Abstract
Boron-doped carbon nanotubes are a promising candidate for Li storage due to the unique electronic structure and high crystallinity brought by the boron dopants. However, the relatively low Li storage capacity has limited its application in the electrochemical energy storage field, which is mainly caused by the predominantly intact graphitic structure on their surface with limited access points for Li ion entering. Herein, we report a novel B-doped CNTs (py-B-CNTs) film, in which the CNTs possess intrinsically rough surface but flat internal graphitic structure. When used as a flexible anode material for LIBs, this py-B-CNTs film delivers significantly enhanced capacity than the conventional B-doped CNTs or the pristine CNTs films, with good rate capability and excellent cycling performance as well. Moreover, this flexible film also possesses excellent mechanical flexibility, making it capable of being used in a prototype flexible LIB with stable power output upon various bending states.
Highlights
The demand for high-performance energy storage devices is continuously increasing as a result of the rapid development of portable electronic devices and electric vehicles
The py-B-carbon nanotubes (CNTs) film possesses exceptional toughness and stretchability with nearly 50% strain before final fracture (Figure 1F and Figure S1) and high recovery rate of 50% after 10% stretching (Figure S2), which are obviously superior to CNTs film and highly advantageous for flexible Lithium-ion battery (LIB) applications
The amorphous carbon wrapped outside nanotubes as observed in both CNTs and pyCNTs almost disappeared, possibly due to the cleaning effect of the water released from the decomposition of boric acid at high temperature (Hata et al, 2004; Cui et al, 2011)
Summary
Lei Wang 1, Wenlei Guo 1, Pengyi Lu 1, Tao Zhang 1, Feng Hou 1* and Ji Liang 1,2*. Reviewed by: Xuezhang Xiao, Zhejiang University, China Chaofeng Zhang, Anhui University, China. When used as a flexible anode material for LIBs, this py-B-CNTs film delivers significantly enhanced capacity than the conventional B-doped CNTs or the pristine CNTs films, with good rate capability and excellent cycling performance as well. This flexible film possesses excellent mechanical flexibility, making it capable of being used in a prototype flexible LIB with stable power output upon various bending states
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