High-performance Si-Containing anode materials in lithium-ion batteries: A superstructure of Si@Co-NC composite works effectively

To mitigate the massive volume expansion of Si-based anode during the charge/discharge cycles,we synthesized a superstructure of Si@Co±NC composite via the carbonization of zeolite imidazolate frameworks incorporated with Si nanoparticles.The Si@Co±NC is comprised of Sinanoparticle core and N-doped/Co-incorporated carbon shell,and there is void space between the core and the shell.When using as anode material for LIBs,Si@Co±NC displayed a super performance with a charge/discharge capacity of 191.6/191.4 mA h g^(-1)and a coulombic efficiency of 100.1%at 1000 mA g^(-1)after 3000 cycles,and the capacity loss rate is 0.022%per cycle only.The excellent electrochemical property of Si@Co±NC is because its electronic conductivity is enhanced by doping the carbon shell with N atoms and by incorporating with Co particles,and the pathway of lithium ions transmission is shortened by the hollow structure and abundant mesopores in the carbon shell.Also,the volume expansion of Si nanoparticles is well accommodated in the void space and suppressed by the carbon host matrix.This work shows that,through designing a superstructure for the anode materials,we can synergistically reduce the work function and introduce the confinement effect,thus significantly enhancing the anode materials’electrochemical performance in LIBs.

NiO@Ni nanoparticles embedded in N-doped carbon for efficient photothermal CO_(2) methanation coupled with H_(2)O splitting

Photothermal carbon dioxide(CO_(2))methanation has attracted increasing interest in solar fuel synthesis,which employs the advantages of photocatalytic H_(2)O splitting as a hydrogen source and photothermal catalytic CO_(2) reduction.This work prepared three-dimensional(3D)honeycomb N-doped carbon(NC)loaded with core–shell NiO@Ni nanoparticles generated in situ at 500℃(NiO@Ni/NC-500).Under the photothermal catalysis(200℃,1.5 W/cm^(2)),the CH_(4) evolution rate of NiO@Ni/NC-500 reached 5.5 mmol/(g·h),which is much higher than that of the photocatalysis(0.8 mmol/(g·h))and the thermal catalysis(3.7 mmol/(g·h)).It is found that the generated localized surface plasmon resonance enhances the injection of hot electrons from Ni to NiO,while thermal heating accelerates the thermal motion of radicals,thus generating a strong photo-thermal synergistic effect on the reaction.The CO_(2) reduction to CH_(4) follows the*OCH pathway.This work demonstrates the synergistic effect of NiO@Ni and NC can enhance the catalytic performance of photothermal CO_(2) reduction reaction coupled with water splitting reaction.