Ag Anode Research Articles

Constructing a multilayered film β[sbnd]PbO2[sbnd]ZrO2 electrode for energy-efficient zinc electrowinning

The zinc electrowinning process demands considerable energy, prompting the quest for energy-efficient solutions to curtail costs. Hence, the development of energy-saving anode materials for zinc hydrometallurgy is an important issue. Herein, multilayered PbO2 film materials were prepared through thermal decomposition and composite electrodeposition, yielding a new PbO2–ZrO2 electrode featuring ZrO2 particles as the second phase for energy-saving zinc electrowinning. The introduction of ZrO2 leads to reduced PbO2 crystal size, heightened the specific surface area of the electrode, and preferential growth of crystal planes. Electrochemical tests underscore that the PbO2–ZrO2 electrode manifests a reduced charge-transfer resistance (Rct) and overpotential alongside a 46.15 % extension in service life compared to the pure PbO2 electrode. Simulated zinc electrowinning experiment affirms PbO2–ZrO2 electrode has a 3.63 % surge in the current efficiency and a substantial 244.61 kWh/t reduction in energy consumption relative to the traditional Pb–0.6wt%Ag anode. This study provides a strategic framework for designing and developing cost-efficient, cost-effective anode materials, promoting advancements in energy conservation and consumption reduction within zinc electrowinning processes.

(Invited) Development of Ag- and Sn-Based Colloidal Quantum Dots for Near Infrared Photodetection

Low-cost photodetectors with sensitivity in the second near-infrared window (NIR-II, 1000–1700 nm) are highly demanded. Recently, we made the first demonstration of an Ag2Se colloidal quantum dots (QDs) photodiode with sensitivity up to 1200 nm. By employing secondary phosphine to elevate the precursor reactivity, the Ag2Se QDs with a distinct excitonic absorption peak was achieved. These nanocrystals were deposited from solution into a mesoporous TiO2 scaffold to increase the light absorption and charge separation and reduce the exciton diffusion length. By incorporating a suitable hole-transporting layer between the active layer and Ag anode, the resulting devices showed a responsivity of 4.17 mA/W at 1200 nm.1 Also, Ag2Te QDs are excellent for advancing the detection wavelength. Their synthesis with desired particle sizes, narrow size distribution and high photoluminescence quantum yield (PL QY) is challenging. We systematically investigate critical parameters affecting the synthesis in an organic phase. It shows that high Ag/Te feed ratio leads to smaller size and higher PL QY; under 4:1 Ag/Te feed molar ratio, addition of secondary phosphine leads to narrower size distribution and excellent colloidal stability; under 6:1 Ag/Te feed molar ratio, excess 1-dodecanethiol as a strong ligand slows the nucleation and results in fewer nuclei, leading to a broad size distribution and poor optical properties; additional n-trioctyl phosphine as a weak ligand provides better colloidal stability; and another weak ligand n-tributylphosphine improves Ag2Te QD colloidal stability, focuses size distribution, and enhances PL QY. After optimization relatively large Ag2Te QDs with distinct excitonic absorption peaks (~1050 – 1450 nm) and PL emission peak 1.3 – 1.7 µm (QY up to 6.2%) were obtained. NIR-II photodetection has been demonstrated with a responsivity of ~1.5 mA/W at 1400 nm.2 More recently, we have been developing Sn-based chalcogenide QDs and obtained preliminary photodetection results. These results demonstrate that Ag and Sn chalcogenide QDs offer a low-toxicity route for low-cost fabrication of NIR-II photodetection. Reference: [1] Graddage N, Ouyang J, Lu J, Chu TY, Zhang Y, Li Z, Wu X, Malenfant PRL, Tao Y. Near-Infrared-II Photodetectors Based on Silver Selenide Quantum Dots on Mesoporous TiO2 Scaffolds. ACS Applied Nano Materials 2020, 3: 12209–12217.[2] Ouyang J, Graddage N, Lu J, Zhong Y, Chu TY, Zhang Y, Wu X, Kodra O, Li Z, Tao Y, Ding J. Ag2Te Colloidal Quantum Dots for Near-Infrared-II Photodetectors. ACS Applied Nano Materials 2021, 4: 13587–13601. Keywords: Environmentally Friendly; Near Infrared; Quantum Dots; Photodetection.

Electrodeposition of Pb-0.6 %Sb/α-PbO2/β-PbO2-CNTs electrodes: Investigation focusing on co-deposition modification mechanism and energy consumption

The present study investigated the electrodeposition of Pb-0.6 %Sb/α-PbO2/β-PbO2-Carbon Nanotube (CNTs) energy-saving electrodes with different proportions of co-deposited CNTs and compared the application with industrial Pb-0.8 wt%Ag anodes in a long-period zinc electrodeposition process. When the concentration of CNTs was 3 g·L−1, the charge transfer resistance Rct of the oxygen-evolution reaction reached the minimum value (6.140 Ω·cm2), while the corrosion resistance achieved the maximum value (Ecorr 1.3255 V, Icorr 2.06 × 10−4 A). CNTs co-deposition considerably refined the grain size and enhanced the electrocatalytic activity. Additionally, the co-deposition modification mechanism of CNTs and β-PbO2 was elucidated. During the long period zinc electro-deposition process, Pb-0.6 %Sb/α-PbO2/β-PbO2-CNTs energy-saving electrodes reduced the cell voltage and power consumption by 299 mV and 373.97 kWt/(t·Zn) compared with industrial Pb-0.8 wt%Ag anodes, respectively. The overall energy conservation effect was remarkable.

Fabrication of a highly active β-PbO2-Co3O4 electrode for zinc electrowinning by pulse electrodeposition: Characterization and catalytic performance analysis

High oxygen evolution overpotential and low corrosion resistance are regarded as the main drawbacks of anode materials in zinc electrowinning. To improve the electrocatalytic activity of oxygen evolution reactions (OER) and reduce energy consumption in zinc electrowinning, a Co3O4 nanoparticle-modified PbO2 anode was prepared on a Ti substrate with Sn-SbOX as an interlayer through pulse electrodeposition. The surface morphology, phase composition, and electrochemical properties of the as-prepared anode were systematically investigated. The introduction of Co3O4 nanoparticles refined the crystal size of PbO2 and increased the surface roughness of the anode. Electrochemical tests suggested the excellent electrocatalytic activity of the Co3O4 nanoparticle-modified PbO2 anode. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations revealed that Co3O4 nanoparticles reduced the OER free energy (1.58 eV) and that pulse electrodeposition reduced the PbO2 crystal size and increased the active surface area of the anode. In the simulated zinc electrowinning test, an improved current efficiency (90.6 %) was achieved, and the low energy consumption (2,508.29 kW·h) for zinc production per ton was significantly reduced as compared with that for the conventional Pb-0.75 %Ag anode. The lifetime of the modified electrode is increased by approximately 36.8 %. This provides a reference for the design and development of anode materials with high oxygen evolution activity and strong corrosion resistance in zinc electrowinning systems.

Electrochemical behavior and discharge performance of dilute Mg-Bi-based alloy as an anode for primary Mg-air battery

In this study, the electrochemical behavior and discharge performance of dilute Mg-0.5Bi-0.5Ca-0.5Ag alloy as an anode for primary Mg-air battery are studied and compared with those of Mg-0.5Bi base alloy. The results show that the addition of trace Ca and Ag to Mg-0.5Bi base alloy is conducive to enhancing the dynamic recrystallization (DRX) extent, reducing the basal texture component and kernel average misorientation value. In addition, re-deposited Ag in the discharge products can improve discharge activity by promoting the dissolution of the Mg matrix and rupturing the discharge product film. For these reasons, the Mg-0.5Bi-0.5Ca-0.5Ag anode presents a high level of synergy between cell voltage and anodic efficiency by means of the enhanced anode dissolution kinetics and effective reactive area. Therefore, dilute MgBi based anode micro-alloyed with Ag and Ca presents a great potential to be developed as novel anode material for Mg-air battery.

Non-Ambient in-Operando X-Ray Diffraction Study of Li-Ion Batteries on Laboratory Diffractometers

A long outstanding issue when pushing the performance of batteries is the degradation during cycling. Understanding the pertinent mechanisms becomes increasingly significant to tackle them and consequently facilitate the discovery of high-performance batteries that meet the requirements for multiple applications. In operando X-ray diffraction (XRD) is a non-destructive technique which can be used to study the non-equilibrium states of a complete battery cell during cycling by essentially tracing the structure changes. In this talk, we will showcase how high-quality XRD data of Li-ion batteries can be quickly collected and analysed during charge-discharge cycles in transmission geometry on the laboratory diffractometer equipped with an X-ray tube with Ag or Mo anode and an area detector optimized for high energy X-rays. Temperature effects on the performance and life of batteries will be discussed based on the temperature-dependent XRD data collected during the charge-discharge cycling of batteries. Quantification of the structural changes from both cathode and anode materials can be done to essentially understand the structure-property relationship of a complete battery cell.

Incorporation of carbon quantum dots with PEDOT:PSS for high-performance inverted organic solar cells

Inverted organic solar cells (iOSCs) have attracted considerable attention because of their ease of fabrication and suitability for roll-to-roll processing. Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS), with multiple favorable properties, is the most actively studied hole-transporting layer (HTL) material. However, the pristine state of PEDOT:PSS is limited by its inefficient, poor, and inhomogeneous conductivity. Herein, we demonstrate strategies to enhance the performance of iOSC devices by introducing carbon quantum dots (CQDs), which have controllable conductivity and band edges, into the PEDOT:PSS HTL. This is considered to be an efficient route for modifying the intrinsic properties and electrical conductivity of PEDOT:PSS. The CQDs were first synthesized through a microwave-assisted process by employing eco-friendly and low-cost material sources. By optimizing the ratio of CQDs incorporated into PEDOT:PSS (PH-G0.05), an iOSC with a remarkable enhancement of 3.90% in power conversion efficiency, was obtained. Using PH-G0.05 HTL helped to improve the contact quality and assisted the hole extraction/transport ability at the photoactive/top Ag anode interface with high electrical conductivity (2.80 S cm–1), good surface morphology (RMS = 7.34 nm), and suitable work function (4.78 eV). Our efforts to develop a solution process for CQDs-incorporated PEDOT:PSS HTLs shows considerable promise for the potential replacement of vacuum-based methods in iOSC applications.

Improvement approach for determination of cadmium at trace levels in soils by handheld X-ray fluorescence analyzers

Determining trace levels of cadmium in soils by the handheld X-ray fluorescence analyzer is severely hampered by the spectrum baseline. To improve the peak-to-background ratio of the characteristic Cd-Kα X-ray, the filter structure, material, and thickness were optimized; to find the most informative variables for the PLS analysis of trace Cd, the related information enhancement competitive adaptive reweighted sampling (rieCARS) was proposed as a variable selection approach, which contains correlated spectral selection (CSS), double logarithmic processing(DLP), competitive adaptive reweighted sampling (CARS). To eliminate the interference of the K-series line of the Ag anode target on trace Cd, the X-ray tube was used with the Tungsten anode target. One combined filter containing a 0.4 mm thickness Cu and a 0.5 mm thickness Fe was selected, which was placed between the X-ray tube and the sample. The instrumental limit of detection for the Cd descended from 32 mg/kg to 0.02 mg/kg . Sixty-four soil samples were used to establish the model for the filtered signal. The model was compared with PLS, CARS+PLS, DLP + CARS+PLS, CSS + PLS, and CSS + CARS+PLS. The application of rieCARS improved the performance of the calibration model for trace Cd. The coefficient of determination R2 of the rieCARS+PLS model on the calibration set was 0.990; the RMSEP on the test set was 0.28 mg/kg; the average of the relative error in the Poyang Lake soil samples was 0.18; the relative standard deviation for the thirteen replicates of the GSD17 was 0.07. The developed analytical procedure will lay the foundation for the analysis of heavy metal pollution sources in soils and ecological sustainability assessment.

Comparison of novel composite anodes with different proportions of α/β-PbO2 and the application in long-period zinc electrowinning

Zinc is an important non-ferrous metal material, of which the hydrometallurgy process has requirements for anode materials. In the present work, Pb-0.6%Sb/α-PbO2/β-PbO2-MnO2(CNTs) composite electrodes with different proportions of α/β-PbO2 were obtained and compared before and after zinc electrolytic simulation process. The optimal one was contrasted with traditional Pb-0.8 wt%Ag anode in long-period zinc electrowinning application. It was found that α-PbO2 transition layer could effectively improve the electrodeposition distortion of β-PbO2 surface and make the corrosion resistance better. Novel composite anode with more β-PbO2 proportion showed weaker internal resistance and greater OER electrocatalytic activity. The anode obtained by controlling the electrodeposition time of α&β-PbO2 phases at 1.5 h & 1 h had the best physical and chemical properties. Its cell voltage value (2.833 V) was 299 mV lower than that of traditional Pb-0.8 wt%Ag anode (3.132 V) in zinc electrodeposition. In addition, the compactness of the composite anode was improved under the function of active particles. The energy-saving effect of novel composite anode in long-period zinc electrowinning application was obvious.

A Room‐TemperatureChloride‐Conducting Metal–Organic Crystal [Al(DMSO)6]Cl3 for Potential Solid‐State Chloride‐Shuttle Batteries

The growing demand for substitutes of lithium chemistries in battery leads to a surge in budding novel anion‐based electrochemical energy storage, where the chloride ion batteries (CIBs) take over the role. The application of CIBs is limited by the dissolution and side reaction of chloride‐based electrode materials in a liquid electrolyte. On the flipside, its solid‐state electrolytes are scarcely reported due to the challenge in realizing fast Cl− conductivity. The present study reports [Al(DMSO)6]Cl3, a solid‐state metal–organic material, allows chloride ion transfer. The strong Al‐Cl bonds in AlCl3 are broken down after coordinating of Al3+ by ligand DMSO, and Cl− in the resulting compound is weakly bound to complexions [Al(DMSO)6]3+, which may facilitate Cl− migration. By partial replacement of Cl− with , the room‐temperature ionic conductivity of as‐prepared electrolyte is increased by one order of magnitude from 2.172 × 10−5 S cm−1 to 2.012 × 10−4 S cm−1. When they are assembled with Ag (anode)/Ag–AgCl (cathode) electrode system, reversible electrochemical redox reactions occur on both sides, demonstrating its potential for solid‐state chloride ion batteries. The strategy by weakening the bonding interaction using organic ligands between Cl− and central metallic ions may provide new ideas for developing solid chloride‐ion conductors.

Electrochemical Desalination of a 50% w/w Sodium Hydroxide Solution, a Pharmaceutical Sterilization Agent

Sodium hydroxide solutions are often employed as sterilization agents in the pharmaceutical industry. Here, the chloride content is considered as a critical impurity. In this study, an electrochemical method was developed to remove chloride ions (Cl<sup>−</sup>) through the oxidative deposition of AgCl on a Ag anode. The Cl<sup>−</sup> content in the commercially available 50% w/w NaOH solution employed was approximately 100 mg Cl<sup>−</sup>/kg NaOH. As the OH<sup>−</sup> content is approximately 18,000 times higher than the Cl<sup>−</sup> content, the formation of AgCl may be expected to be thermodynamically less favorable than the formation of Ag<sub>2</sub>O. However, activation energies for AgCl and Ag<sub>2</sub>O formation have been reported to be approximately 3.8 and 31.2 kJ/mol, respectively, and indicate that AgCl formation is favored. AgCl can be selectively produced by controlling the anode potential. Here, the Cl<sup>−</sup> concentration was reduced to less than 50 mg Cl<sup>−</sup>/kg NaOH when an anode potential of 0.18 or 0.19 V <italic>vs</italic>. Hg/HgO (reference electrode) was applied for one hour at 50°C. XRD analysis and visual monitoring of the Ag anode confirmed the oxidative deposition of AgCl on the anode surface as well as the electrochemical desalination of the concentrated NaOH solution.

Enhanced performance of organic light-emitting diodes by integrating quasi-periodic micro-nano structures

To integrate a quasi-periodic micro-nano structure (PMS) to the organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs) is an efficient way to enhance the performance of OLEDs. In this paper, the PMS prepared by the phase separation of Polystyrene and Poly (methyl methacrylate) was integrated to the OLEDs with the structures of Glass/PMS/Ag (30 nm)/MoO3 (5 nm)/(NPB) (40 nm)/(Alq3) (60 nm)/LiF (0.5 nm)/Al (150 nm). The maximum luminance intensity and external quantum efficiency increased to 10700 cd/m2 and 1.11 %, which is 48 % and 44 % higher than that of 7209 cd/m2 and 0.77 % of the planar reference device. The enhanced performance of OLEDs was ascribed to the attenuation of surface plasmon polariton loss caused by the PMS, which was testified by the Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) simulation. The PMS was also transferred to the hole transfer layer (PEDOT: PSS) of OLEDs by nano-imprinting lithography with the structure of Glass/(ITO) (100 nm)/PEDOT: PSS (100 nm) (with PMS)/NPB (10 nm)/Alq3 (50 nm)/LiF (0.5 nm)/Al (100 nm). The performance was also improved by the optimized PMS and the light out-coupling efficiency increased to about 49.5 %, which is much higher than that of 28.8 % in the OLEDs with PMS Ag anode and 20 % in the planar reference devices. This suggests that the PMS can improve the OLED device performance regardless of the functional layer in which the PMS is integrated.

Highly stable quantum dot light-emitting diodes with improved interface contacting via violet irradiation

The relatively low stability of quantum dot light-emitting diodes (QLEDs) caused by unbalanced carrier injection has not been completely solved. Among various influencing factors, interface contacting is one of the important factors affecting the carrier injection equilibrium. Herein, we proposed a method to improve the carrier injection equilibrium for QLEDs. We investigated and explored the effects of violet irradiation on the efficiency and operating stability of MoO3-based inverted QLEDs. Specifically, violet irradiation on the interface of MoO3/Mg:Ag is carefully analysed. Further research shows that the interfacial reaction between Mg:Ag anode and MoO3 hole injection layer accounts for such improvement. During violet irradiation, the Mg:Ag quickly reacts with the oxygen from MoO3, leading to the formation of Mo-O-Mg:Ag interlayer. The hole injection is effectively enhanced, resulting from the reduction of the electrons extraction barrier at MoO3/Mg:Ag interface and the improvement of the interface contacting. By optimizing the violet irradiation dosage and violet wavelength, the maximum current efficiency (CE) is increased from 20.2 cd/A to 31.1 cd/A. Moreover, devices exhibit a highly stable operation lifetime of 44161 h (T95@1000 nits), which is much longer than non-violet irradiation QLEDs and meet the stringent industrial requirements for display applications.

A novel CF/Ti/β-PbO2 composite anode for zinc electrowinning: preparation, electrochemical properties and application

The CF/Ti/β-PbO2 composite was prepared for the first time by thermal decomposition and electrodeposition. Compared with the Pb–Ag anode, the current efficiency and service life of the CF/Ti/β-PbO2 anode increased by 14.92% and 232%, respectively.

Influence of polarisation time and Mn2+ on the electrochemical behaviour of different lead silver anodes

ABSTRACT The influence of polarisation time and Mn content on the electrochemical behaviour of different lead silver anodes in sulphuric acid electrolyte during decay periods has been studied. After 1, 5 and 10 h polarisation followed by one hour decay in zinc electrolyte in the presence of Mn2+, the corrosion current density of Pb-0.5% Ag was higher than that of Pb-0.6% Ag anode and even higher than that of Pb-0.7% Ag anode. It was also found that during 1 h of decay after 5 h polarisation study in the presence and the absence of Mn2+, the Pb–Ag anodes containing different silver contents have better oxide film and less corrosion current density than that of 1 and 10 h of polarisation. Electrochemical impedance results confirmed the mentioned tendency with and without Mn2+ additions. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis shows that the presence of MnO2 on the anode surface provides a protective barrier against leakage of Pb2+ ions into the solution.

Designing the 3D Porous Anode Based on Pore Size Dependent Li Deposition Behavior for Reversible Li Metal-Free Solid-State-Batteries

Li metal-based all-solid-state batteries (ASSBs) can potentially combine the high energy of Li metal anodes and the safety of ASSBs. Among Li metal-based ASSBs, lithium-free or anodeless ASSBs are considered optimal battery configurations because of their higher energy density and economic advantages attributed to the absence of Li metal during the battery assembly process. Despite the extensive interest in Li-free ASSBs, they continue to suffer from low Coulombic efficiency and poor cycle performance. One reason for this inferior performance is the unstable interface between the current collector and solid electrolyte (SE), which can eventually lead to inhomogeneous Li deposition, dendritic Li growth, and internal short circuits. Various approaches including 3D porous anodes have been proposed to control the Li deposition behavior and improve the reversibility of anodeless ASSBs; however, there is no clarity on the mechanism and conditions for determining the Li deposition behavior in this emerging system.In this study, we systematically investigate the Li deposition behavior depending on the pore size of 3D anode and successfully demonstrate the strategy to obtain a highly reversible 3D porous anode for Li-free ASSBs. We found that more Li deposits could be accommodated within the pores of the anode with a smaller pore size using stacked Ni particles as the Li-hosting porous anode; this implies that the Li movement into the anode occurs via diffusional Coble creep. We proposed the modification of the Ni surface with carbon coating and Ag nanoparticle decoration (Ni_C_Ag particles) to further improve the Li storage capacity of the Ni-based 3D anode and, thereby, secure the interfacial contact between the 3D Ni anode and SE. The resulting Ni_C_Ag 3D anode successfully accommodated the entire Li deposit of 2 mAh cm−2 within the porous architecture without the separation of the anode/SE interface. We clarified the improved Li storage capacity of the Ni_C_Ag anode as follows.(1) C and especially Ag electrochemically react with Li ions above 0 V; thus, Li ions can be transported to 3D Ni_C_Ag porous anode before Li deposition at the SE/anode interface at < 0 V. Further, the high Li ion diffusion coefficient of lithiated carbon and Li-Ag alloy can further reduce Li ions within the pores of the 3D anode; therefore, Li deposition can occur within the porous 3D Ni anode.(2) Lithiophilic C and Ag facilitated the movement of Li via diffusional Coble creep. In particular, Ag with solid solubility in Li (Li(Ag)) can significantly enhance Li adatom mobility because of the identical structure of Li(Ag) with pure Li.(3) Li(Ag) is widely known to lower the energy barrier for Li nucleation.With the significantly reduced nucleation overpotential and interfacial resistance, the Ni_C_Ag anode showed high reversibility in Li deposition and stripping. The Ni_C_Ag anode could be cycled for more than 60 and 100 cycles with Li3PS4 and Li6PS5Cl0.5Br0.5 SE in half cells with a capacity limit of 2 mAh cm−2 and a current density of 0.5 mA cm− 2maintaining the CE of 97.9% and 96.9 %, respectively. Further, the synergistic effects of the stable anode/SE interface and reduced nucleation energy barrier enable stable NCM full-cell cycling at a room temperature of 30 °C. The NCM811 cathode/Ni_C_Ag anode full cell in the Li-free configuration showed an initial areal discharge capacity of 2 mAh cm−2, and it operated stably with a CE of 99.47% for 100 cycles. Figure 1

Effects of Ni-NCAL and Ni–Ag electrodes on the cell performances of low-temperature solid oxide fuel cells with Sm0.2Ce0·8O2-δ electrolyte at various temperatures

Three low-temperature solid oxide fuel cells are built using Sm0.2Ce0·8O2-δ (SDC) as the electrolyte. Cell A is symmetrical and features Ni–LiNi0.8Co0·15Al0·05O2 (Ni–NCAL) electrodes, Cell B comprises a Ni–NCAL anode and a Ni–Ag cathode, and Cell C is fabricated using a Ni–NCAL cathode and a Ni–Ag anode. The ohmic resistance and polarization resistance (Rp) of Cells B and C are significantly higher than those of Cell A. The reduction of NCAL at the anodes of Cells A and B yields LiOH and Li2CO3 phases, and the Ni particles generated on the surfaces of the NCAL particles improve the catalytic activity of the cells. Li2CO3–LiOH melts at temperatures >450 °C and penetrates the porous SDC electrolyte layer, causing its densification and abnormal grain growth and increasing its ionic conductivity to >0.2 S/cm at low temperatures. The high open-circuit voltages (OCVs) (0.970–1.113 V) of the cells during electrochemical measurements are ascribed to the Li2CO3–LiOH phase which serves as an electron-blocking layer for the SDC electrolytes. As the reduction of NCAL approaches completion, the anode comprises only Ni phase, which hinders the charge transfer process. The triple-phase-boundary (TPB) area at cathode of Cell B is significantly lower than that of Cell A; therefore, the catalytic activity of Cell B for the oxygen reduction reaction is lower than that of Cell A. Consequently, the maximum power density (MPD) of Cell B is less than half of that of Cell A. The large Rp value of Cell C is ascribed to its low TPB area at Ni–Ag anode which has no reaction with H2 during operation. No visible sintering of the SDC electrolyte layer is observed for Cell C; therefore, its ionic conductivity is considerably smaller than those of the electrolyte layers of Cells A and B. The OCVs of Cell C (0.281–0.495 V) are significantly lower than the typical OCVs of ceria-based SOFCs. This is attributed to the porous SDC electrolyte layer of Cell C. The large Rp values and the low OCVs contribute to the low MPDs of Cell C at various temperatures.

Construction of a LiF-Rich and Stable SEI Film by Designing a Binary, Ion-, and Electron-Conducting Buffer Interface on the Si Surface.

Stabilizing a solid electrolyte interface (SEI) film on the Si surface is a prerequisite for realizing silicon (Si) anode applications. Interfacial engineering is one of the effective strategies to construct stable SEI films on Si surfaces and improve the electrochemical performance of the Si anodes. This work develops a silver (Ag)-decorated mucic acid (MA) buffer interface on the Si surface and the obtained Si@MA*Ag anode retains 1567 mAh g-1 after 500 cycles at 2.1 A g-1 and exhibits 1740 mAh g-1 at 126 A g-1, which are significantly higher than those of the bare Si anode of 247 and 145 mAh g-1 under the same conditions, respectively. Analysis indicates that the improved electrochemical performance is because of the depressed volume effect of the Si particles and the sustained integrity of the electrode laminate during cycling, the enhanced lithium diffusion on the Si surface, and the improved electronic conductivity of the Si anode, as well as the facilitated formation of inorganic components in the SEI film.

Dual-Resistance of Ion Migration and Moisture Erosion via Hydrolytic Crosslinking of Siloxane Functionalized Poly(Ionic Liquids) for Efficient and Stable Perovskite Solar Cells

Dual-Resistance of Ion Migration and Moisture Erosion via Hydrolytic Crosslinking of Siloxane Functionalized Poly(Ionic Liquids) for Efficient and Stable Perovskite Solar Cells

Electric Control of Exchange Bias at Room Temperature by Resistive Switching via Electrochemical Metallization.

Electric field control of exchange bias (EB) plays an important role in spintronics due to its attractive merit of lower energy consumption. Here, we propose a novel method for electrically tunable EB at room temperature in a device with the stack of Si/SiO2/Ta/Pt/Ag/Mn-doped ZnO (MZO)/Pt/FeMn/Co/ITO by resistive switching (RS) via electrochemical metallization (ECM). The device shows enhanced and weakened EB when set at high-resistance state (HRS) and low-resistance state (LRS), respectively. For the device at LRS, the aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) characterizations unambiguously reveal that the Ag filaments grow initially from the Ag anode and then elongate toward the ITO cathode. It is inferred that at LRS, a small portion of Ag filaments have passed through the MZO and the intervening thin Pt layer and extended into the FeMn layer. After applying reverse voltage, these Ag filaments are electrochemically dissolved and ruptured near the MZO/Pt interface. This is considered to be the main mechanism responsible for RS and switchable EB as well. This work presents a new strategy for designing low-power, nonvolatile magnetoelectric random access memory devices.