffesion of oxygen in Fe3O4 obtained with a high precision SIMS at 1079K allow to conclude the eristence of oxygen vacancies and of oxygen iron vacancy pairs coexisting selectively with different kinds of iron defects.The possibility of measuring the isotopic effect of the two tracers O17 and O18 is also examined.

Defective ZnS nanoparticles anchored in situ on N-doped carbon as a superior oxygen reduction reaction catalyst

Defect engineering has been used to develop low-cost and effective catalysts to boost oxygen reduction reactions.However,the development of catalysts that use metal cation vacancies as the active sites for oxygen reduction reaction is lacking.In this study,ZnS nanoparticles on N-doped carbon serve as an oxygen reduction reaction catalyst.These catalysts were prepared via a one-step method at 900℃.Amazingly,the high-resolution transmission electron microscope image revealed obvious defects in the ZnS nanoparticles.These facilitated the catalyst synthesis,and the product displayed good electrocatalytic performance for the oxygen reduction reaction in an alkaline medium,including a lower onset potential,lower mid-wave potential,four electron transfer process,and better durability compared with 20 wt%Pt/C.More importantly,the density functional theory results indicated that using the Zn vacancies in the prepared catalyst as active sites required a lower reaction energy to produce OOH*from*OO toward oxygen reduction reaction.Therefore,the proposed catalyst with Zn vacancies can be used as a potential electrocatalyst and may be substitutes for Pt-based catalysts in fuel cells,given the novel catalyst’s resulting performance.

Building stabilized Cu_(0.17)Mn_(0.03)V_(2)O_(5−□)·2.16H_(2)O cathode enables an outstanding room‐/low‐temperature aqueous Zn‐ion batteries

Vanadium oxide cathode materials with stable crystal structure and fast Zn^(2+) storage capabilities are extremely important to achieving outstanding electrochemical performance in aqueous zinc‐ion batteries.In this work,a one‐step hydrothermal method was used to manipulate the bimetallic ion intercalation into the interlayer of vanadium oxide.The pre‐intercalated Cu ions act as pillars to pin the vanadium oxide(V‐O)layers,establishing stabilized two‐dimensional channels for fast Zn^(2+) diffusion.The occupation of Mn ions between V‐O interlayer further expands the layer spacing and increases the concentration of oxygen defects(Od),which boosts the Zn^(2+) diffusion kinetics.As a result,as‐prepared Cu_(0.17)Mn_(0.03)V_(2)O_(5−□)·2.16H_(2)O cathode shows outstanding Zn‐storage capabilities under room‐and lowtemperature environments(e.g.,440.3 mAh g^(−1) at room temperature and 294.3 mAh g^(−1)at−60°C).Importantly,it shows a long cycling life and high capacity retention of 93.4%over 2500 cycles at 2 A g^(−1) at−60°C.Furthermore,the reversible intercalation chemistry mechanisms during discharging/charging processes were revealed via operando X‐ray powder diffraction and ex situ Raman characterizations.The strategy of a couple of 3d transition metal doping provides a solution for the development of superior room‐/lowtemperature vanadium‐based cathode materials.