Ultrafast Synthesis of Metal-Layered Hydroxides in a Dozen Seconds for High-Performance Aqueous Zn(Micro-)Battery

Efficient synthesis of transition metal hydroxides on conductive substrate is essential for enhancing their merits in industrialization of energy storage field.However,most of the synthetic routes at present mainly rely on traditional bottom-up method,which involves tedious steps,time-consuming treatments,or additional alkaline media,and is unfavorable for high-efficiency production.Herein,we present a facile,ultrafast and general avenue to synthesize transition metal hydroxides on carbon substrate within 13 s by Joule-heating method.With high reaction kinetics caused by the instantaneous high temperature,seven kinds of transition metal-layered hydroxides(TM-LDHs)are formed on carbon cloth.Therein,the fastest synthesis rate reaches~0.46 cm^(2)s^(-1).Density functional theory calculations further demonstrate the nucleation energy barriers and potential mechanism for the formation of metal-based hydroxides on carbon substrates.This efficient approach avoids the use of extra agents,multiple steps,and long production time and endows the LDHs@carbon cloth with outstanding flexibility and machinability,showing practical advantages in both common and micro-zinc ion-based energy storage devices.To prove its utility,as a cathode in rechargeable aqueous alkaline Zn(micro-)battery,the NiCo LDH@carbon cloth exhibits a high energy density,superior to most transition metal LDH materials reported so far.

Ultrafast synthesis of nanocrystalline spinel oxides by Joule-heating method

Spinel oxides,with the formula AB_(2)O_(4)(A and B represent metal ions)perform superior electrocatalytic characteristic when A and B are transition metals like Co,Fe,Mn,etc.Abundant researches have been attached to the structure designments while methods are often energy-intensive and inefficient.Here,we devised a universal strategy to achieve rapid synthesis of nanocrystalline spinel materials with multiple components(Co_(3)O_(4),Mn_(3)O_(4),CoMn_(2)O_(4)and CoFe_(2)O_(4)are as examples),where phase formation is within 15 s.Under the Joule-heating shock,a crack-break process of microcosmic phase transformation is observed by in-situ transmission electron microscopy.The half-wave potential values of Co_(3)O_(4)-JH,Mn_(3)O_(4)-JH,CoMn_(2)O_(4)-JH and CoFe_(2)O_(4)-JH in the electrocatalytic oxygen reduction reaction were 0.77,0.78,0.79 and 0.76,respectively.This suggests that the Joule heating is a fast and efficient method for the preparation of spinel oxide electrocatalysts.

Ultrafast synthetic strategies under extreme heating conditions toward single-atom catalysts

Dispersing atomic metals on substrates provides an ideal method to maximize metal utilization efficiency, which is important for the production of cost-effective catalysts and the atomic-level control of the electronic structure. However, due to the high surface energy, individual single atoms tend to migrate and aggregate into nanoparticles during preparation and catalytic operation. In the past few years, various synthetic strategies based on ultrafast thermal activation toward the effective preparation of single-atom catalysts(SACs) have emerged, which could effectively solve the aggregation issue. Here, we highlight and summarize the latest developments in various ultrafast synthetic strategy with rapid energy input by heating shockwave and instant quenching for the synthesis of SACs, including Joule heating, microwave heating, solid-phase laser irradiation, flame-assisted method, arc-discharge method and so on,with special emphasis on how to achieve the uniform dispersion of single metal atoms at high metal loadings as well as the suitability for scalable production. Finally, we point out the advantages and disadvantages of the ultrafast heating strategies as well as the trends and challenges of future developments.

Thermal Shock-Activated Spontaneous Growing of Nanosheets for Overall Water Splitting

Nanomaterials based on nickel foam(NF) have been widely applied in energy conversion and storage field.Traditional synthesis methods such as hydrothermal method which is dangerous and high cost limited the scalable developments.Herein,we report a fast,simple,and low-cost synthesis method of nanomaterials based on NF by Joule-heating and water soaking treatment.Thin carbon-coated CoS on NF(NF-C/CoS) was synthesized by Joule-heating for a few seconds with rapid cooling.And then,NF-C/CoS/NiOOH with core-shell heterostructure was fabricated by soaking treatment of NF-C/CoS in water on which NiOOH nanosheets grew spontaneously.The formation mechanism is proposed that the coordination complex precursor converts into C/CoS on NF driven by Joule-heating,and the nickel on the surface of NF is activated to form metastable nickel simultaneously.The metastable nickel reacting with water leads to the formation of NiOOH,and the induction of CoS makes NiOOH grow continuously.This synthesis technology provides a new route to manufacture NF-based nanostructures,and the as-fabricated NF-C/CoS/NiOOH exhibits great potential as electrocatalyst for oxygen evolution reaction and hydrogen evolution reaction.

Boosting cycling stability by regulating surface oxygen vacancies of LNMO by rapid calcination

Spinel LiNi_(0.5-x)Mn_(1.5+x)O_(4)(LNMO)has attracted intensive interest for lithium-ion battery due to its high voltage and high energy density.However,severe capacity fade attributed to unstable surface structure has hampered its commercialization.Oxygen vacancies(OVs)tend to occur in the surface of the material and lead to surface structure reconstruction,which deteriorates the battery performance during electrochemical cycling.Here,we utilize high-temperature-shock(HTS)method to synthesize LNMO materials with fewer surface OVs.Rapid calcination drives lower surface OVs concentration,reducing the content of Mn^(3+)and surface reconstruction layers,which is beneficial to obtain a stable crystal structure.The LNMO material synthesized by HTS method delivers an initial capacity of 127 mAh·g^(-1) at 0.1 C and capacity retention of 81.6%after 300 cycles at 1 C,and exhibits excellent performance at low temperature.