Synergistic interphase modification with dual electrolyte additives to boost cycle stability of high nickel cathode for all-climate battery

B-containing electrolyte additives are widely used to enhance the cycle performance at low temperature and the rate capability of lithium-ion batteries by constructing an efficient cathode electrolyte interphase(CEI)to facilitate the rapid Li+migration.Nevertheless,its wide-temperature application has been limited by the instability of B-derived CEI layer at high temperature.Herein,dual electrolyte additives,consisting of lithium tetraborate(Li_(2)TB)and 2,4-difluorobiphenyl(FBP),are proposed to boost the widetemperature performances of LiNi_(0.6)Co_(0.2)Mn_(0.2)O_(2)(NCM)cathode.Theoretical calculation and electrochemical performances analyses indicate that Li_(2)TB and FBP undergo successive decomposition to form a unique dual-layer CEI.FBP acts as a synergistic filming additive to Li_(2)TB,enhancing the hightemperature performance of NCM cathode while preserving the excellent low-temperature cycle stability and the superior rate capability conferred by Li_(2)TB additive.Therefore,the capacity retention of NCM‖Li cells using optimal FBP-Li_(2)TB dual electrolyte additives increases to 100%after 200 cycles at-10℃,99%after 200 cycles at 25℃,and 83%after 100 cycles at 55℃,respectively,much superior to that of base electrolyte(63%/69%/45%).More surprisingly,galvanostatic c ha rge/discharge experiments at different temperatures reveal that NCM‖Li cells using FBP-Li_(2)TB additives can operate at temperatures ranging from-40℃to 60℃.This synergistic interphase modification utilizing dual electrolyte additives to construct a unique dual-layer CEI adaptive to a wide temperature range,provides valuable insights to the practical applications of NCM cathodes for all-climate batteries.

All-Climate Aluminum-Ion Batteries Based on Binder-Free MOF-Derived FeS_(2)@C/CNT Cathode

Aluminum-ion batteries(AIBs)are promising next-generation batteries systems because of their features of low cost and abundant aluminum resource.However,the inferior rate capacity and poor all-climate performance,especially the decayed capacity under low temperature,are still critical challenges toward high-specific-capacity AIBs.Herein,we report a binder-free and freestanding metal-organic framework-derived FeS_(2)@C/carbon nanotube(FeS_(2)@C/CNT)as a novel all-climate cathode in AIBs working under a wide temperature window between−25 and 50℃ with exceptional flexibility.The resultant cathode not only drastically suppresses the side reaction and volu-metric expansion with high capacity and long-term stability but also greatly enhances the kinetic process in AIBs with remarkable rate capacity(above 151 mAh g^(−1) at 2 A g^(−1))at room temperature.More importantly,to break the bottleneck of the inherently low capacity in graphitic material-based all-climate AIBs,the new hierarchical conductive composite FeS_(2)@C/CNT highly promotes the all-climate performance and delivers as high as 117 mAh g^(−1) capacity even under−25°C.The well-designed metal sulfide electrode with remarkable performance paves a new way toward all-climate and flexible AIBs.

P-doped electrode for vanadium flow battery with high-rate capability and all-climate adaptability

A phosphorous-doped graphite felt(PGF) is fabricated and examined as electrode for vanadium flow battery(VFB). P doping improves the electrolyte wettability of GF and induces more defect sites on its surface, resulting in significantly enhanced activity and reversibility towards VO2^+/VO2^+ and V^2+/V3^+couples. VFB with PGF electrode demonstrates outstanding performance such as high-rate capability under 50–400 mA cm^-2, wide-temperature tolerance at-20 °C–60 °C, and excellent durability over 1000 charge–discharge cycles. These merits enable PGF a promising electrode for the next-generation VFB,which can operate at high-power and all-climate conditions.

Prussian Blue Analogue‑Templated Nanocomposites for Alkali‑Ion Batteries:Progress and Perspective

Lithium-ion batteries(LIBs)have dominated the portable electronic and electrochemical energy markets since their commercialisation,whose high cost and lithium scarcity have prompted the development of other alkali-ion batteries(AIBs)including sodium-ion batteries(SIBs)and potassium-ion batteries(PIBs).Owing to larger ion sizes of Na^(+)and K^(+)compared with Li^(+),nanocomposites with excellent crystallinity orientation and well-developed porosity show unprecedented potential for advanced lithium/sodium/potassium storage.With enticing open rigid framework structures,Prussian blue analogues(PBAs)remain promising self-sacrificial templates for the preparation of various nanocomposites,whose appeal originates from the well-retained porous structures and exceptional electrochemical activities after thermal decomposition.This review focuses on the recent progress of PBA-derived nanocomposites from their fabrication,lithium/sodium/potassium storage mechanism,and applications in AIBs(LIBs,SIBs,and PIBs).To distinguish various PBA derivatives,the working mechanism and applications of PBA-templated metal oxides,metal chalcogenides,metal phosphides,and other nanocomposites are systematically evaluated,facilitating the establishment of a structure–activity correlation for these materials.Based on the fruitful achievements of PBA-derived nanocomposites,perspectives for their future development are envisioned,aiming to narrow down the gap between laboratory study and industrial reality.

Cointercalation-Free Ether-Based Deep Eutectic Electrolyte for All-Climate Battery

Lithium-ion batteries(LIBs)with ether-based electrolytes usually provide low cell performance when matched with the graphite(Gr)anodes due to cointercalation of Li+-solvent.Herein,a novel deep eutectic ether electrolyte with polyethylene glycol dimethyl ether(PEGDME)featuring low flammability and high safety is developed,and fluoroethylene carbonate(FEC)is adopted to mitigate the cointercalation phenomenon.Unlike the common effect of FEC’s role in the first solvation shell,our results reveal that FEC molecules affect the Li+-PEGDME insertion behavior through FECPEGDME intramolecular interaction.As a result,a high discharge capacity of 450 mA h g^(−1)is achieved in Li||Gr/SiO_(x)cells at 50℃,and 370 mA h g^(−1)can be realized,even at−20℃(three times higher than commercial carbonate electrolyte).Moreover,Gr/SiO_(x)||LiNi_(0.6)Co_(0.2)Mn_(0.2O2)full cells maintain good capacity retention in both coin cell and pouch cell configurations over a wide temperature range.Our work deciphers the role of FEC as an additive and proposes new electrolyte optimization strategies to achieve high-performance all-climate LIBs.

Catalyst–Support Interaction in Polyaniline‑Supported Ni_(3)Fe Oxide to Boost Oxygen Evolution Activities for Rechargeable Zn‑Air Batteries

Catalyst–support interaction plays a crucial role in improving the catalytic activity of oxygen evolution reaction(OER).Here we modulate the catalyst–support interaction in polyaniline-supported Ni_(3)Fe oxide(Ni_(3)Fe oxide/PANI)with a robust hetero-interface,which significantly improves oxygen evolution activities with an overpotential of 270 mV at 10 mA cm^(-2)and specific activity of 2.08 mA cm_(ECSA)^(-2)at overpotential of 300 mV,3.84-fold that of Ni_(3)Fe oxide.It is revealed that the catalyst–support interaction between Ni_(3)Fe oxide and PANI support enhances the Ni–O covalency via the interfacial Ni–N bond,thus promoting the charge and mass transfer on Ni_(3)Fe oxide.Considering the excellent activity and stability,rechargeable Zn-air batteries with optimum Ni_(3)Fe oxide/PANI are assembled,delivering a low charge voltage of 1.95 V to cycle for 400 h at 10 mA cm^(-2).The regulation of the effect of catalyst–support interaction on catalytic activity provides new possibilities for the future design of highly efficient OER catalysts.

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.

Photo‑Energized MoS_(2)/CNT Cathode for High‑Performance Li–CO_(2)Batteries in a Wide‑Temperature Range

Li–CO_(2) batteries are considered promising energy storage systems in extreme environments such as Mars;however,severe performance degradation will occur at a subzero temperature owning to the sluggish reaction kinetics.Herein,a photo-energized strategy adopting sustainable solar energy in wide working temperature range Li–CO_(2) battery was achieved with a binder-free MoS_(2)/carbon nanotube(CNT)photo-electrode as cathode.The unique layered structure and excellent photoelectric properties of MoS_(2) facilitate the abundant generation and rapid transfer of photo-excited carriers,which accelerate the CO_(2) reduction and Li_(2)CO_(3) decomposition upon illumination.The illuminated battery at room temperature exhibited high discharge voltage of 2.95 V and mitigated charge voltage of 3.27 V,attaining superior energy efficiency of 90.2%and excellent cycling stability of over 120 cycles.Even at an extremely low temperature of−30℃,the battery with same electrolyte can still deliver a small polarization of 0.45 V by the photoelectric and photothermal synergistic mechanism of MoS_(2)/CNT cathode.This work demonstrates the promising potential of the photo-energized wide working temperature range Li–CO_(2) battery in addressing the obstacle of charge overpotential and energy efficiency.

Constructing Donor–Acceptor‑Linked COFs Electrolytes to Regulate Electron Density and Accelerate the Li^(+)Migration in Quasi‑Solid‑State Battery

Regulation the electronic density of solid-state electrolyte by donor–acceptor(D–A)system can achieve highly-selective Li^(+)transportation and conduction in solid-state Li metal batteries.This study reports a high-performance solid-state electrolyte thorough D–A-linked covalent organic frameworks(COFs)based on intramolecular charge transfer interactions.Unlike other reported COFbased solid-state electrolyte,the developed concept with D–A-linked COFs not only achieves electronic modulation to promote highly-selective Li^(+)migration and inhibit Li dendrite,but also offers a crucial opportunity to understand the role of electronic density in solid-state Li metal batteries.The introduced strong electronegativity F-based ligand in COF electrolyte results in highlyselective Li^(+)(transference number 0.83),high ionic conductivity(6.7×10^(-4)S cm^(−1)),excellent cyclic ability(1000 h)in Li metal symmetric cell and high-capacity retention in Li/LiFePO_(4)cell(90.8%for 300 cycles at 5C)than substituted C-and N-based ligands.This is ascribed to outstanding D–A interaction between donor porphyrin and acceptor F atoms,which effectively expedites electron transferring from porphyrin to F-based ligand and enhances Li^(+)kinetics.Consequently,we anticipate that this work creates insight into the strategy for accelerating Li^(+)conduction in high-performance solid-state Li metal batteries through D–A system.

Molecule‑Level Multiscale Design of Nonflammable Gel Polymer Electrolyte to Build Stable SEI/CEI for Lithium Metal Battery

The risk of flammability is an unavoidable issue for gel polymer electrolytes(GPEs).Usually,flameretardant solvents are necessary to be used,but most of them would react with anode/cathode easily and cause serious interfacial instability,which is a big challenge for design and application of nonflammable GPEs.Here,a nonflammable GPE(SGPE)is developed by in situ polymerizing trifluoroethyl methacrylate(TFMA)monomers with flame-retardant triethyl phosphate(TEP)solvents and LiTFSI–LiDFOB dual lithium salts.TEP is strongly anchored to PTFMA matrix via polarity interaction between-P=O and-CH_(2)CF_(3).It reduces free TEP molecules,which obviously mitigates interfacial reactions,and enhances flame-retardant performance of TEP surprisingly.Anchored TEP molecules are also inhibited in solvation of Li^(+),leading to anion-dominated solvation sheath,which creates inorganic-rich solid electrolyte interface/cathode electrolyte interface layers.Such coordination structure changes Li^(+)transport from sluggish vehicular to fast structural transport,raising ionic conductivity to 1.03 mS cm^(-1) and transfer number to 0.41 at 30℃.The Li|SGPE|Li cell presents highly reversible Li stripping/plating performance for over 1000 h at 0.1 mA cm^(−2),and 4.2 V LiCoO_(2)|SGPE|Li battery delivers high average specific capacity>120 mAh g^(−1) over 200 cycles.This study paves a new way to make nonflammable GPE that is compatible with Li metal anode.

Battery Separators Functionalized with Edge-Rich MoS2/C Hollow Microspheres for the Uniform Deposition of Li2S in High-Performance Lithium-Sulfur Batteries

As promising energy storage systems,lithium-sulfur(Li-S)batteries have attracted significant attention because of their ultra-high energy densities.However,Li-S battery suffers problems related to the complex phase conversion that occurs during the charge-discharge process,particularly the deposition of solid Li2S from the liquid-phase polysulfides,which greatly limits its practical application.In this paper,edge-rich MoS2/C hollow microspheres(Edg-MoS2/C HMs)were designed and used to functionalize separator for Li-S battery,resulting in the uniform deposition of Li2S.The microspheres were fabricated through the facile hydrothermal treatment of MoO3-aniline nanowires and a subsequent carbonization process.The obtained Edg-MoS2/C HMs have a strong chemical absorption capability and high density of Li2S binding sites,and exhibit excellent electrocatalytic performance and can effectively hinder the polysulfide shuttle effect and guide the uniform nucleation and growth of Li2S.Furthermore,we demonstrate that the Edg-MoS2/C HMs can effectively regulate the deposition of Li2S and significantly improve the reversibility of the phase conversion of the active sulfur species,especially at high sulfur loadings and high C-rates.As a result,a cell containing a separator functionalized with Edg-MoS2/C HMs exhibited an initial discharge capacity of 935 mAh g-1 at 1.0 C and maintained a capacity of 494 mAh g-1 after 1000 cycles with a sulfur loading of 1.7 mg cm-2.Impressively,at a high sulfur loading of 6.1 mg cm-2 and high rate of 0.5 C,the cell still delivered a high reversible discharge capacity of 478 mAh g-1 after 300 cycles.This work provides fresh insights into energy storage systems related to complex phase conversions.

All-climate aqueous supercapacitor enabled by a deep eutectic solvent electrolyte based on salt hydrate

Aqueous supercapacitors(SCs)have received considerable attention owing to the utilization of low-cost,non-flammable,and low-toxicity aqueous electrolytes thus could eliminate the safety and cost concerns,but their wide temperature range applications have generally suffered from frozen of electrolyte and insufficient ionic conductivity at low temperatures.Herein,we demonstrate the feasibility of using an unconventional Deep Eutectic Solvent(DES)based on H2O-Mg(ClO4)2·6 H2O binary system as electrolyte to construct all-climate aqueous carbon-based SC.This unconventional class DES completely base on inorganic substances and achieving simply mix inexpensive salts and water together at the right proportions.Attributed to the attractive feature of extremely low freeze temperature of-69℃,this electrolyte can enable the 1.8 V carbon-based SC to fully work at-40℃with outstanding cycling stability.This DES electrolyte comprising of a single salt and a single solvent without any additive will open up an avenue for developing simple and green electrolytes to construct all-climate SC.

Concurrent recycling chemistry for cathode/anode in spent graphite/LiFePO_(4) batteries:Designing a unique cation/anion-co-workable dual-ion battery

With the increasing popularity of new en ergy electric vehicles,the dema nd for lithium-ion batteries(LIBs)has been growing rapidly,which will produce a large number of spent LIBs.Therefore,recycling of spe nt LIBs has become an urge nt task to be solved,otherwise it will inevitably lead to serious environmental pollution.Herein,a unique recycling strategy is proposed to achieve the concurrent reuse of cathode and anode in the spent graphite/LiFePO_(4) batteries.Along with such recycling process,a unique cathode composed of recycled LFP/graphite(RLFPG)with cation/anion-co-storage ability is designed for new-type dual-ion battery(DIB).As a result,the recycle-derived DIB of Li/RLFPG is established with good electrochemical performance,such as an initial discharge capacity of 117.4 mA h g^(-1) at 25 mA g^(-1) and 78% capacity retention after 1000 cycles at 100 mA g^(-1).The working mechanism of Li/RLFPG DIB is also revealed via in situ X-ray diffraction and electrode kinetics studies.This work not only presents a farreaching significance for large-scale recycling of spent LIBs in the future,but also proposed a sustainable and econo mical method to design n ew-type sec on dary batteries as recycling of spe nt LIBs.

All-Climate Stretchable Dendrite-Free Zn-Ion Hybrid Supercapacitors Enabled by Hydrogel Electrolyte Engineering

Hybrid supercapacitors have shown great potentials to fulfill the demand of future diverse applications such as electric vehicles and portable/wearable electronics.In particular,aqueous zinc-ion hybrid supercapacitors(ZHSCs)have gained much attention due to their low-cost,high energy density,and environmental friendliness.Nevertheless,typical ZHSCs use Zn metal anode and normal liquid electrolyte,causing the dendrite issue,restricted working temperature,and inferior device flexibility.Herein,a novel flexible Zn-ion hybrid supercapacitor(FZHSC)is developed by using activated carbon(AC)anode,δ-MnO_(2) cathode,and innovative PVA-based gel electrolyte.In this design,heavy Zn anode and its dendrite issue are avoided and layered cathode with large interlayer spacing is employed.In addition,flexible electrodes are prepared and integrated with an anti-freezing,stretchable,and compressible hydrogel electrolyte,which is attained by simultaneously using glycerol additive and freezing/thawing technique to regulate the hydrogen bond and microstructure.The resulting FZHSC exhibits good rate capability,high energy density(47.86 Wh kg^(−1);3.94 mWh cm^(−3)),high power density(5.81 kW kg^(−1);480 mW cm^(−3)),and excellent cycling stability(~91%capacity retention after 30000 cycles).Furthermore,our FZHSC demonstrates outstanding flexibility with capacitance almost unchanged even after various continuous shape deformations.The hydrogel electrolyte still maintains high ionic conductivity at ultralow temperatures(≤−30℃),enabling the FZHSC cycled well,and powering electronic timer robustly within an all-climate temperature range of−30~80℃.This work highlights that the promising Zn metal-free aqueous ZHSCs can be designed with great multifunctionality for more practical application scenarios.

Hybrid battery integrated by Zn-air and Zn-Co3O4 batteries at cell level

The construction of Zn based hybrid battery through the combination of Zn-air and Zn-Co3O4 batteries at cell level is a feasible strategy to integrate high voltage,specific capacity and energy density in one power supply equipment.For Zn based hybrid battery,an efficient cathode material with high specific capacitance and excellent ORR,OER activities is a vital component,which determines its performance in great extent.In this work,with Co based coordination polymer as precursor,oxygen vacancy-rich Co3 O4 based cathode material is synthesized.In this material Co3O4 particles with the size about 20 to 35 nm reside evenly in mesoporous carbon matrix doped by nitrogen atoms.In OER,the overpotential of this cathode material is merely 330 m V.Its ORR proceeds with a typical four electron process with half wave achieving 0.76 V.If charge/discharge at 1 A·g^-1,specific capacitance of this cathode material is 254.4 mAh·g^-1.As current density increases to 20 A·g^-1,the specific capacitance still arrives at 122.5 mAh·g^-1 with nearly 50%retained.Based on attractive performance of this cathode material,Zn based hybrid battery is assembled.When discharge at 1 m A·cm-2,it presences two voltage platforms at 1.71 and 1.14 V.In this situation,specific capacitance reaches 790 m Ah·g^-1 with energy density 928 Wh·kg^-1.Hybrid battery shows promising stability after 300-cycle continuous test.

Reviewing electrochemical stability of ionic liquids-/deep eutectic solvents-based electrolytes in lithium-ion,lithium-metal and post-lithium-ion batteries for green and safe energy

Sustainable energy is the key issue for the environment protection,human activity and economic development.Ionic liquids(ILs)and deep eutectic solvents(DESs)are dogmatically regarded as green and sustainable electrolytes in lithium-ion,lithium-metal(e.g.,lithium-sulphur,lithium-oxygen)and post-lithium-ion(e.g.,sodium-ion,magnesium-ion,and aluminum-ion)batteries.High electrochemical stability of ILs/DESs is one of the prerequisites for green,sustainable and safe energy;while easy electrochemical decomposition of ILs/DESs would be contradictory to the concept of green chemistry by adding the cost,releasing volatile/hazardous by-products and hindering the recyclability.However,(1)are ILs/DESs-based electrolytes really electrochemically stable when they are not used in batteries?(2)are ILs/DESs-based electrolytes really electrochemically stable in real batteries?(3)how to design ILs/DESs-based electrolytes with high electrochemical stability for batteries to achieve sustainability and green development?Up to now,there is no summary on this topic,to the best of our knowledge.Here,we review the effect of chemical structure and non-structural factors on the electrochemical stability of ILs/DESs in simulated conditions.More importantly,electrochemical stability of ILs/DESs in real lithium-ion,lithium-metal and post-lithium-ion batteries is concluded and compared.Finally,the strategies to improve the electrochemical stability of ILs/DESs in lithium-ion,lithium-metal and post-lithium-ion batteries are proposed.This review would provide a guide to design ILs/DESs with high electrochemical stability for lithium-ion,lithium-metal and postlithium-ion batteries to achieve sustainable and green energy.

Mechanism of internal thermal runaway propagation in blade batteries

Blade batteries are extensively used in electric vehicles,but unavoidable thermal runaway is an inherent threat to their safe use.This study experimentally investigated the mechanism underlying thermal runaway propagation within a blade battery by using a nail to trigger thermal runaway and thermocouples to track its propagation inside a cell.The results showed that the internal thermal runaway could propagate for up to 272 s,which is comparable to that of a traditional battery module.The velocity of the thermal runaway propagation fluctuated between 1 and 8 mm s^(-1),depending on both the electrolyte content and high-temperature gas diffusion.In the early stages of thermal runaway,the electrolyte participated in the reaction,which intensified the thermal runaway and accelerated its propagation.As the battery temperature increased,the electrolyte evaporated,which attenuated the acceleration effect.Gas diffusion affected thermal runaway propagation through both heat transfer and mass transfer.The experimental results indicated that gas diffusion accelerated the velocity of thermal runaway propagation by 36.84%.We used a 1D mathematical model and confirmed that convective heat transfer induced by gas diffusion increased the velocity of thermal runaway propagation by 5.46%-17.06%.Finally,the temperature rate curve was analyzed,and a three-stage mechanism for internal thermal runaway propagation was proposed.In Stage I,convective heat transfer from electrolyte evaporation locally increased the temperature to 100℃.In Stage II,solid heat transfer locally increases the temperature to trigger thermal runaway.In StageⅢ,thermal runaway sharply increases the local temperature.The proposed mechanism sheds light on the internal thermal runaway propagation of blade batteries and offers valuable insights into safety considerations for future design.

Quaternized polymer binder for lithium-sulfur batteries:The effect of cation structure on battery performance

Lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries are great candidates for energy storage systems, but need to overcome theissues of low sulfur utilization and polysulfide shuttling for use in large-scale commercial applications.Recently, quaternized polymers have received much attention for their polysulfide trapping propertiesdue to electrostatic interaction. In this work, we report a series of polyarylether sulfone (PSF) binderswith different cation structures including imidazolium (Im), triethylammonium (Tr), and morpholinium(Mo). The ability of the these quaternized binders and the conventional poly(vinylidene fluoride) or PVDFbinder to capture polysulfide increases in the order of PVDF << PSF-Mo < PSF-Tr< PSF-Im. The delocalizedcharge on the imidazolium cation may promote the interaction between PSF-Im and polysulfide asindicated by an X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic study. The PSF-Im based cathodes showed the highestcapacity retention (77% at 0.2 C after 100 cycles and 84% at 0.5 C after 120 cycles), and the bestrate capability. This work demonstrates the importance of the cation structure in the design of efficientquaternized binders for high performance Li–S batteries.

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.

Managing the surge:A comprehensive review of the entire disposal framework for retired lithium-ion batteries from electric vehicles

Anticipating the imminent surge of retired lithium-ion batteries(R-LIBs)from electric vehicles,the need for safe,cost-effective and environmentally friendly disposal technologies has escalated.This paper seeks to offer a comprehensive overview of the entire disposal framework for R-LIBs,encompassing a broad spectrum of activities,including screening,repurposing and recycling.Firstly,we delve deeply into a thorough examination of current screening technologies,shifting the focus from a mere enumeration of screening methods to the exploration of the strategies for enhancing screening efficiency.Secondly,we outline battery repurposing with associated key factors,summarizing stationary applications and sizing methods for R-LIBs in their second life.A particular light is shed on available reconditioning solutions,demonstrating their great potential in facilitating battery safety and lifetime in repurposing scenarios and identifying their techno-economic issues.In the realm of battery recycling,we present an extensive survey of pre-treatment options and subsequent material recovery technologies.Particularly,we introduce several global leading recyclers to illustrate their industrial processes and technical intricacies.Furthermore,relevant challenges and evolving trends are investigated in pursuit of a sustainable end-of-life management and disposal framework.We hope that this study can serve as a valuable resource for researchers,industry professionals and policymakers in this field,ultimately facilitating the adoption of proper disposal practices.