Facile Ball Research Articles

Graphite nano-modified SnO2-Ti2C MXene as anode material for high-performance lithium-ion batteries

A SnO2-Ti2C-C nanoparticle composite anode was synthesized by using facile ball milling combined with hydrothermal treatment. The SnO2-Ti2C nanoparticles were homogeneously coated with graphite nanosheets by ball milling. Graphite nanosheets served as ideal volume expansion buffers and good electron conductors. Consequently, a high initial coulombic efficiency of 80.3% was displayed, and the system exhibited a high reversible capacity of 1036.87 mAh g−1 maintained after 200 cycles at 0.2 A g−1, a rate capacity of 447.58 mAh g−1 at a high current density of 5.0 A g−1, and long cycling stability with a capacity of 763.18 mAh g−1 after 500 cycles at 2.0 A g−1. These results indicate that the incorporation of Ti2C, graphite nanosheets, and SnO2 enhanced the performance of SnO2-based anodes for battery applications.

Boosting cyclability performance of GeP anode via in-situ generation of free expansion volume

Among the germanium-based composites, germanium phosphide (GeP) is a promising anode material for lithium-ion batteries (LiBs) because of its good electronic conductivity, low binding energy and high theoretical energy density. Nevertheless, the severe volume variation and sluggish reaction kinetics hindered its applications. To solve the above issues, this work come up with a killer idea that inspired by the free volume theory of polymers, which was mainly involved creation of free volume into GeP matrix. Specifically, structural design that elaborately deals with severe aggregation while helps alleviating volume expansion and contraction of GeP have being made by a facile ball milling-assisted in-situ generation of free expansion volume. Compared with pristine GeP and direct ball milled GeP, the addition of NaCl as grinding agent plays a very positive role on generating free volume space in flake-like GeP particles, which was assembled by numerous amorphous GeP granules. In this way, the as obtained GeP particles exhibited enhanced reversible capacity, improved cyclability and rate performance (883mAhg−1 at 0.2 C after 100th cycle, and 680mAhg−1 at 2 C) when served as anode material in LiBs. This study highlights a highly efficient and cost effective approach in advancing the high performance GeP towards practical applications for energy storage.

Co-production of functional xylo-oligosaccharides and fermentable sugars from corn stover through fast and facile ball mill-assisted alkaline peroxide pretreatment

The aim of this work was to develop a feasible ball mill-assisted alkaline peroxide pretreatment followed by stepwise hydrolysis to improve the yield of xylo-oligosaccharides (XOS) and fermentable sugars. The hydrogen peroxide charge, ball-milling time, and solid-to-liquid ratio affected the compositions, particle sizes, morphology, and crystallinity of the corn stover, directly improving the following hydrolytic efficiency. The optimal pretreatment was with 0.45 g/g (H2O2: substrate) and 1:3 solid-to-liquid ratio (w/v) for 1.0 h ball-milling, resulting in 84.29% delignification. Physicochemical properties of the pretreated samples were characterized and their correlations to the enzymatic hydrolysis were revealed. Compared with one-step cellulase hydrolysis, the two-step xylanase-cellulase hydrolysis of the pretreated corn stover showed significant advance in preparing XOS, producing 69.65% (on the base of xylan content in pretreated sample) of XOS, along with 20.55% xylose, 68.94% glucose, and 21.15% gluco-oligosaccharides. The yield of XOS was 2–7 times higher than those in previous studies.

Nano-GeTe Embedded in a Three-Dimensional Carbon Sponge for Flexible Li-Ion and Na-Ion Battery Anodes.

Among the germanium-based compounds, GeTe is a promising anode candidate that exhibits high theoretical capacity (856 mAh g-1 vs Li+/Li and 401 mAh g-1 vs Na+/Na) and low volume expansion during an ion intercalation/deintercalation process. Nevertheless, achieving good dispersion of metal-like GeTe in anode materials remains a significant challenge. Herein, hybrid GeTe/graphene (GeTe/G) is proposed as a highly efficient anode for LiBs and SiBs by facile ball milling. Pulverized GeTe is effectively anchored on peeled graphene sheets that can accelerate Li+ transport in electrodes as predicted by theoretical calculations and thus result in improved overall electrochemical performance. For instance, GeTe/G possesses a high reversible capacity of 478 mAh g-1 under 0.1 A g-1 in the 300th cycle. Moreover, by further cross-linking the GeTe/G using carbon nanotube (CNT) and carbon nanofiber pyrolysis from cotton cellulose, the as-prepared three-dimensional (3D) flexible anode possesses macropores that acted as positive channels favorably for ion transport. Remarkably, the as-prepared flexible 3D GeTe/G/CNT electrode with a thickness of 1050 μm exhibits a high reversible capacity of 451.4 mAh g-1 (4.38 mAh cm-2) vs Li+/Li and 372.5 mAh g-1 (2.08 mAh cm-2) vs Na+/Na, respectively, in the second cycle under 0.1 A g-1. These results shed some light on the direct application of 3D flexible carbon sponge electrodes in high-performance LiBs/SiBs.

Al substituted Mn position on Li[Ni0.5Co0.2Mn0.3]O2 for high rates performance of cathode material

Li[Ni0.5Co0.2Mn0.3-xAlx]O2 cathode materials were successfully synthesized via a facile ball milling method. XRD refinement analysis proves that Al element is favourably substituted the position of Mn in the transition metal layer and solidly restrains the cationic mixing. After 150 cycles at 10 C, compared with NCM whose discharge capacity loss is 56.3 mAhg−1, Li[Ni0.5Co0.2Mn0.275Al0.025]O2 (NCM-25) loses only 32.9 mAhg−1. Even at higher 15 C, NCM-25 still delivers the highest initial discharge capacity of 97.8 mAhg−1, and exhibits prominent capacity retention than NCM after 300 cycles. EIS measurement suggests NCM-25 has 3.24 × 10−8 cm2 s−1 of the coefficient lithium ion and 0.32395 mA cm−2 of the exchange current density after cycling, which indicates that Rct is validly restrained and alleviates the degree of polarization. After cycling, XRD and XPS results indicate Al-doped furnishes surface protection avoiding the electrolyte corrosion and restrains the formation of oxygen species in the process of lithiation/delithiation. Electrochemical tests suggest Al-doped samples have appealing improvements in cycling at high rates.

Building a C-P bond to unlock the reversible and fast lithium storage performance of black phosphorus in all-solid-state lithium-ion batteries

Black phosphorus/natural graphene (BP/NG) composite electrode material for all-solid-state lithium-ion batteries (ASSLIBs) was fabricated by a facile ball milling method. A C-P bond with characteristics of high ion and electron transfer was constructed, which unlocked the reversible cycling and rate performance of phosphorus. In addition, compounding black phosphorus (BP) with natural graphene (NG) can relieve the large internal stress caused by volume change during cycling and improve the stability of the long cycling and high-rate performance. At current density of 0.5 A g−1, a high specific capacity of 750 mAh g−1 remained after 100 cycles, whereas at high current density of 1 A g−1, the BP/NG anode material delivered a reversible capacity of ~300 mAh g−1. Furthermore, the reaction controlling step of LixP delithiation was revealed by kinetic measurement. In addition, when coupling BP/NG anode material with TiS2 to assemble a full solid-state cell, it delivered a high capacity of 400 mAh g−1 after 30 cycles, indicating a potential of further application. This work expanded the candidate of anode materials for ASSLIBs and provided aid for the further application of all-solid-state batteries.

Facile synthesis of highly efficient and cost-effective photo-Fenton catalyst by ball milling commercial TiO2 and natural magnetite

Heterogeneous Fenton reaction is a usable technique to remove organic contaminants in water, while developing highly efficient and cost-effective catalysts with simple preparation method is critical for its practical application. In this work, novel TiO2/Mag composites were prepared from commercial TiO2 and natural magnetite (Mag) via a facile ball milling process. We expect the obtained composites to be efficient photo-Fenton catalysts, as photo-generated electrons from TiO2 can be transferred to Mag to accelerate the reduction of Fe(III) to Fe(II), promoting the decomposition of H2O2 and production of ·OH. Structural characterization results exhibited ball milling could not change mineral phases of both TiO2 and Mag. TiO2/Mag composites remained good magnetic saturation and could be rapidly separated from reaction medium. In degrading cefotaxime, TiO2/Mag composites showed high photo-Fenton catalytic activities, with the degradation rate by 10%TiO2/Mag at near neutral pH of 5.6 being about 11.6 and 8.2 times higher than that of natural and ball-milled Mag, respectively. Moreover, even at low H2O2 concentration of 1 mmol/L, 10%TiO2/Mag remained relatively high photo-Fenton catalytic activity when compared to natural and ball-milled Mag. The better production of ·OH in the photo-Fenton system catalyzed by 10%TiO2/Mag (0.244 mmol/L) than that by natural and ball-milled Mag (0.049 and 0.064 mmol/L) also illustrated efficient utilization of H2O2 by 10%TiO2/Mag. Above results well support our hypothesis that photo-generated electrons from TiO2 were transferred to Mag, which then benefited the Fenton reactivity of Mag and degradation of cefotaxime. In all, TiO2/Mag composites prepared by ball milling have promising practical application in water treatment, thanks to their merits such as high photo-Fenton catalytic activity, facile preparation, cost-effective, easy magnetic separation, good stability, suitable for near neutral pH, and efficient utilization of H2O2.

Facile mechanochemical synthesis of highly mesoporous γ-Al2O3 using boehmite

A facile ball milling process was used to obtain mesoporous crystalline γ-alumina with high specific surface area up to 389 m 2 g −1 and large pore volume up to 1.55 cm 3 g −1 from boehmite. First boehmite particles were efficiently dispersed into small nanocrystals, which was achieved by using ball milling with addition of a small amount of diluted nitric acid. Such pulverized alumina precursor showed the ability to self-assemble in the presence of block copolymer into mesostructures upon continued milling. Next, the direct mild thermal treatment was used to remove polymeric micelles and achieve the desired crystallinity. The as-obtained mesoporous crystalline γ-alumina is highly suitable for several applications such as catalysis and adsorption. • Research Highlights: • Mesoporous crystalline alumina with high surface area and uniform porosity. • A facile ball milling preparation of boehmite small nanocrystals. • Block copolymer-assisted assembly of boehmite into mesostructures upon milling.

Scalable and facile synthesis of V2O5 nanoparticles via ball milling for improved aerobic oxidative desulfurization

In recent years, transition-metal oxides (TMOs) have been long employed for aerobic oxidative desulfurization. However, the inherent bottlenecks, such as the low explosion of active sites, limit the application of bulk TMOs catalyst. In this study, V2O5 nanoparticles with oxygen vacancies were prepared in large-scale via facile ball milling strategy with adding oxalic acid as a reducing agent. The as-prepared catalysts exhibit remarkable sulfur removal for oils with different initial S-concentrations and different substrates. Sulfur removal could reach up to 99.7% (< 2 ppm) under the optimized reaction conditions. This work provides a feasible desulfurization strategy for fuel oils.

Improvement the catalytic activity of activated Au/GO–CeO2 nanocatalysts by facile ball milling–hydrothermal methods for PROX operation

Gold-based nanocatalysts have proved to be an appropriate candidate for the selective preferential CO oxidation (PROX) in H2-containing atmosphere. Effectiveness of small gold nanoparticles in the presence of immobilized on GO–CeO2 nanocomposites was investigated by a range of ball milling conditions for the PROX reaction. First, GO–CeO2 nanocomposites were fabricated using the combination of ball milling and hydrothermal methods, and then, the gold nanocomposites were activated at 400 ± 2 °C for 4 h in Ar atmosphere. Next, Au/GO–CeO2 catalysts were synthesized, and after that, the gold nanocontents calcined at 400 ± 2 °C in Ar gas during 4 h. The catalytic activity and selectivity of activated gold catalysts (Au/GO–CeO2) were studied for the preferential CO oxidation at optimized conditions from the ambient temperature to 175 ± 2 °C. The gas and vapor phase components were analyzed by a Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy. The effects of ball mill’s parameters, such as milling time, bead amounts, loading percentage, and milling temperatures, on the catalytic activity and selectivity of gold catalysts were investigated. Under relatively optimized conditions, the results showed the high conversion (C%: 97) and selectivity (S%: 92) for the gold nanocatalysts at 150 °C reaction time towards CO2 as the main product when the Au/GO–CeO2 nanocatalysts were synthesized by the use of 12% of GO solution with 90 zirconia oxide balls at 70 °C for 8 h of the ball milling condition.

In situ fabrication of W-doped SnO2 nanoparticles anchored in ultrathin graphite nanosheets as high performance anode material for lithium ion batteries

Lithium-ion batteries based on conversion/alloying reactions have high potential applications in various electric energy storage. SnO2-based anode materials for LIBs have been considered as promising choices. However, their development is hindered by inherent large-volume variations and sluggish kinetics during discharge and charge processes. The W-doped SnO2 nanoparticles are evenly embedded in the graphite nanosheets (W-SnO2-C) via a facile ball milling method. The W doping can improve its electronic conductivity and stabilize the structure during cycling. Meanwhile, the ultrathin graphite wrapping effectively buffers the large volumetric variation of the SnO2-based anodes as well as shorten the diffusion path of electron and lithium-ion. The W-SnO2-C exhibits a reversible capacity of 1148.8 mAh g−1 at 0.2 Ag−1 after 500 cycles, with a high initial coulombic efficiency (ICE) of 76.2%. Furthermore, it shows remarkable rate performance with the capacity of 312.3 mAh g−1 at 5.0 Ag−1 and long-term cycling stability with a capacity of 1229.5 mAh g−1 after 800 cycles at 1.0 Ag−1. The first-principles calculations reveal that the final free energy of W-SnO2 is −3413.94 eV, which is much lower than that of SnO2 (−1937.4 eV), indicating the structure of the composite for W doping is more stability than SnO2-based anodes.

Effect of Mg+2 and Bi+3 co-doping on structural and electrochemical properties of lithium titanium oxide for use as anode material in lithium-ion battery

Abstract This study describes the effect of magnesium and bismuth co-doping on the structure and electrochemical properties of Li4Ti5O12 as potential negative electrode materials for lithium-ion batteries. The substituted spinel cubic Li4-x/2 MgxTi5-x/2BixO12 (X = 0, 0.05, 0.1) (LTO-MB) materials were prepared through facile ball milling assisted solid-state method. Structural analysis revealed that LTO-MB materials have space group Fd3m. Basic structure and phase composition of Li4Ti5O12 does not changed by Mg-Bi co-doping, lattice parameters are slightly increased. No remarkable change in the morphology was observed in the co-doped materials under the magnification of 2 μm. Significant improvement in the rate capability of LTO-MB materials can be observed upon Mg-Bi co-doping. Both co-doped compositions (LTO-MB-05, LTO-MB-1) have shown greater electrochemical performance as compared to pristine LTO-MB-0. The improvement in the electrochemical performance can be attributed to the mechanism by which co-doping increased conductivity and lithium diffusion coefficient. LTO-MB-05 exhibited specific capacity of ~200 mAhg−1 at 0.1C which is greater than LTO-MB-1(180 mAhg−1) and pristine LTO-MB-0 (165 mAhg−1) at same C-rate. Similarly, the higher value of Li+ diffusion constant (4.77 × 10−12 cm2 s−1) and lower charge transfer resistance (18.77 Ω) together with enhanced discharge capacity are proving LTO-MB-05 a good anode candidate for commercialization.

Ball milling pretreatment facilitating α-amylase hydrolysis for production of starch-based bio-latex with high performance

Starch based bio-latex has been widely researched in the coating paper area for the purpose of partial replacement of petroleum-based binders. In this paper, a green and facile ball milling pretreatment was proposed to modify the starch granules before α-amylase hydrolysis by breaking up their crystalline structure, thus improving the accessibility and susceptibility of amylase into starch structure. It was found that the improved hydrolysis process after 8 h ball milling can generate suitable degree of polymerization of polysaccharides or oligosaccharides, which further facilitated the following H2O2 oxidation and SHMP crosslinking processes. In addition, a mechanism was also demonstrated to illustrate the improvement induced by ball milling pretreatment. The prepared bio-latex with crosslinking-structure performed excellent adhesive properties when substituted 25 % of petroleum-based latex during paper coating application, which showed great potential in improving the economic, cost, and environment benefits of traditional production of coated paper.

Hybrid Cathodes Composed of K3V2(PO4)3 and Carbon Materials with Boosted Charge Transfer for K-Ion Batteries

K-ion batteries (KIBs) have emerged as an auspicious alternative to Li-ion batteries (LIBs) owing to their uniform distribution, plentiful reserves, the low cost of K resources, and their similar physicochemical properties to Li resources. The development of KIBs is seriously limited by cathode materials. Here, a hybrid of K3V2(PO4)3 (KVP) particles triple-coated by amorphous carbon, carbon nanotubes (CNTs), and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanosheets (KVP/C/CNT/rGO) was fabricated by a facile ball milling process followed by heat treatment. Consequently, a stable capacity of 57 mAh g−1 can be achieved at 0.2C, and a slow capacity decaying rate (0.06% per cycle) is displayed during 500 cycles under a high current density of 5C. The remarkable reversible capacity and excellent long-term cycling life are mainly due to the enhanced interwoven C/CNT/rGO networks and superior KVP crystal structure stability, which can provide multi-channel for fast electron transport and effective K+ diffusion.

Chemical bonding black phosphorus with TiO2 and carbon toward high-performance lithium storage

Phosphorus (P)-based materials are recognized as one type of prospective candidate anodes due to its high theoretical capacities. However, it still suffers the relatively low structural stability and rate performance. In the present work, an amorphous ternary black Phosphorus (BP)- Titanium dioxide (TiO2)- Carbon (C) nanocomposite is fabricated by a facile ball milling process, which can serve as a prospective alternative for advanced anode material of Lithium-Ion Battery (LIB). We find that the introduction of TiO2 can effectively improve the conductivities of electron and lithium ion, the electrode reaction kinetics, and stabilize the structural integrity of the active material. What's more, the strong Ti–O–P bonds, forming among TiO2 and BP, can further improve the utilization of active material and the transfer of interfacial electron. As a result, the BP-TiO2-C composite exhibits outstanding electrochemical performance, involving high specific capacity, excellent rate performance (a reversible capacity of 947.4 mA h g−1 at 7.0 A g−1), and stable cycling performance (a capacity of 935.8 mA h g−1 after 300 cycles at 2 A g−1 with 85.3% retention ratio). Furthermore, when this nanocomposite is assembled with LiCoO2 cathode to build a full cell, it can also denote an excellent specific capacity, stable cycling performance and rate performance.

A facile ball milling method to produce sustainable pyrolytic rice husk bio-filler for reinforcement of rubber mechanical property

The hybrid fillers were reported to exhibit remarkable reinforcement in the mechanical properties of rubber composites. Herein, the pyrolytic rice husk (PRH) containing biochar and silica content was used as a natural hybrid filler, and exploited as a sustainable substitute for carbon black and commercial silica. The biochar and silica of PRH were cross-linked via Si-O-C bond and developed synergistic effect in rubber matrix, leading to the better reinforcement than the single component filler. Moreover, the influence of ball milling parameters on the physiochemical characteristics of PRH and the filler reinforcement of natural rubber vulcanizates were investigated. The results revealed that the changes of PRH in particle size, pore structure and surface chemistry affected its reinforcing performance. The optimal ball milled sample EM-400 showed 44%, 18%, 9% improved reinforcement in tensile strength, 300% modulus and tear strength of vulcanizates compared with the unmilled PRH. This work provides a facile approach to produce high-performance bio-fillers for rubber industry.

Novel design of high-surface-area poly-hollow alumina spheres via a facile ball dropping method based on particle-stabilized emulsions

Herein, the preparation of millimeter-sized poly-hollow alumina spheres (PHASs) with high-surface-area is proposed via an innovative and facile ball dropping method based on particle-stabilized emulsions. The PHASs fabricated by this method possess high specific surface area because of their hierarchical pore structures and high porosity, and exhibit remarkable superiority over the commercially available active alumina materials with specific surface areas of 200–300 m2g-1. The resultant millimeter-sized PHASs have diameters in range of 2–6 mm, average mesoporous sizes of 4–8 nm, and excellent specific surface areas of 400–500 m2 g-1, which are achieved with oil-water volume ratio of 3:1, rotation speed of 900 rpm, and sintering temperature of 500 °C. These high-performance PHASs with ultra-high specific areas and hierarchical pore structures can potentially be useful in various applications.

Tuning the photocatalytic activity of carbohydrate-derived humins via ball milling: Insights by experimental and chemometrics approach

This work demonstrates a facile ball milling modification approach for photocatalytic humins derived from H2SO4-dehydrated glucose-fructose syrup. The photocatalytic performance of the as-obtained materials was evaluated through degradation of Malachite Green (MG) as a model pollutant under visible light irradiation. Results clearly indicate that the prolonged milling (up to 120 min) enhances the photocatalytic activity of humins. Furthermore, the physicochemical characteristics of the milled humins were studied using a variety of imaging and spectroscopic techniques. The specific links between photocatalytic activity and the physicochemical features of the as-prepared samples were revealed via intelligent data analysis (chemometrics). The first 30 min of milling proved to be a very significant factor for advancing the photocatalytic ability of humins. Additionally, it was demonstrated that the textural characteristics, adsorption capacity and the presence of oxygen and sulfur functionalities in humins are mainly responsible for the successful ball milling preparation of an efficient bio-based photocatalyst.

Ternary Cu2P7/CuP2/C composite: A high-performance multi-phase anode material for Li/Na-ion batteries endowed by heterointerfaces

Phosphides are promising anode candidates profiting from their relatively smaller voltage hysteresis which thus are promising to be high energy efficiency and power capabilities for secondary batteries, compared with the corresponding fluorides, oxides and sulfides. Herein we for the first time synthesized ternary Cu2P7/CuP2/graphite composite by a facile ball milling method. When initiated as anodes for Li-ion batteries, the as-synthesized ternary composite provides 1415 mA h g−1 after 100 cycles and 684 mA h g−1 at a high current density of 10 A g−1. When initiated as anodes for Na-ion batteries, the as-synthesized ternary composite provides 1254 mA h g−1 after 100 cycles and 200 mA h g−1 at a high current density of 5 A g−1. These electrochemical performances are comparable or even surpass the P/C, CuP2/C and other transition metal phosphides reported before. The enhanced performances can be attributed to the high P concentration, layered structure and small band gap of the Cu2P7 phase and the heterointerface between these phases, which not only assists electron and Li-ion transportation and but also creates more active sites endowed by interfacial coupling and positive electrochemical synergistic effect. The multiphase design strategy can further excite more research interest in the energy-storage field.

Novel multilayer TiO2 heterojunction decorated by low g-C3N4 content and its enhanced photocatalytic activity under UV, visible and solar light irradiation

In this paper, we used a facile ball milling, microwave radiation and heating treatment method to achieve the surface modification of TiO2 with low g-C3N4 concentration, and a multilayer heterojunction composite with TiO2 as the main part and g-C3N4 as the modification agent was obtained. The obtained materials were analyzed by several characterizations to get information on their chemical composition, crystalline structure, vibrational features and optical properties. The photocatalytic performance was evaluated by degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) and methylene blue (MB) under UV, visible and direct solar light irradiation. Its photocatalytic activity was enhanced depended on the novel structure of g-C3N4/TiO2 hybrid and the special Z-scheme electron-hole transfer model of multilayer heterointerfaces. The material preparation and structural features could be useful for the design and development of other photocatalysts with high photocatalytic activity.