Nano-Micro Letters
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Published By Springer-Verlag

2150-5551, 2311-6706

2022 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wanbao Wu ◽  
Yiyang Bo ◽  
Deping Li ◽  
Yihong Liang ◽  
Jichuan Zhang ◽  
...  

Highlights A novel amide-based nonflammable electrolyte is proposed. The formation mechanism and solvation chemistry are investigated by molecular dynamics simulations and density functional theory. An inorganic/organic-rich solid electrolyte interphase with an abundance of LiF, Li3N and Li–N–C is in situ formed, leading to spherical lithium deposition. The amide-based electrolyte can enable stable cycling performance at room temperature and 60 ℃. Abstract The formation of lithium dendrites and the safety hazards arising from flammable liquid electrolytes have seriously hindered the development of high-energy-density lithium metal batteries. Herein, an emerging amide-based electrolyte is proposed, containing LiTFSI and butyrolactam in different molar ratios. 1,1,2,2-Tetrafluoroethyl-2,2,3,3-tetrafluoropropylether and fluoroethylene carbonate are introduced into the amide-based electrolyte as counter solvent and additives. The well-designed amide-based electrolyte possesses nonflammability, high ionic conductivity, high thermal stability and electrochemical stability (> 4.7 V). Besides, an inorganic/organic-rich solid electrolyte interphase with an abundance of LiF, Li3N and Li–N–C is in situ formed, leading to spherical lithium deposition. The formation mechanism and solvation chemistry of amide-based electrolyte are further investigated by molecular dynamics simulations and density functional theory. When applied in Li metal batteries with LiFePO4 and LiMn2O4 cathode, the amide-based electrolyte can enable stable cycling performance at room temperature and 60 ℃. This study provides a new insight into the development of amide-based electrolytes for lithium metal batteries.


2022 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaoda Liu ◽  
Paranthaman Vijayakumar ◽  
Qianyi Liu ◽  
Thangavel Sakthivel ◽  
Fuyi Chen ◽  
...  

Highlights This review introduces recent advances of various anion-mixed transition metal compounds (e.g., nitrides, halides, phosphides, chalcogenides, (oxy)hydroxides, and borides) for efficient water electrolysis applications in detail. The challenges and future perspectives are proposed and analyzed for the anion-mixed water dissociation catalysts, including polyanion-mixed and metal-free catalyst, progressive synthesis strategies, advanced in situ characterizations, and atomic level structure–activity relationship. Abstract Hydrogen with high energy density and zero carbon emission is widely acknowledged as the most promising candidate toward world's carbon neutrality and future sustainable eco-society. Water-splitting is a constructive technology for unpolluted and high-purity H2 production, and a series of non-precious electrocatalysts have been developed over the past decade. To further improve the catalytic activities, metal doping is always adopted to modulate the 3d-electronic configuration and electron-donating/accepting (e-DA) properties, while for anion doping, the electronegativity variations among different non-metal elements would also bring some potential in the modulations of e-DA and metal valence for tuning the performances. In this review, we summarize the recent developments of the many different anion-mixed transition metal compounds (e.g., nitrides, halides, phosphides, chalcogenides, oxyhydroxides, and borides/borates) for efficient water electrolysis applications. First, we have introduced the general information of water-splitting and the description of anion-mixed electrocatalysts and highlighted their complementary functions of mixed anions. Furthermore, some latest advances of anion-mixed compounds are also categorized for hydrogen and oxygen evolution electrocatalysis. The rationales behind their enhanced electrochemical performances are discussed. Last but not least, the challenges and future perspectives are briefly proposed for the anion-mixed water dissociation catalysts.


2022 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinzhang Yang ◽  
Bosi Yin ◽  
Ying Sun ◽  
Hongge Pan ◽  
Wenping Sun ◽  
...  

AbstractThe rapid advance of mild aqueous zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) is driving the development of the energy storage system market. But the thorny issues of Zn anodes, mainly including dendrite growth, hydrogen evolution, and corrosion, severely reduce the performance of ZIBs. To commercialize ZIBs, researchers must overcome formidable challenges. Research about mild aqueous ZIBs is still developing. Various technical and scientific obstacles to designing Zn anodes with high stripping efficiency and long cycling life have not been resolved. Moreover, the performance of Zn anodes is a complex scientific issue determined by various parameters, most of which are often ignored, failing to achieve the maximum performance of the cell. This review proposes a comprehensive overview of existing Zn anode issues and the corresponding strategies, frontiers, and development trends to deeply comprehend the essence and inner connection of degradation mechanism and performance. First, the formation mechanism of dendrite growth, hydrogen evolution, corrosion, and their influence on the anode are analyzed. Furthermore, various strategies for constructing stable Zn anodes are summarized and discussed in detail from multiple perspectives. These strategies are mainly divided into interface modification, structural anode, alloying anode, intercalation anode, liquid electrolyte, non-liquid electrolyte, separator design, and other strategies. Finally, research directions and prospects are put forward for Zn anodes. This contribution highlights the latest developments and provides new insights into the advanced Zn anode for future research.


2022 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana O. Lopez-Cantu ◽  
Xichi Wang ◽  
Hector Carrasco-Magallanes ◽  
Samson Afewerki ◽  
Xingcai Zhang ◽  
...  

AbstractDuring the last decades, the use of nanotechnology in medicine has effectively been translated to the design of drug delivery systems, nanostructured tissues, diagnostic platforms, and novel nanomaterials against several human diseases and infectious pathogens. Nanotechnology-enabled vaccines have been positioned as solutions to mitigate the pandemic outbreak caused by the novel pathogen severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. To fast-track the development of vaccines, unprecedented industrial and academic collaborations emerged around the world, resulting in the clinical translation of effective vaccines in less than one year. In this article, we provide an overview of the path to translation from the bench to the clinic of nanotechnology-enabled messenger ribonucleic acid vaccines and examine in detail the types of delivery systems used, their mechanisms of action, obtained results during each phase of their clinical development and their regulatory approval process. We also analyze how nanotechnology is impacting global health and economy during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shiyin Xie ◽  
Yang Li ◽  
Xu Li ◽  
Yujun Zhou ◽  
Ziqi Dang ◽  
...  

AbstractZn-based electrochemical energy storage (EES) systems have received tremendous attention in recent years, but their zinc anodes are seriously plagued by the issues of zinc dendrite and side reactions (e.g., corrosion and hydrogen evolution). Herein, we report a novel strategy of employing zincophilic Cu nanowire networks to stabilize zinc anodes from multiple aspects. According to experimental results, COMSOL simulation and density functional theory calculations, the Cu nanowire networks covering on zinc anode surface not only homogenize the surface electric field and Zn2+ concentration field, but also inhibit side reactions through their hydrophobic feature. Meanwhile, facets and edge sites of the Cu nanowires, especially the latter ones, are revealed to be highly zincophilic to induce uniform zinc nucleation/deposition. Consequently, the Cu nanowire networks-protected zinc anodes exhibit an ultralong cycle life of over 2800 h and also can continuously operate for hundreds of hours even at very large charge/discharge currents and areal capacities (e.g., 10 mA cm−2 and 5 mAh cm−2), remarkably superior to bare zinc anodes and most of currently reported zinc anodes, thereby enabling Zn-based EES devices to possess high capacity, 16,000-cycle lifespan and rapid charge/discharge ability. This work provides new thoughts to realize long-life and high-rate zinc anodes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Jiang ◽  
Da Tian ◽  
Yue Qiu ◽  
Xueqin Song ◽  
Yu Zhang ◽  
...  

AbstractPrecisely regulating of the surface structure of crystalline materials to improve their catalytic activity for lithium polysulfides is urgently needed for high-performance lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries. Herein, high-index faceted iron oxide (Fe2O3) nanocrystals anchored on reduced graphene oxide are developed as highly efficient bifunctional electrocatalysts, effectively improving the electrochemical performance of Li–S batteries. The theoretical and experimental results all indicate that high-index Fe2O3 crystal facets with abundant unsaturated coordinated Fe sites not only have strong adsorption capacity to anchor polysulfides but also have high catalytic activity to facilitate the redox transformation of polysulfides and reduce the decomposition energy barrier of Li2S. The Li–S batteries with these bifunctional electrocatalysts exhibit high initial capacity of 1521 mAh g−1 at 0.1 C and excellent cycling performance with a low capacity fading of 0.025% per cycle during 1600 cycles at 2 C. Even with a high sulfur loading of 9.41 mg cm−2, a remarkable areal capacity of 7.61 mAh cm−2 was maintained after 85 cycles. This work provides a new strategy to improve the catalytic activity of nanocrystals through the crystal facet engineering, deepening the comprehending of facet-dependent activity of catalysts in Li–S chemistry, affording a novel perspective for the design of advanced sulfur electrodes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan Wu ◽  
Renfei Feng ◽  
Chenyu Xu ◽  
Peng-Fei Sui ◽  
Jiujun Zhang ◽  
...  

AbstractElectrochemical reduction of CO2 to formate is economically attractive but improving the reaction selectivity and activity remains challenging. Herein, we introduce boron (B) atoms to modify the local electronic structure of bismuth with positive valence sites for boosting conversion of CO2 into formate with high activity and selectivity in a wide potential window. By combining experimental and computational investigations, our study indicates that B dopant differentiates the proton participations of rate-determining steps in CO2 reduction and in the competing hydrogen evolution. By comparing the experimental observations with the density functional theory, the dominant mechanistic pathway of B promoted formate generation and the B concentration modulated effects on the catalytic property of Bi are unravelled. This comprehensive study offers deep mechanistic insights into the reaction pathway at an atomic and molecular level and provides an effective strategy for the rational design of highly active and selective electrocatalysts for efficient CO2 conversion.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fei Song ◽  
Jian Hu ◽  
Guohao Li ◽  
Jie Wang ◽  
Shuijiao Chen ◽  
...  

AbstractLow-temperature assembly of MXene nanosheets into three-dimensional (3D) robust aerogels addresses the crucial stability concern of the nano-building blocks during the fabrication process, which is of key importance for transforming the fascinating properties at the nanoscale into the macroscopic scale for practical applications. Herein, suitable cross-linking agents (amino-propyltriethoxysilane, Mn2+, Fe2+, Zn2+, and Co2+) as interfacial mediators to engineer the interlayer interactions are reported to realize the graphene oxide (GO)-assisted assembly of Ti3C2Tx MXene aerogel at room temperature. This elaborate aerogel construction not only suppresses the oxidation degradation of Ti3C2Tx but also generates porous aerogels with a high Ti3C2Tx content (87 wt%) and robustness, thereby guaranteeing the functional accessibility of Ti3C2Tx nanosheets and operational reliability as integrated functional materials. In combination with a further sulfur modification, the Ti3C2Tx aerogel electrode shows promising electrochemical performances as the freestanding anode for sodium-ion storage. Even at an ultrahigh loading mass of 12.3 mg cm−2, a pronounced areal capacity of 1.26 mAh cm−2 at a current density of 0.1 A g−1 has been achieved, which is of practical significance. This work conceptually suggests a new way to exert the utmost surface functionalities of MXenes in 3D monolithic form and can be an inspiring scaffold to promote the application of MXenes in different areas.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yun Wei ◽  
Hongju Zhou ◽  
Hua Deng ◽  
Wenjing Ji ◽  
Ke Tian ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fang Dong ◽  
Mingjie Wu ◽  
Zhangsen Chen ◽  
Xianhu Liu ◽  
Gaixia Zhang ◽  
...  

AbstractRechargeable zinc-air batteries (ZABs) are currently receiving extensive attention because of their extremely high theoretical specific energy density, low manufacturing costs, and environmental friendliness. Exploring bifunctional catalysts with high activity and stability to overcome sluggish kinetics of oxygen reduction reaction and oxygen evolution reaction is critical for the development of rechargeable ZABs. Atomically dispersed metal-nitrogen-carbon (M-N-C) catalysts possessing prominent advantages of high metal atom utilization and electrocatalytic activity are promising candidates to promote oxygen electrocatalysis. In this work, general principles for designing atomically dispersed M-N-C are reviewed. Then, strategies aiming at enhancing the bifunctional catalytic activity and stability are presented. Finally, the challenges and perspectives of M-N-C bifunctional oxygen catalysts for ZABs are outlined. It is expected that this review will provide insights into the targeted optimization of atomically dispersed M-N-C catalysts in rechargeable ZABs.


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