Ion Storage Performance Research Articles

Enabling Enhanced Lithium Ion Storage Performance of Graphdiyne by Doping with Group-15 Elements: A First-Principles Study.

As a typical two-dimensional material possessing sp and sp2 hybrid orbitals, graphdiyne (GDY) and its derivatives have been proposed as an attractive candidate for high-performance lithium ion batteries (LIBs). In this work, an advanced GDY LIB electrode is designed by doping with group-15 elements. With the aid of first-principles simulations, the geometric properties, electronic structures, theoretical storage capacities, open-circuit voltages, and diffusion path of Li atoms on doped GDY are comprehensively investigated. Specifically, 14 different adsorption sites are proposed, most of which are situated out of plane of the carbon network, resulting from the out of plane Pz orbitals of conduction band minimum and valence band maximum. Among the five doped GDY, phosphorus-doped graphdiyne (P-GDY) exhibits prominent lithium ion storage behavior, i.e., the maximum theoretical capacity is 1949 mA·h·g–1, which is ∼2.6 times higher than that of GDY. Moreover, calculation results in terms of the in-plane migration of lithium ion on P-GDY indicate that Li atoms prefer to diffuse across the carbon network (with a moderate barrier of 0.46 eV) rather than directly through the middle of the hexagonal aperture (with a higher barrier of 1.78 eV). Thus, this approach provides novel insights into the Li ion storage properties of group-15 element-doped GDY from the prospect of theoretical calculations, which would be useful to guide the future design of high-capacity GDY anodes for LIBs.

Chloride ion storage performance of polyaniline/graphene nanocomposite in aqueous sodium chloride solution

The use of anion storage materials has played an important role in the development of electrochemical energy storage systems and water desalination. Herein, the graphene-supported polyaniline (PANI/GN) nanomaterial is developed as a new chloride ion storage electrode in aqueous sodium chloride solution. The as-prepared PANI/GN electrode exhibits highly reversible electrochemical stability in both a three-electrode system and a full desalination battery using a sodium ion storage electrode. Competitive electrochemical properties with a reversible capacity of 126 mA h g−1, a coulombic efficiency of more than 95 % and a high rate capability are achieved for the PANI/GN electrode compared to the previously reported electrodes of metals, antimony oxychloride, and polypyrrole. The anionic chloride species instead of covalent chloride species in the as-prepared PANI/GN is demonstrated to be electrochemically active.

Integrating amorphous vanadium oxide into carbon nanofibers via electrospinning as high-performance anodes for alkaline ion (Li+/Na+/K+) batteries

To explore advanced anode materials with superior Li+/Na+/K+ storage performances for alkaline ion batteries (AIBs), a hybrid of amorphous vanadium oxide uniformly embedded into the highly defective carbon nanofibers (denoted as VOx@CNFs) was fabricated via a facile electrospinning method followed by proper heat treatment in this work. The integrated structure synergistically combines the advantages of the amorphous VOx and the defective carbon matrices, which can not only bring abundant active sites for ion storage and multi-channels for ion diffusion, but also well accommodate the structural change induced electrode pulverization. When evaluated as anode materials for AIBs, the optimized VOx@CNFs demonstrate excellent alkaline ion storage performances with high-specific capacities, long-cycling life and high-rate capabilities, delivering a Na+ storage capacity of 260 mAh g−1 at 1.0 A g−1 after 1000 cycles, a Li+ storage capacity of 556 mAh g−1 at 0.5 A g−1after 500 cycles, and a K+ storage capacity of 198 mAh g−1 at 0.5 A g−1 after 400 cycles.

Carbon nano-onion encapsulated cobalt nanoparticles for oxygen reduction and lithium-ion batteries

Cobalt nanoparticles encapsulated by ionic liquid assisted one-step carbonization, which exhibited high oxygen reduction reaction activity and superior lithium ion storage performance.

Cost-effective hard–soft carbon composite anodes with promising potassium ions storage performance

Potassium-ion batteries (KIBs) are promising candidates as alternatives to lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) for large-scale energy storage due to the abundant potassium reserves and low cost. However, many well-established anode materials in LIBs are rarely suitable for KIBs. Herein, amorphous carbons including hard carbon, soft carbon and hard–soft carbon composites as KIBs anodes were systematically investigated. The synergy between hard carbon and soft carbon results in structure of relatively large interlayer distance, moderate defects and ordered carbon clusters, leading to excellent electrochemical performance. The hard–soft carbon composite with only 20 wt% hard carbon exhibits high reversible capacity of 376.8 mA h g−1 with a remarkable initial coulombic efficiency (ICE) of 71.04%, an excellent rate capability and a stable cycling performance for KIBs. In addition, full cells assembled with the obtained hard–soft composite as anode and Potassium Prussian blue (KPB) as cathode also exhibit an initial discharge capacity of 200.3 mA h g−1 at 100 mA g−1 and stable cycling performance (146.1 mA h g−1 after 100 cycles at a current density of 100 mA g−1). Owing to the great potential for practical applications, this work may appeal the development of cost-effective and sustainable carbonaceous materials for KIBs.

In situ one–pot synthesis of Sn/lignite–based porous carbon composite for enhanced lithium storage

To expand the variety of Sn/C composites, lignite–based porous carbon was initially prepared with Baoqing lignite as the raw material and K2CO3 as the extractant and activator. A novel Sn/lignite–based porous carbon composite was subsequently fabricated via an in situ one–pot synthesis method. In the nanocomposite, Sn nanoparticles are uniformly distributed on lignite–based porous carbon, improving the lithium–ion storage performance of the as–prepared material. Compared with pure Sn and bare lignite–based porous carbon, Sn/lignite–based porous carbon displayed a superior electrochemical performance. The composite material exhibits a high reversible capacity of 941 mAh g−1 after 200 cycles at 100 mA g−1. Even after 800 charge/discharge cycles at a high current density of 1000 mA g−1, the nanocomposite retains a reversible capacity of 573 mAh g−1. The enhanced lithium–ion storage performance can be attributed to the combined effect of Sn and lignite–based porous carbon.

Template-Sacrificing Synthesis of Ni-Co Layered Double Hydroxides Polyhedron as Advanced Anode for Lithium Ions Battery.

The novel hollowed Ni-Co layered double hydroxide polyhedron (H-(Ni, Co)-LDHP) is synthesized via a template-sacrificing approach using ZIF-67 as template. The morphology, crystallinity, porous texture, and chemical state of H-(Ni, Co)-LDHP are examined. It demonstrates that the H-(Ni, Co)-LDHP not only provides rich redox sites but also promotes the kinetics due to presence of numerous rational channels. As a result, the H-(Ni, Co)-LDHP manifests the desirable lithium ions storage performance when employed as anode. This study paves a new way for preparing hollowed nanostructure toward advanced electrochemical applications.

Superior Lithium Ion Storage Performance of LiCoO2 Cathode at 4.5 V Enabled by the Multiple Synergistic Effect of Nano-Silver

LiCoO2 is still the potential first choice of cathode for lithium ion batteries due to the superior tap density of 4.1 g cm−3 and high theoretical specific capacity of 274 mAh g−1. However, the reversible capacity and cycle performance are restricted due to structural instability at high voltage (≥4.5 V). In this work, the problem will be improved by multiple synergistic effect of nano-Ag. The flake-like LiCoO2/Ag cathodes are firstly synthesized by solid state reaction and the following calcination. The structural characteristics reveal that Ag nanoparticles with ca. 10 nm are uniformly embedded into LiCoO2 particles. The initial discharge specific capacity of LiCoO2 is increased by 12% by introducing nano-Ag at 100 mA g−1 (∼0.7C) between 3.0–4.5 V, and after 100 cycles, the discharge specific capacity is enhanced by 52%. Furthermore, when the current density is increased to 2000 mA g−1, the specific capacity retention of LiCoO2/Ag researches to 62%, higher than 52% of LiCoO2. The results clearly indicate that LiCoO2/Ag cathode exhibits excellent specific capacities, enhanced cycle stability and rate performances enabled by nano-Ag through enhancing Li ions diffusion, electron transport and improving structural stability.

FeS2@CNT composite with synergistic battery/capacitor builds outstanding sodium-ion storage

Pyrite (FeS2) as one of the most promising anode material candidates for sodium ion batteries suffers from sluggish electrochemical kinetics and large volume expansion, leading to rapid capacity decline and poor rate performance. In this work, ultra-fine FeS2 nanoparticles anchored on carbon nanotube conductive network (FeS2@CNT) were synthesized by one-step pyrolysis combined with solid vulcanization method. On the one hand, the conductive network of CNT not only provides necessary expansion space for FeS2 during the sodiation/desodiation process, but also improves the conductivity of the composites. On the other hand, ultra-fine FeS2 nanoparticle (54 nm) shortens the diffusion paths of Na-ions and triggers the outstanding pseudocapacitance effect. Owing to the synergic effect of battery/capacitor hybrid energy storage, the obtained FeS2@CNT composites exhibit excellent sodium ion storage performance.

Nitrogen-doped hollow carbon spheres synthesized from solid precursor and its application in lithium ions batteries

Hollow carbon spheres (HCSs) materials have been investigated extensively for various applications in energy storage, catalysis, electrochemical conversion. At present, template method using liquid or gaseous carbon sources is the dominant synthetic route for HCSs. Herein, HCSs with high nitrogen doping levels are synthesized by employing graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) solid precursor as carbon and nitrogen sources with the presence of Zn templates. The successful synthesis of N-doped HCSs using solid g-C3N4 precursor is confirmed by a series of characterization technologies. Serving as the anode materials in lithium ions batteries, promising lithium ions storage performances are obtained for the resultant N-doped HCSs. Brilliant specific capacities of 1506.6 mAh g−1 at 0.1 A g−1 and 519.2 mAh g−1 at 5 A g−1 are recorded after 360 cycles. The promising lithium ion storage performances of the N-doped HCSs are ascribed to the unique hollow structure with large surface area, suitable nitrogen doping level and large inner pore volume. The presented work provides a new route to synthesize HCSs or heteroatoms doped HCSs materials using solid carbon sources.

In situ cross-linking construction of 3D mesoporous bimetallic phosphide-in-carbon superstructure with atomic interface toward enhanced sodium ion storage performance

Constructing heterostructures are capable of offering fascinating performance for electronics owing to the built-in charge transfer driving force. However, exploring a universal methodology to rationally design and controllable synthesis of heterostructure with high stability of interface is a big challenge. Also the synergistic effect of the heterointerface in the composites remains to be clarified. Here, we report three-dimensional (3D) FeP/CoP heterostructure embedded within N-doped carbon aerogel (FeP/CoP-NA) through an in situ cross-linking and phosphorization process. In such a 3D hybrid, the FeP/CoP heterocrystals are wrapped by N-doped carbon which form a core-shell structure. Benefiting from the unique porous network induced by N-doped carbon, the conducting highway is built to promote the ion and electron fast diffusion. This structure can accommodate the volume change of FeP/CoP, which prevent the agglomeration and act as the protecting layer to maintain the integrity of the interface. Impressively, the atomic interface between FeP/CoP is successfully constructed, which could not only introduce enhanced capacitive contribution to facilitate electron transport, but also provide extra active sites to adsorb more Na+ proved by both experiments and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. As expected, FeP/CoP-NA electrode demonstrates an excellent rate capability of 342 mAh g−1 at a current of 5 A g−1, a high specific capacity of 525 mAh g−1 at 0.2 A g−1, and a long cycling stability over 8000 cycles at high current density.

Li2O-2B2O3 coating decorated Li4Ti5O12 anode for enhanced rate capability and cycling stability in lithium-ion batteries

Li2O-2B2O3 (LBO) ionic conductor with high conductivity plays an important role in boosting the rate performance and cycling stability of Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) anode for lithium-ion batteries by preventing direct exposure of LTO to the electrolyte. Herein, the effect of LBO coating layer on lithium ion (Li+) storage performance is investigated in detail by adjusting the adding amount of LBO precursor dispersion. LTO coated with 2 wt% LBO achieves an optimum performance with a specific capacity of 172.9 mA h g−1 at a current density of 0.1 A g−1, an improved rate capability (specific capacity of 127.9 mA h g−1 is maintained when the current density is 20 times than 0.1 A g−1) and a remarkable cycling stability (capacity retention of 94.2% after 4000 cycles at 2.0 A g−1). These LBO-LTO composites are competitive and promising candidates for electrochemical energy storage and other applications.

Heterogeneous structured Mn2O3/Fe2O3 composite as anode material for high performance lithium ion batteries

As the anode materials for lithium ion batteries, manganese-based oxides draw great attention due to the abundant mineral reserves and high specific capacity. Nonetheless, severe volume expansion and structural collapse during the charging/discharging process hindered their commercial application. To solve these problems, the heterogeneous Mn2O3/Fe2O3 composite are designed in this study and structure influence on the lithium ion storage performance is studied. As anode material for lithium ion batteries, heterogeneous structured Mn2O3/Fe2O3 composites have a superior specific capacity (750 mAh·g−1 at 1 A g−1), excellent cycling stability (85.2% after 500 cycles), and outstanding rate capability (435 mAh g−1 at 2.0 A g−1). Additionally, this article also verified the feasibility of full lithium ion battery with heterostructure Mn2O3/Fe2O3 as anode and LiFePO4 as cathode, and the full battery display great performance. The results show that the heterogeneous structured Mn2O3/Fe2O3 plays a vital role in improving the electrochemical properties.

Light-weight g-C3N4/carbon hybrid cages as conductive and polar hosts to construct core-shell structured S@g-C3N4/carbon spheres with enhanced Li ion-storage performance

To compete with commercial lithium-ion batteries, light-weight, conductive and polar hosts with high sulfur loading content are required for lithium-sulfur batteries. Herein, light-weight g-C3N4/carbon hybrid cages as sulfur host have been designed and fabricated using NaCl and nanosized manganese compounds (MnO and MnCN2) as templates via a facile and controllable aerosol-pyrolysis route. The porous g-C3N4/carbon shell is designed to facilitate fast electron/Li ion transports and impede lithium polysulfide shuttle simultaneously. The cage cavity created by the NaCl template is designed to enhance sulfur loading content. Electrochemical evaluations demonstrate excellent cyclic capacity and stability of core-shell structured S@g-C3N4/carbon cathode endowed by the versatile structural and chemical advantages of the g-C3N4/carbon host cages. The first-cycle discharge capacities reach 1517 and 1240 mAh g−1 at 0.2 C and 1 C, respectively, demonstrating efficient utilization of the loaded sulfur. The capacity fading rate of each cycle is 0.09% during 400 discharge/charge cycles (from the second cycle) at 1 C. These light-weight, conductive and polar g-C3N4/carbon cages have been demonstrated to be suitable hosts to load sulfur as high-performance cathode for lithium-sulfur batteries.

Spent graphite from end-of-life Li-ion batteries as a potential electrode for aluminium ion battery

Graphite is central in almost all commercial Li-ion batteries (LIBs) and possesses attractive physical and chemical properties such as good ionic conductivity and layered graphitic structure. In this communication, we have demonstrated the recycling of graphite from end-of-life LIBs and the re-purposing of the recovered material for positive electrodes in next-generation aluminium-ion-batteries (AIBs). The recovered graphite possesses enlarged interlayer spacing which is shown to effectively boost Al-ion insertion/de-insertion during the charge/discharge processes. Excellent Al-ion storage performance is achieved with the capacity reaching 124 mAh g−1 at 50 mA g−1. The material retained a capacity of 55 mAh g−1 even after the applied current was increased to 500 mA g−1, showing its capability to deliver high rate performance. The charge/discharge cycling further revealed that the graphite retains 81% of its initial capacity even after 6700 cycles at a high rate of 300 mA g−1. This excellent aluminium ion storage performance makes the recovered graphite a promising positive electrode material, providing a possible solution for the recycling of huge amounts of LIB scrap. At the same time, this material aids the development of alternative sustainable battery technology, as an alternative to LIBs.

Enhancing the Rapid Na+-Storage Performance via Electron/Ion Bridges through GeS2/Graphene Heterojunction.

Hybridizing carbonous matrix into metal sulfide is confirmed as an effective strategy to enhance electrode conductance and structure stability. However, a comprehensive understanding of the interface reaction mechanism between active materials and carbon substrate is still urgently needed. Based on the band energy theory, a route to enhance the rate ability for electrode is exploited on regulating interfaces of substrates/active heterojunction. Herein, the highly stable Na+-storage performance of GeS2/3DG is delicately designed, where the hierarchical structure is enabled by uniformly overcoating GeS2 nanograins with graphene matrix. Different from the widespread doping route of active materials for fast ion transfer, we focus on the effects of interface regulation on the high-rate Na- ion-storage performance of substrate/active materials. Here, a well-designed interface of the C-Ge bond at the heterointerface induced by hierarchical GeS2/graphene heterojunction is pioneeringly explored, which can result in a fast electron transfer by reducing electron gathering polarization. More importantly, defects in graphene can alleviate the polarization aroused by ion concentration, which not only offers anchoring/doping sites for C-Ge bond but also provides extra ion channels for Na-ion transportation into GeS2. This interface regulation of constructing metal-carbon bonds will shine light on the reaction kinetics and interface stability and contribute to the fundamental understanding of interface reaction mechanisms for metal sulfide anode materials.

Ni-Co Double Hydroxide Grown on Graphene Oxide for Enhancing Lithium Ion Storage

It still remains a major challenge to maintain the excellent lithium ion-storage performance of layered double hydroxide (LDH) for lithium ion battery anodes at high current density and long cycle ...

Nitrogen-doped carbon-wrapped porous FeMnO3 nanocages derived from etched prussian blue analogues as high-performance anode for lithium ion batteries

In the work, the porous FeMnO3 nanocages combined with nitrogen-doped carbon shells (FeMnO3@NC) are studied as the anode material for lithium ion batteries (LIBs). The FeMnO3@NC composite can inherit the nanocage-like structure of Prussian blue analogue (PBA) precursor, which is capable of buffering volume expansion and promoting the penetration of electrolyte. The nitrogen-doped carbon layer enhances the electronic transmission and structure stability of perovskite-type FeMnO3. Therefore, the composite electrode exhibits superior electrochemical performances, including desirable rate capability, excellent cycling stability and high capacity of ~1008 mAh g−1 after 500 cycles at 1 A g−1. Considering the features of FeMnO3@NC composite with environmental friendliness, low cost, and outstanding lithium ion storage performance, it is expected to become a promising material for new hybrid energy storage devices.

Synthesis of a pomegranate shaped reduced graphene oxide stabilized secondary Si nanoparticles composite anode for lithium ion batteries

A 3D porous micro-size pomegranate shaped nano-silicon and reduced graphene oxide composite (Si/RGO-S) is synthesized in this work by spray drying and magnesiothermic reduction treatments of silicon dioxides (SiO2) nanospheres and few-layered graphene oxide sheets (GO). The SiO2 nanospheres convert to smaller Si secondary nanocrystals and GO sheets are deoxygenated to form a supporting RGO framework, respectively. Favorable void space is created between the secondary Si nanoparticles for the accommodation of the volume changes during lithium ion storage. The 3D porous RGO protecting skeleton not only improves the overall electronic and ionic conductivity, but also effectively immobilizes the inside Si nanoparticles. Under a current density of 500 mA g−1, the 3D Si/RGO-S composite exhibits a reversible capacity of 1200 mAh g−1 for 300 consecutive cycles, which is much higher than the controlled 2D sample (Si/RGO-F) prepared by a freeze drying and magnesiothermic reduction method as anode material for lithium ion batteries. The insight into the superior lithium ion storage performance of the Si/RGO-S has been given in this work.

Synergistic effects in V3O7/V2O5 composite material for high capacity and long cycling life aqueous rechargeable zinc ion batteries

Zinc ion batteries (ZIBs) have great competitiveness in large-scale energy storage because of their low price, environmental friendliness, safety and efficiency. In this work, we study a composite material of V3O7/V2O5 as the cathode in ZIBs. Owing to the synergistic effects of V3O7 and V2O5, it presents an excellent zinc ion storage performance including high cyclic stability with capacity retention of 96.2% after 1120 cycles (1000 cycles after activation) at 2 A g−1, excellent rate capability with specific discharge capacity of 176 mA h g−1 at 5 A g−1 and long circle life with 17.4% capacity fading after 6500 cycle. In addition, the battery offers a high energy density of 271 W h kg−1 at 0.2 A g−1 and a high power density of 3220 W kg−1 at 5 A g−1 (based on the cathode and the theoretically required of Zn anode). The synergistic effect is confirmed by a series structural and electrochemical characterization that the interaction of V2O5 and V3O7 can promote the vanadium valence change from Ⅴ (or Ⅳ) to Ⅲ. This work provides a promising cathode material with high capacity and long cycling stability, which will have a great advantage and prospect in the large-scale energy storage.