Abstract
Diverse reproduction modes of bio‐organisms open new intriguing opportunities for biochemistry‐enabled materials. Herein, a new strategy is developed to explore biodirected structures for functional materials via controlling the reproduction mode. Yeast with sexual or asexual reproduction mode are employed in this work. They result in two different biodirected structures, from bowl‐like hollow hemisphere to “bubble‐in‐sphere” (BIS) structure, for the VNxOy/C composites. Benefitting from the hierarchical structure, nanoscale particles and conductive biomass–derived carbon base, both VNxOy/C biocomposites achieve high power/energy density, good reliability, and excellent long‐term cycling stability in aqueous Zn‐ion batteries. Deep investigations further reveal that different biodirected structures greatly influence the electrochemical properties of biocomposites. The bowl‐like structures with thin shells and folded double layers achieve larger surface area and more active sites, which ensure their faster kinetics and better high rate capability. The BIS structures with a more compact assembly and higher stack capability are favorable to the better energy storage. Therefore, this work not only introduces a new clue to boost biodirected structures for functional materials, but also propels the development of Zn‐ion batteries in diverse applications.
Highlights
Diverse reproduction modes of bio-organisms open new intriguing opportunities for biochemistry-enabled materials
The small buds initially grow on the mother cell (Figure 1c), which is divided into a new one as it maturates with the mitosis (Figure 1d,e); On the other hand, the sexual mode will take place in some special conditions, such as starved for nitrogen, high pressure, nutrient deficiency, etc
The cultivated yeast cells are employed as the biotemplates to build the bioprecursors (Figure 1f,g, details in Section S-1-2 in the Supporting Information)
Summary
Diverse reproduction modes of bio-organisms open new intriguing opportunities for biochemistry-enabled materials. Zhou et al constructed 3D A3V2(PO4)3/C (A = Li, Na) foams by assembly of elastin-like polypeptides and obtained the ultrafast rate capabilities as applied in lithium/sodium ion batteries.[21] Sun et al designed a “self-breathable” structure based on Lycoperdon bovista (LB) spore and built fast electron/ ion transport highways inside the aurilave-like structure.[25] Zhang et al in situ encapsulated the iron based complex into the egg yolk derived nanotubes to achieve superior capacitive performance.[26] Our group has engaged in building highperformance electrodes on the basis of the biodirected strategies.[22,27,28] For instance, we have constructed 3D hybrid foams and hollow spheres for the pyrophosphate composites based on fungus (Auricularia) and microalgae, respectively. Their superior energy or power densities and cycling stability ensure the applications in multiple fields
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