Designed preparation of CoS/Co/MoC nanoparticles incorporated in N and S dual-doped porous carbon nanofibers for high-performance Zn-air batteries

The development of low-cost and highly efficient bifunctional electrocatalysts toward oxygen reduction reaction(ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction(OER) is of critical importance for clean energy devices such as fuel cells and metal-air batteries.Herein,a sophisticated na nostructure composed of CoS,Co and MoC nanoparticles incorporated in N and S dual-doped porous carbon nanofibers(CoS/Co/MoC-N,SPCNFs) as a high-efficiency bifunctional electrocatalyst is designed and synthesized via an efficient multistep strategy.The as-prepared CoS/Co/MoC-N,S-PCNFs exhibit a positive half-wave potential(E_(1/2)) of0.871 V for ORR and a low overpotential of 289 mV at 10 mA/cm~2 for OER,outperforming the non-noble metal-based catalysts reported.Furthermore,the assembled Zn-air battery based on CoS/Co/MoC-N,SPCNFs delivers an excellent power density(169.1 mW/cm~2),a large specific capacity(819.3 mAh/g) and robust durability,demonstrating the great potential of the as-developed bifunctional electrocatalyst in practical applications.This work is expected to inspire the design of advanced bifunctional nonprecious metal-based electrocatalysts for energy storage.     

Prussian blue analogue derived NiCoSe4 coupling with nitrogen-doped carbon nanofibers for pseudocapacitive electrodes

The design of pseudocapacitive materials by coupling transition metal compounds with a conductive carbon matrix is important for the high performance of supercapacitors. Herein, we construct the Prussian blue analogue derived nickel-cobalt selenides coupling with nitrogen-doped carbon nanofibers (NiCoSe₄-NCNFs) by carbonization and selenization of polyacrylonitrile nanofibers. The effect of selenization and element N doping on the morphological structure and surface chemistry of NiCoSe₄-NCNFs are evaluated. Due to the accelerated electrolyte ion diffusion, enlarged active surface area and the modified surface chemistry by the strong interaction at NiCoSe₄/NCNFs interfaces, NiCoSe₄-NCNFs show excellent capacitive behaviors in 1 mol/L KOH, and the specific capacitance is 1257 F/g at 1 A/g with a rate capability of 78% and cyclic stability of 82.9%. The Gibbs free energy of adsorption OH⁻ is calculated by density functional theory to investigate the charge storage mechanism. This work offers a new strategy to construct the transition metal selenides/carbon nanofibers hybrids for high-performance supercapacitor devices.     

Manganese oxide nanoparticle-loaded porous carbon nanofibers as anode materials for high-performance lithium-ion batteries

Mn-based oxide-loaded porous carbon nanofiber anodes, exhibiting large reversible capacity, excellent capacity retention, and good rate capability, are fabricated by carbonizing electrospun polymer/Mn(CH₃COO)₂ composite nanofibers without adding any polymer binder or electronic conductor. The excellent electrochemical performance of these organic/inorganic nanocomposites is a result of the unique combinative effects of nano-sized Mn-based oxides and carbon matrices as well as the highly-developed porous composite nanofiber structure, which make them promising anode candidates for high-performance rechargeable lithium-ion batteries.     

Dual redox catalysis of VN/nitrogen-doped graphene nanocomposites for high-performance lithium-sulfur batteries

Lithium-sulfur(Li-S)batteries are regarded as one of the promising candidates for the next-generation energy storage system owing to their high capacity and energy density.However,the durable operation for the batteries is blocked by the shuttle behavior of soluble lithium polysulfides and the sluggish kinetics in the redox process.Here,VN nanoparticles on nitrogen-doped graphene(VN/NG)composite is synthesized by simple calcining method to modify the separators,which can not only chemically trap polysulfides,but also catalyze the conversion reaction between the polysulfides and the insoluble Li2S during the charge/discharge process.The catalytic effects of VN/NG are verified by the calculated activation energy(E_a),which is smaller than the counterpart with NG toward both directions of redox.Because of the synergistic adsorption-catalysis of VN/NG,the cells with VN/NG-modified separators deliver a superior rate performance(791 mAh g^-1 at 5C)and cycling stability(863 mAh g^-1 after 300 cycles with a low decaying rate of 0.068%per loop at 1C).This work provides a simple preparation strategy and fundamental understanding of the bifunctional catalyst for high-performance Li-S batteries.     

Laser-printed lithium-sulphur micro-electrodes for Li/S batteries

A novel path for the preparation of electrodes for lithium-sulphur cells was developed using a very fast laser-printing setup for the direct and dry i.e., solvent-free transfer of electrode materials onto the current collectors. Model electrodes could be prepared at very small dimensions enabling these batteries to be used even in portable small devices. The initial specific charge was remarkably high at about 1300 A h kg^?1 (relating to the active material content of the electrode) with a loss of specific charge of about 75% after about 400 cycles at 1C. In addition, the dry transfer technique has highly beneficial effects on the environmental sustainability and, therefore, supports the concept of the use of “green” power storage.     

A high-performance carbon derived from polyaniline for supercapacitors

Activated carbon derived from rod-shaped polyaniline (the diameter of 170 nm) was synthesized by carbonization and subsequent activation with KOH. The obtained activated carbon exhibits a high specific capacitance (455 F g^?1) and remarkable rate capability due to its high specific surface area (1976 m² g^?1), narrow pore size distribution (< 3 nm) as well as short diffusion length. It is indicated that the promising synthetic method used in this work can pave the way for designing new carbon based materials from different polymers for high-performance energy applications.     

Natural nitrogen-doped multiporous carbon from biological cells as sulfur stabilizers for lithium-sulfur batteries

In this context,we firstly synthesized a novel nitrogen-doped multiporous carbon material from renewable biological cells through a facile chemical activation with K₂CO₃.After sulfur impregnation,the carbon/sulfur composite achieved a sulfur content of about 67 wt%.The C/S composite as the cathode of lithium-sulfur batteries exhibited a discharge capacity of 1410 mAh/g and good capacity retention of 912 mAh/g at 0.1C.These outstanding results were attributed to the synergy effect of microporous carbon and natural doping nitrogen atoms.We believe that the facile approach for the synthesis of nitrogen-doped multiporous carbon from the low-cost and sustainable biological resources will not only be applied in lithium-sulfur batteries,but also in other electrode materials.     

Hierarchical porous carbon derived from coal-based carbon foam for high-performance supercapacitors

Hierarchical porous carbon (HPC) from bituminous coal was designed and synthesized through pyrolysis foaming and KOH activation. The obtained HPC (NCF-KOH) were characterized by a high specific surface area (S_BET) of 3472.41 m²/g, appropriate mesopores with V_mes/V_total of 57%, and a proper amount of surface oxygen content (10.03%). This NCF-KOH exhibited a high specific capacitance of 487 F/g at 1.0 A/g and a rate capability of 400 F/g at 50 A/g based on the three-electrode configuration. As an electrode for a symmetric capacitor, a specific capacitance of 299 F/g at 0.5 A/g was exhibited, and the specific capacitance retained 96% of the initial capacity at 5 A/g after 10,000 cycles. Furthermore, under the power density of 249.6 W/kg in 6 mol/L KOH, a high energy density of 10.34 Wh/kg was obtained. The excellent charge storage capability benefited from its interconnected hierarchical pore structure with high accessible surface area and the suitable amount of oxygen-containing functional groups. Thus, an effective strategy to synthesize HPC for high-performance supercapacitors serves as a promising way of converting coal into advanced carbon materials.     

用于高性能锂-硫电池的氮化硼纳米片/碳纤维改性隔膜

通过静电纺丝、热亚胺化和碳化过程,将氮化硼纳米片(BNNSs)负载在碳纤维(CFs)表面,组成用于修饰商业聚丙烯(PP)隔膜的氮化硼纳米片/碳复合纤维(BNNSs/CFs)复合材料。BNNSs和CFs的协同作用为电池提供了额外的导电路径,并将可溶性多硫化锂固定在正极区域。结果表明,采用10BNNSs/CFs-PP隔膜的电池在0.05C下的初始放电容量高达1 295.7 mAh·g^-1,当电流密度增加到1C时,以10BNNSs/CFs-PP为隔膜的电池也具有良好的长期循环稳定性,在400次循环后最终容量高达568.1mAh·g^-1,每次循环容量衰减0.073%。     

用于高性能锂-硫电池的氮化硼纳米片/碳纤维改性隔膜

通过静电纺丝、热亚胺化和碳化过程,将氮化硼纳米片(BNNSs)负载在碳纤维(CFs)表面,组成用于修饰商业聚丙烯(PP)隔膜的氮化硼纳米片/碳复合纤维(BNNSs/CFs)复合材料。BNNSs和CFs的协同作用为电池提供了额外的导电路径,并将可溶性多硫化锂固定在正极区域。结果表明,采用10BNNSs/CFs-PP隔膜的电池在0.05C下的初始放电容量高达1 295.7 mAh·g^-1,当电流密度增加到1C时,以10BNNSs/CFs-PP为隔膜的电池也具有良好的长期循环稳定性,在400次循环后最终容量高达583.1mAh·g^-1,每次循环容量衰减0.069%。     

用于高性能锂-硫电池的氮化硼纳米片/碳纤维改性隔膜

通过静电纺丝、热亚胺化和碳化过程,将氮化硼纳米片(BNNSs)负载在碳纤维(CFs)表面,组成用于修饰商业聚丙烯(PP)隔膜的氮化硼纳米片/碳复合纤维(BNNSs/CFs)复合材料。BNNSs和CFs的协同作用为电池提供了额外的导电路径,并将可溶性多硫化锂固定在正极区域。结果表明,采用10BNNSs/CFs-PP隔膜的电池在0.05C下的初始放电容量高达1 295.7 mAh·g^-1,当电流密度增加到1C时,以10BNNSs/CFs-PP为隔膜的电池也具有良好的长期循环稳定性,在400次循环后最终容量高达568.1mAh·g^-1,每次循环容量衰减0.073%。     

高效的尖晶石铁钴氧/氮掺杂有序介孔碳催化剂应用于可充电锌-空气电池

以电催化为核心的新能源储存和转换技术为缓解能源与环境问题提供了有效手段.可充电锌空气电池因其理论能量密度(1086 Wh·kg–1)高、成本效益显著、安全系数高、环境友好及放电平稳等优点被认为是一种具有前景的能源存储/转换装置,有望在新能源汽车、便携式电源等领域广泛应用.氧还原反应(ORR)和氧析出反应(OER)是锌-空气电池中的核心反应,目前,虽然贵金属催化剂对上述反应表现出一定的电催化活性,但由于其稀缺性、高昂价格和低稳定性因素严重阻碍了它们在锌-空气电池中的广泛应用.而非贵金属催化剂所面临的瓶颈在于ORR/OER反应动力学缓慢,导致其在实际应用过程中存在电压效率低和催化剂腐蚀等问题.因此,为了推进锌-空气电池商业化进程,研制低成本、高效、稳定的非贵金属催化剂迫在眉睫.本文通过一步法将双金属前驱体嵌入氮掺杂有序介孔碳(NOMC)中,合成了具有尖晶石型铁钴氧化物的高性能非贵金属电催化剂(FexCo/NOMC,x代表铁钴的摩尔比).实验结果表明,在x=0.5时,所制备的催化剂具有最佳的催化活性,与商业贵金属催化剂相比,该催化剂展现更优的电催化活性和稳定性.电化学测试结果表明,其ORR的半波电位为0.89 V(vs.RHE),当OER电流密度为10 mA·cm–1时,过电势仅为0.31 V,且电流-时间曲线测试结果表明催化剂表现出较好的稳定性.通过X射线光电子能谱(XPS)、穆斯堡尔谱(M?ssbauer)、扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、透射电子显微镜(TEM)和拉曼光谱(Raman)等表征手段对电催化剂的物化性质进行表征,结果表明该材料优异的氧电催化性能归因于双金属氧化物的电子调控作用、NOMC的介孔结构、高导电性和高比表面积,其ORR与OER的催化活性位点分别是氮活化的碳(N-C)和双金属氧化物.以优化的Fe0.5Co/NOMC为正极组装可充电锌-空气电池,该电池在空气环境下展现出优良的充放电性能,其在电流密度为100 mA·cm–2条件下操作时能量密度达到820 Wh·kg–1,在1.0 V时功率密度达到153 mW·cm–2,它还表现出较好的稳定性,经过144 h的循环实验,活性没有明显下降.本文不仅制备了一种有前景的尖晶石型氧化物碳基氧电催化材料,还为高效氧电催化剂的合理开发与构筑提供了一条新的思路.     

Carbon nanofibers/polypyrrole nano metacomposites

Carbon nanofibers (CNFs)/polypyrrole (PPy) nano metacomposites are prepared by in situ polymerization in this article. The negative permittivity and negative permeability of CNFs/PPy nano metacomposites are achieved simultaneously. CNFs/PPy composites form different morphologies with the increase in CNFs content. Complex conductive networks formed by overlapped CNFs are present in CNFs/PPy composites with 30 and 50 wt % CNFs. The negative permittivity of the CNFs/PPy composites is attributed to the plasma oscillation of delocalized electrons, and the negative permeability results from a large number of conductive loops. The appearance of negative permeability is accompanied by the decrease in resistivity, which reflects that a large number of conductive loops are derived from complex conductive networks. Double negative property appears in the frequency range 845–1000 MHz in CNFs/PPy composites with 30 wt % CNFs content and 825–1000 MHz in CNFs/PPy composites with 50 wt % CNFs content. CNFs/PPy composites present double negative property in a wider frequency range compared with MWCNTs/PPy nanocomposites. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2017 , 55, 1724–1729     

Peony pollen derived nitrogen-doped activated carbon for supercapacitor application

Peony pollen is a cheap and readily available biomass material with a relatively high protein content.In this work,it was employed as an N-rich precursor to prepare the nitrogen-doped porous carbon for supercapacitor application.The porous carbon microspheres were prepared through a hydrothermal method and subsequent carbonization process.Notably,ammonium borofruoride and potassium hydroxide were employed respectively as an etchant and an activator to modify the porosity of the materials.The as prepared ANPPCs-700 has a super high BET specific surface area of 824.69 m~2/g.The microstructure,chemical state and electrochemical properties of the product were investigated in detail.The prepared nitrogen-doped carbon microspheres exhibits excellent specific capacity of 209 F/g at a current density of lA/g and remained 92.5% of the initial capacitance after 5000 deep cycles at 5 A/g.     

FeP nanoparticles derived from metal-organic frameworks/GO as high-performance anode material for lithium ion batteries

Double carbon coated Fe P composite(Fe P@NC@r GO)was in situ fabricated via the phosphorization process of the as-prepared Prussian blue@graphene oxide(PB@GO)precursor.The Fe P nanocrystals were successfully embedded in the nitrogen-doped porous carbon matrix.When used as the anode for lithium ion batteries(LIBs),the Fe P@NC@r GO anode shows superior lithium storage properties,delivering a high specific capacity of 830 m A h g~(-1)after 100 cycles at 100 m A g~(-1)and excellent rate capability of 359 m A h g~(-1)at 5 A g~(-1).The outstanding performance mainly ascribes to the synergistic effect of the double carbon coating and porous structure design.The introduction of porous carbon and graphene coating on Fe P nanoparticles greatly enhance the electronic conductivity of the active material and well accommodates the large volume variation of Fe P during the cycling process.     

Uniaxially aligned carbon nanofibers derived from electrospun precursor yarns

Unlike conventional electrospun polymer fibers deposited on a target electrode as a randomly oriented mesh, poly(p‐xylenetetrahydrothiophenium chloride) was electrospun into centimeters‐long yarns vertically on the surface of the electrode but parallel to the electric field. The diameter of the yarn was strongly affected by the concentration, spinning rate, and viscosity of the polymer solution, but less dependent on the applied voltage. The subsequent carbonization of thus‐electrospun yarns at 600–1000 °C resulted in uniaxially aligned carbon nanofibers with average diameters of 127–184 nm. On the basis of Raman spectra, the graphitic crystallite size and the molar fraction of graphite were estimated to be 1.2–1.4 and 0.21–0.24 nm, respectively. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 46: 305–310, 2008     

The in situ grown of activated Fe-N-C nanofibers derived from polypyrrole on carbon paper and its electro-catalytic activity for oxygen reduction reaction

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - The Fe-N-C nanofibers (NFs) exhibit excellent electro-catalytic activity for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), which is essential for energy conversion...     

Interconnected sandwich structure carbon/Si-SiO_2/carbon nanospheres composite as high performance anode material for lithium-ion batteries

In the present work,an interconnected sandwich carbon/Si-SiO_2/carbon nanospheres composite was prepared by template method and carbon thermal vapor deposition(TVD).The carbon conductive layer can not only efficiently improve the electronic conductivity of Si-based anode,but also play a key role in alleviating the negative effect from huge volume expansion over discharge/charge of Si-based anode.The resulting material delivered a reversible capacity of 1094 mAh/g,and exhibited excellent cycling stability.It kept a reversible capacity of 1050 mAh/g over 200 cycles with a capacity retention of 96%.     

基于氮掺杂碳载铁复合物的锌空电池氧阴极催化剂

迫在眉睫的环境和能源问题推动人类探索可行、可靠和可再生的能源技术.锌-空气电池和氢氧燃料电池等器件显示出高能量转换效率,但是仍有许多难题有待克服,例如阴极侧上缓慢的氧还原反应(ORR),以及高昂的成本极大地限制了铂基催化剂在商业上的广泛应用.因此,开发高性能的廉价ORR催化剂具有重要意义.过渡金属碳氮化合物(M-N-C, M=Co, Fe等)成为最有希望替代铂基催化剂的一类材料, M-N-C催化剂可以通过直接热解含有过渡金属、氮和碳物种的前驱体合成.然而热解时金属原子易团聚,多孔结构不能被有效地控制,导致相对较差的催化活性.目前, MOF衍生的催化剂在能源转化和储存技术中得到了广泛的关注,其具有丰富的氮含量、高比表面积和可调的孔道结构等特点.本文报道了一种简便可靠可控的合成铁氮共掺杂碳十二面体纳米结构催化剂的方法,并作为阴极电催化剂用于锌空气电池中,测试结果证实,合成的铁氮共掺杂的纳米碳具有与铂基材料相当的活性和更加优异的稳定性.表面吸附了的邻菲罗啉铁的ZIF-8在碳化过程中,氮基团能够结合铁形成Fe Nx结构单元,因此可得到铁氮共掺杂的电催化剂.粉末X射线衍射,扫描电镜证实ZIF-8的成功合成.经过热解得到的催化剂中Fe Nx或Fe Cx衍射峰较弱,表明样品中铁含量较低,存在部分无定型铁.通过拉曼光谱分析发现,引入的邻菲罗啉在热解过程中诱导了缺陷的形成,所以Fe-NCDNA-0的ID/IG比值明显高于NC.同时ID/IG随着铁含量的增加而减少,这是因为铁可以诱导石墨化,诱导效应随着铁含量的增加而增加.分析氮气吸附-脱附等温线得出,引入邻菲罗啉之后,比表面积增加;而铁的引入因其占据了微孔结构,导致比表面积下降.同时电镜证实Fe-NCDNA-2具有较大的形貌扭曲,使得该材料具有较大的比表面积.系统的电化学研究表明,氮掺杂有利于增强ORR活性,在引入铁之后形成高效的活性中心会进一步提高催化性能.因此, Fe-NCDNA-2在碱性条件下表现出优异的ORR性能.线性扫描伏安法曲线表明,铁氮共掺杂的材料表现出与Pt/C相似的性能,其中Fe-NCDNA-2的半波电位(E1/2)为0.863 V,比商业Pt/C的电位更正(E1/2=0.841 V).同时, Fe-NCDNA-2具有更加优异的稳定性,测试30000 s后的电流保持率为80%(Pt/C:64%).在中性介质中,合成的材料也展示了较高的ORR活性.Fe-NCDNA-2的E1/2=0.715 V,催化30000 s后电流保持率77%,均优于商业Pt/C催化剂.组装的锌空气电池进一步验证其作为氧还原催化剂实际应用的可行性.相比于以Pt/C为催化剂做空气阴极的电池,以Fe-NCDNA-2组装的电池表现出更高的开路电压,更高的功率密度(184 m Wcm^-2),以及更加优异的充放电循环稳定性.该工作也有利于启发研究人员探索类似的氮掺杂过渡金属碳材料在各种催化上的应用.     

Interconnected sandwich structure carbon/Si-SiO2/carbon nanospheres composite as high performance anode material for lithium-ion batteries

In the present work,an interconnected sandwich carbon/Si-SiO2/carbon nanospheres composite was prepared by template method and carbon thermal vapor deposition（TVD）.The carbon conductive layer can not only efficiently improve the electronic conductivity of Si-based anode,but also play a key role in alleviating the negative effect from huge volume expansion over discharge/charge of Si-based anode.The resulting material delivered a reversible capacity of 1094 mAh/g,and exhibited excellent cycling stability.It kept a reversible capacity of 1050 mAh/g over 200 cycles with a capacity retention of 96%.