Hierarchical Mesopores Research Articles

Mesoporogen-free synthesis of hierarchical SAPO-11 from kaolin for hydroisomerization of n-alkanes

Hierarchical SAPO-11, featuring both micropore and mesopore channels, demonstrates an outstanding performance in high-octane gasoline production. In this work, we propose an economic and effective approach to directly fabricate hierarchical SAPO-11 molecular sieve from natural kaolin, eliminating the need for mesoporogens. The systematic characterization results show that the kaolin-derived SAPO-11 possesses abundant micro-mesoporous structure and more Brønsted (B) acid sites on the external surface in contrast with the conventional SAPO-11 prepared employing silica sol as silicon source as well as SAPO-11 synthesized with the assist with of poly(ethylene oxide)-block-poly(propylene oxide)-block-poly(ethylene oxide) (F127). The analysis of the formation process reveals that the kaolin not only provides silicon source for the SAPO-11 crystal growth, but also offers confined environment for crystal growth along the preferential orientation, resulting in the generation of the microporous and mesoporous structure. Benefiting from these unique properties, the kaolin-derived Pt/SAPO-11 exhibits considerably improved selectivity for di-branched C8 isomers in n-octane hydroisomerization.

Light-driven green synthesis of tea polyphenols-derived temperature-resistant and environmentally friendly filter loss reducer on MIL-100(Fe)–NH2(20) photocatalyst

Currently, most syntheses of filter loss reducers usually require harsh synthesis conditions with high energy consumption, increasing the cost and deteriorating worldwide unsustainable resource crisis. Thus, it is urgent to explore an effective green synthetic strategy for further developing filter loss reducers. In this work, the amino-modified MIL-100(Fe)–NH2(20) sphere acted as photocatalyst for the photoinduced green synthesis and possessed hierarchical mesoporous, exposed active sites, remarkable light harvesting, robust photogenerated e- − h+ pairs separation and excellent photocatalytic activity. Then, tea polyphenol (TP), acrylamide (AM) and 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid (AMPS) were polymerized to form a temperature-resistant and environmentally friendly filter loss reducer (SPS) successfully through photopolymerization under Xenon lamp irradiation, and the evaluation results demonstrated that the SPS exhibited excellent rheological and loss-reducing properties, even under the high temperature and high salt conditions. During this photocatalysis, the excitation of electrons on MIL-100(Fe)–NH2(20) occurs, and resulted e- ∼ h+ pairs as free radicals were transferred to TP and vinyl monomers. After the generation of active-species-free radical cations (R•) and selective oxidation or propagation and termination, the full green synthesis cycle can be completed. Notably, the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effect and photothermal transition of MIL-100(Fe)–NH2(20) could provide sufficient temperature at the local reaction sites, enabling the polymerization with mild conditions. This study opens up new insights into the application of MOF photocatalysis in oilfield chemistry.

Surface oxidation of α-Ni(OH)2 nanowires to boost energy storage capability for supercapacitors

Nickel hydroxide is a remarkable battery-like material for supercapacitors. However, it often suffers from low actual capacity and inferior cyclic performance. Herein, we introduce a surface oxidation route to prepare coaxial α-nickel hydroxide@nickel oxide nanowires (α-NHO@NO NWs) from α-nickel hydroxide nanowires (α-NHO NWs) obtained by hydrothermal synthesis. The α-NHO@NO NWs have a large specific surface of 85.4 m2 g−1 with hierarchical mesopores. Compared to α-NHO NWs, the energy storage capacity of α-NHO@NO NWs is significantly enhanced. In a 3-electrode system, the α-NHO@NiO NWs delivered 551.8 C g−1 at 0.25 A g−1. In addition, an assembled α-NHO@NO//AC hybrid supercapacitor (HSC) provided a solid gravimetric capacity of 95.6 F g−1 at 0.5 A g−1, exceptional rate capability, and robust cyclic performance (80.4 % retention after 15,000 cycles). The α-NHO@NO//AC device supplied 34.0 Wh kg−1 at 400 W kg−1 and 20.1 Wh kg−1 at 8000 W kg−1. In addition, a homemade α-NHO@NO//AC device successfully powered a micro-fan, demonstrating its potential for real-world applications. The outstanding charge storage capability of α-NHO@NO NWs can be attributed to their unique coaxial nanowire-like structure, large specific surface, and hierarchical mesopores.

One-pot synthesis of interconnected carbon-coated silicon nanosheets from clay minerals for high-performance lithium-ion battery anodes

The silicon nanosheet/carbon composite emerges as a promising anode material for the next-generation commercial lithium-ion batteries. However, complex, costly, and energy-intensive synthesis procedures impede its practical application. Herein, the carbon-coated silicon nanosheets (Si/C) have been successfully synthesized via a one-pot strategy, involving a modified magnesiothermic reduction of talc followed by a reaction with CO2. The distinct chemical composition and layered nanostructure of talc enable the retention of Si nanosheets during exothermic reactions without additional templates or heat absorbents. The method shows significant potential for the scalable production of Si/C owing to the abundant silicon source, sustainable carbon source, and straightforward protocol. The resulting Si/C displays a hierarchical porous structure, with both macropores and mesopores, and an interconnected network of carbon-coated Si nanosheets. These structural characteristics facilitate rapid Li+ diffusion and enable the material to accommodate the lithiation-induced mechanical strains. As a result, the Si/C electrode exhibits outstanding electrochemical performance, including a remarkable rate capability (with a specific capacity of 1220 mAh g−1 at 10.0 A g−1) and a high initial Coulombic efficiency of 88%. The work opens a new avenue for the development of Si/C composites from natural clay minerals through an economical and scalable strategy, which would contribute to the practical application of advanced Si-based anodes in lithium-ion batteries.

Multiply-mesoporous hydrophilic titanium dioxide nanohybrid for the highly-performed enrichment of N-glycopeptides from human serum

N-glycopeptide is considered as one of significant biomarkers which provide guidance for the diagnosis and drug design of diseases. However, the direct analysis of N-glycopeptides is nearly impracticable mainly owing to their extremely low abundance and grave signal suppression from other interfering substances in the bio-samples. In this research, a multiply-mesoporous hydrophilic TiO2 nanohybrid (mM-TiO2@Cys) was synthesized by immobilizing Cys on a TiO2 substrate with hierarchical mesopores to achieve the highly-performed enrichment of N-glycopeptides. With the advantages of superior hydrophilicity and multiply-mesoporous structure, the obtained material exhibited an excellent selectivity (IgG digests and BSA digests at the molar ratio of 1/500), a high sensitivity (1 fmol μL−1 for IgG digests) and a good size-exclusion ability (IgG digests, IgG and BSA at the molar ratio of 1/500/500) in the enrichment of N-glycopeptides from IgG digests. As a result, 281 N-glycopeptides corresponded with 109 glycoproteins were identified from 2 μL serum digests of the patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and 181 N-glycopeptides corresponded with 78 glycoproteins were identified from 2 μL serum digests of the healthy volunteers, revealing the potential application value of mM-TiO2@Cys in glycoproteomics.

Hierarchical Hollow Carbon Particles with Encapsulation of Carbon Nanotubes for High Performance Supercapacitors.

A novel and sustainable carbon-based material, referred to as hollow porous carbon particles encapsulating multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) (CNTs@HPC), is synthesized for use in supercapacitors. The synthesis process involves utilizing LTA zeolite as a rigid template and dopamine hydrochloride (DA) as the carbon source, along with catalytic decomposition of methane (CDM) to simultaneously produce MWCNTs and COx -free H2 . The findings reveal a distinctive hierarchical porous structure, comprising macropores, mesopores, and micropores, resulting in a total specific surface area (SSA) of 913 m2 g-1 . The optimal CNTs@HPC demonstrates a specific capacitance of 306 Fg-1 at a current density of 1 Ag-1 . Moreover, this material demonstrates an electric double-layer capacitor (EDLC) that surpasses conventional capabilities by exhibiting additional pseudocapacitance characteristics. These properties are attributed to redox reactions facilitated by the increased charge density resulting from the attraction of ions to nickel oxides, which is made possible by the material's enhanced hydrophilicity. The heightened hydrophilicity can be attributed to the presence of residual silicon-aluminum elements in CNTs@HPC, a direct outcome of the unique synthesis approach involving nickel phyllosilicate in CDM. As a result of this synthesis strategy, the material possesses excellent conductivity, enabling rapid transportation of electrolyte ions and delivering outstanding capacitive performance.

Highly Ordered Hierarchical Porous Single‐Atom Fe Catalyst with Promoted Mass Transfer for Efficient Electroreduction of CO2

AbstractElectrocatalysts are crucial to drive the electrochemical carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO2RR) which lower the energy barrier, tune the intricate reaction pathways and suppress competitive side‐reaction. Beyond the efficient active sites and advantageous local environment, a rapid mass transfer ability is also crucial for the catalyst design. However, it is rare that research has been done to investigate in detail the mass transfer process in CO2RR, and expose the underlying relationship between mass transfer and final performance. Here, a single‐atom Fe‐N‐C catalyst is shown with a highly ordered porous substrate containing hierarchical micropores, mesopores, and macropores. Such a delicate porous structure significantly facilitates the mass transfer process toward the isolated Fe sites, achieving excellent CO2RR performance, especially in the limited mass transfer region in a H‐cell with a maximum CO partial current density of ‐19 mA cm−2. Operando electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and relevant distributed relaxation times analysis reveal the rapidly decreased mass transfer resistance with the increase of reduction potential. The Lattice Boltzmann method with Discrete Element method (LBM‐DEM) simulations are further performed to exhibit the origin of enhanced CO2RR performance from the facilitated gas diffusion process.

Efficient selective combustion of n-butylamine on hierarchical Cu-Mn/SAPO-34 catalysts: The effect of mesoporosity and acidity

The efficient catalytic oxidation of nitrogen-containing volatile organic compounds remains a big challenge due to unmanaged production of harmful byproducts. Herein, a series of Cu-Mn modified hierarchical SAPO-34 zeolite catalysts with different pore structures were synthesized for n-butylamine oxidation. The physicochemical properties and catalytic performance of catalysts were investigated and analyzed in detail. Among them, CuMn/S-1 shows the highest activity (T90 = 279 °C, GHSV = 12,000 h−1), which is attributed to its higher porosity, higher surface acidity and superior reducibility. Meanwhile, it is found that the hierarchical structure and mesopore play an important role in improvement of N2 selectivity. Meanwhile, CuMn/S-1 also exhibits high stability and water resistance. The catalytic mechanism of n-butylamine on CuMn/SAPO-34 was investigated by in situ DRIFTS, showing that propanol, methanol and acetate are the main intermediates.

Rapid extraction of osimertinib and its active metabolite in urine by miniaturized centrifugal spin-column extraction using ionic liquid hybrid hierarchical porous adsorbent

Osimertinib (OSIM) is widely used as a mainstream drug for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the lack of a rapid extraction and detection method for OSIM and its metabolite, AZ-5104, has limited clinical drug metabolism and drug resistance research because the drug is unstable. In this study, a new ionic liquid hybrid hierarchical porous material (IL-HHPM) was synthesized with hierarchical porous structures, including micropores (1.6–2.0 nm), mesopores (2.0–50.0 nm), macropores (50.0–148.7 nm), and multiple functional groups via a one-step hydrothermal method using silanized ionic liquids (IL) as functionalized hybrid monomer. The IL-HHPM has the advantages of a high specific surface area (437.4 ± 4.6 m2 g−1), sizable pore volume (0.74 cm3 g−1), and fast mass transfer, additionally, the IL-HHPM adsorbed OSIM and AZ-5104 via π-π interactions and hydrogen bonding. OSIM and AZ-5104 were rapidly extracted and measured in human urine using rapid and miniaturized centrifugal spin-column extraction (MCSCE), which was based on the IL-HHPM. The optimized factors for the extraction recoveries of OSIM and AZ-5104 were adsorbent dosage (8.0 mg), sample volume (0.5 mL), and operation time (9.0 min), and markedly reduced the adsorbent dosage and operation time. The IL-HHPM-MCSCE-HPLC method displayed good linearity (0.02−5.00 μg mL−1, r ≥ 0.9997), satisfying accuracy (spiked recoveries of 87.7%−100.0%), and good precision (RSDs ≤ 7.0%). The developed method is rapid, sensitive, and reproducible for the simultaneous determination of trace level of OSIM and AZ-5104 in human urine.

MOF-Derived Hollow Spheres of MIL-100(Fe)-NH2(20) with Well-Developed Hierarchical Mesoporous and Uniform Distribution of Fe and N Active Phases for the Photocatalytic Removal of Organic Dyes.

For the first time, MIL-100(Fe)-derived microspheres with a hollow structure were perfectly constructed and used as a photocatalyst to decompose organic dyes under visible light irradiation. The prepared MIL-100(Fe)-NH2(20) could boost the separation, migration, and transfer of photoinduced carriers effectively, together with efficient photocatalytic performance. In simulated sunlight, the MIL-100(Fe)-NH2(20) exhibits the best degradation efficiency as well as excellent reusability and stability, and the degradation rate for rhodamine B (RhB) can be more than 99.5% within 80 minutes. Structural analysis proves that the porous MIL-100(Fe)-NH2(20) catalyst reaps an amazing hollow structure, large specific surface areas (2784.9 m2·g-1), and uniform distribution of Fe and N active phases. Besides, the enhanced visible light response and lower recombination rate of e--h+ pairs are both confirmed, and the band gap is significantly reduced to 2.53 eV. Finally, the photocatalytic mechanism and the possible degradation pathway were suggested. Owing to the enhanced photocatalytic activity, good tolerance to pH and water quality, and excellent stability, the MIL-100(Fe)-NH2(20) catalyst can be potentially used in a wide range of dye wastewater purifications.

Comparative study of the adsorption performance of NH2-functionalized metal organic frameworks with activated carbon composites for the treatment of phenolic wastewaters

To better understand the role of the —NH2 group in adsorption process of phenolic wastewaters, NH2-functionalized MIL-53(Al) composites with activated carbon (NH2-M(Al)@(B)AC) were prepared. The results showed that the NH2 group could increase the mesopore volume for composites, which promotes mass transfer and full utilization of active sites, because hierarchical mesopore structure makes the adsorbent easier to enter the internal adsorption sites. Furthermore, the introduction of the NH2 group can improve the adsorption capacity, decrease the activation energy, and enhance the interaction between the adsorbent and p-nitrophenol, demonstrating that the NH2 group plays a crucial role in the adsorption of p-nitrophenol. The density functional theory calculation results show that the H-bond interaction between the —NH2 group in the adsorbent and the NO2 in the p-nitrophenol (adsorption energy of –35.5 kJ·mol−1), and base-acid interaction between the primary —NH2 group in the adsorbent and the acidic OH group in the p-nitrophenol (adsorption energy of –27.3 kJ·mol−1) are predominant mechanisms for adsorption in terms of the NH2-functionalized adsorbent. Both NH2-functionalized M(Al)@AC and M(Al)@BAC composites exhibited higher p-nitrophenol adsorption capacity than corresponding nonfunctionalized composites. Among the composites, the NH2-M(Al)@BAC had the highest p-nitrophenol adsorption capacity of 474 mg·g−1.

Seed-assisted synthesis of Ga-MFI slabs and nanocrystal agglomerates and comparative study of acidic properties

A series of Ga-MFI zeolites were one-step synthesized following the seed-assisted strategy without using additional organic template. The effects of synthesis parameters on the framework fabrication, morphology evolution, and gallium incorporation were systematically investigated by XRD, N2-adsorption, UV-Raman, STEM, TEM, solid state NMR, NH3-TPD, and Py-IR analyses. The Si/Ga seed exhibited a highly efficient structure-directing capability in the assembly of MFI framework and the amount of the costly tetrapropylammonium hydroxide (TPA+) was thus decreased to less than one-tenth in comparison with the traditional synthesis. Crystallization temperature and pre-aging conditions played the key roles in the Ga-MFI zeolite synthesis. Both of the morphology and the intraframework gallium concentration can be facilely controlled by adding the mineralizer and surfactant. The addition of NH4F and CTAB was favorable for the formation of the slabs-form product but against to the gallium substitution. Only with the help of Si/Ga seed, the synthesized Ga-MFI nanocrystal agglomerates possess a highly accessible hierarchical mesopore structure that consisted solely of interparticle-type mesopores. Simultaneously, it also exhibited a remarkable gallium incorporation, which ensured the great acidic properties, including strong acidic strength and high acid amount. As a consequence, the Ga-MFI nanocrystal agglomerates performed the excellent catalytic activity in the LDPE degradation.

NaCl-assisted triethylene glycol combustion preparation of lithium manganese oxides with hierarchical mesopores for energy storage

The development of electroactive materials with affordable prices, strong activity, and outstanding cyclic life are desirable for energy storage. Herein, a novel NaCl-assisted triethylene glycol (TEG) combustion strategy was adopted to prepare lithium manganese oxides (LMO) with hierarchical mesopores for energy storage. The electrochemical activity of LMO strongly depends on the dosage of NaCl. The LMO-200 shows optimal electrochemical activity, which can deliver 120.1 C g−1 of discharge capacity at 0.25 A g−1. When employed as electroactive material for supercapacitors, Li-ion batteries, and LMO//Zn batteries, LMO-200 delivered outstanding energy storage performance. The LMO-200 with hierarchical mesopores can offer a good deal of active sites and suppress the volume change during charge/discharge cycles, thus boosting the specific capacity, rate capability, and cyclic performance. The present work not only developed a convenient route to LMO with hierarchical mesopores but also displayed its wide applications for electrochemical energy storage.

Hierarchical porous biochar from kelp: Insight into self-template effect and highly efficient removal of methylene blue from water

Biochar is known to efficiently remove dyes especially for biochar with hierarchical pores and partial N-species. Here, a facile pyrolysis is used to yield N-doped biochar from kelp without additives, showing surface areas of 771 m2/g as temperature up to 1000 °C and hierarchical small-sized mesopores (2–4 nm) and wide meso-macropores (8–60 nm). A possible self-template mechanism from inorganics is proposed to form hierarchical pore architecture in biochar and used for methylene blue (MB) removal. Biochar pyrolyzed at 1000 °C is found to be efficient for MB removal with uptake of 379.8 mg/g under ambient conditions, one of the largest ever recorded uptakes for other biochar without activation, owing to synergistic effects of high surface areas, mesopores, and graphitized N-species. These results confirm that a facile pyrolysis for transformation of kelp into efficient dyes adsorbent is a cost-effective process for economic and environmental protection.

Hierarchically nanostructured Ag/ZnO/nBC for VOC photocatalytic degradation: Dynamic adsorption and enhanced charge transfer

The adsorption-photodegradation strategy can achieve continuous enrichment and efficient oxidation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), but it requires a trade-off among adsorption, mass transfer, and charge transfer in this dynamic process. Therefore, the construction of an effective and stable catalytic system remains an immense challenge. Here, we report a strategy for constructing a hierarchically structured photocatalyst for efficiently degrading VOCs by assembling nanobiochar (nBC, ∼ 6.25 µm), the active center of ZnO (∼ 460 nm), and plasmonic-Ag nanoparticles (Ag NPs, ∼ 10 nm). Benefiting from its abundant surface functional groups (–OH, –CO, and –CO) and hierarchical structure-induced mesopores and macropores, VOCs can be quickly captured and dynamically diffused. Furthermore, Ag NPs build a charge transfer bridge and accumulate electrons to nBC from both the photogenerated electrons that are induced by ZnO and hot electrons from the local surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effect of Ag NPs. Afterward, a desirable spatial separation of charge carriers and visible-light response can be achieved. Therefore, Ag/ZnO/nBC maximizes the reactive oxygen species (e.g., ·OH and ·O2−) and shows a 7.8 times higher degradation rate of formaldehyde than ZnO, and it also displays universality and stability with high photocatalytic efficiency. The photocatalytic performance was comprehensively determined based on the relative humidity, initial concentration, catalyst dose, and mass ratio of Ag NPs. This facile and universal strategy for architecting hierarchically structured photocatalysts provides an approach for enhancing photocatalytic performance for VOC degradation and environmental pollution treatment.

Facile preparation of hierarchical mesoporous silica microspheres with tunable porous structure and particle sizes

This work reports that, by supplementing classical ternary template system (TEOS/P123/HCl(aq.)) with poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) as additive, hierarchical mesoporous silica (HMS) microspheres can be prepared with tunable particle sizes and porous structures based on the partitioned cooperative self-assembly (PCSA) process. The particle sizes and hierarchical mesoporous (HM) structures of HMS microspheres are found to dependent on the experimental parameters, such as PVA dosages, synthesis/hydrothermal treatment temperatures and partitioning conditions, etc. The BET surface area, pore volume and particle size of typical HMS microsphere sample of 6-4h-4@40P15 reach 792 m2g-1, 1.74 cm3g-1 and 3.51 μm, respectively. The 1st and 2nd mode mesopore sizes are 10.5 nm and 20.5 nm, respectively. Large synthesis domains for HMS microspheres defined by different synthesis parameters were also obtained, enabling their easy and controllable preparation. The scaled-up preparation of HMS microspheres up to five times was also demonstrated with comparable particle morphology and sizes. PVA was newly found to play multiple roles in the preparation of HMS microspheres in (1) improving the dispersibility and spherical morphology, (2) shaping the HM structures and (3) broadening the synthesis domain. The facile and controllable HMS microspheres might further promote their application in different areas.

Sol-gel processing of a covalent organic framework for the generation of hierarchically porous monolithic adsorbents

Sol-gel processing of a covalent organic framework for the generation of hierarchically porous monolithic adsorbents

Synthesis of biowaste-derived carbon foam for CO2 capture

Thermal transformation of biowaste to carbon foam provides an economically attractive and eco-friendly strategy for biowaste recycling. Herein, we report a novel self-foaming approach involving modified hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) and pyrolysis to produce carbon foam from biowaste. Notably, biowaste-derived carbon foam consists of foam structure and multi-porous structure, originated from the self-forming process of aromatic segments during modified HTC and pyrolysis processes. Based on characterization results, biowaste-derived carbon foam possesses hierarchical micropore, mesopore and macropore with increasing sp2 hybridized carbon atoms. We demonstrate the potential applications of this material for CO2 capture. Biowaste-derived carbon foam exhibits 5.0-fold and 4.8-fold CO2 uptake at 35 °C and 50 °C, respectively, compared to those of pristine biowaste. The recycling of biowaste to carbon foam for CO2 capture contributes to decarbonization efforts worldwide by a synergistic way, including the photosynthesis of atmospheric CO2 to biomass, carbon sequestration in carbon foam and CO2 capture by carbon foam.

Osmanthus fragrans-derived N-doped porous carbon for supercapacitor applications

Biomass-derived carbon electrodes with precise and controllable biological structure have attracted more and more attention in recent years owing to their wide availability, renewability, and low cost. In this study, we used Osmanthus as a raw material in the preparation of nitrogen-doped porous carbon by using a simple carbonization/activation method. It was observed that the prepared biomass carbon had a three-dimensional hierarchical porous, including micropores and mesopores, and the highest specific surface area was 2078.3 m2 g−1. The electrochemical performance of Osmanthus fragrans mainly depends on its microporous/mesoporous performance. The specific capacitance of sample OC1-2 in a 3-M KOH electrolyte reached 351 F g−1 at a current density of 0.5 A g−1; after 10000 cycles, the capacitance retention rate reached 93.51%. At a specific density of 700 W kg−1, the specific density reached 13.86 Wh kg−1. This study shows that Osmanthus fragrans-derived biomass porous carbon electrode material has great potential for energy storage.

Constructing metal-organic framework-derived Mn2O3 multishelled hollow nanospheres for high-performance cathode of aqueous zinc-ion batteries

Herein, we successfully synthesize Mn2O3 multishelled hollow nanospheres through simply oxidizing Mn-based metal-organic framework microspheres. The number of the shells reaches 4. Many cavities and nanograins are hidden underneath the shell. The multishelled hollow structure brings about a wide hierarchical mesopore size range, large pore volume (0.26 cm3 g−1) and high specific surface area (117.6 m2 g−1). The superior zinc-ion storage performance may be achieved. The reversible capacity reaches 453 mAh g−1 at current density of 0.1 A g−1. After 500 cycles at 1 A g−1, the discharge capacity of 152.8 mAh g−1 is still delivered. The discharge capacity at 1.5 A g−1 stabilizes at 107 mAh g−1. The zinc storage process is further studied through kinetics analyses. It is found that in the zinc storage process, ion diffusion process and capacitive process occur simultaneously, and the capacitive process is dominant. The excellent electrochemical performance is mainly attributed to the multishelled hollow nanosphere structure of Mn2O3. This structure promotes contact of electrode materials/electrolyte, offers more active sites, facilitates infiltration of electrolyte, buffer volume change of Mn2O3, improving electrochemical activity, reaction kinetics and cycling performance of Mn2O3. Overall, Mn2O3 multishelled hollow nanosphere is an excellent cathode material for aqueous zinc-ion batteries.