Materials Today Energy最新文献

Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) are among those of focus in the research realm of next-generation electric energy storage, benefiting from their intrinsic safety, high volumetric capacity and low cost. Nonetheless, the problems of lifespan and reversibility caused by dendrites, hydrogen evolution and corrosion reactions restrict the large-scale commercialization of AZIBs. Herein, a multifunctional strategy has been explored in this research, of which the porous submicron-CaF₂ layer with uniform channels is applied to the zinc anode by employing a straightforward, low-cost method. Moreover, the submicron-CaF₂ coating can provide abundant submicron channels, restricting the free diffusion of Zn²⁺ and effectively preventing the growth of zinc dendrites. Additionally, a series of characterizations reveal that the Zn@CaF₂ anode has a high cycle reversibility due to the marked suppression of the corrosion and hydrogen evolution reactions provided for the desolvation effects of CaF₂. Consequently, the Zn@CaF₂ symmetrical cell afforded a long cycling lifespan for more than 1850 h at 1 mA cm^-2. Importantly, even at a high current of 8 mA cm^-2, the symmetrical cell can stably maintain for 2000 cycles. As a proof of the strategy, the entire Zn@CaF₂//Zn₃V₂O₈∙1.85H₂O cell outperformed the full cell with bare Zn anode through superior capacity retention.

At present, the large number of inherent Cu_Zn anti-site defects and harmful [2Cu_Zn+Sn_Zn] defect clusters in the CZTSe film layer limit the further progress of device efficiency. In this paper, Ag and Ge double cations were introduced into the CZTSe film layer, and (CuAg)₂ZnSnGeSe₄ (CAZTGSe) films were synthesized successfully by the sol-gel method to cut down the above defects and defect clusters to obtain high-efficiency devices. The influences of double cation substitution on CZTSe by partly replacing Cu with Ag, and Sn with Ge were developed. The role of Ag, Ge, and Ag+Ge substitution was researched by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), current density-voltage (J-V), and external quantum efficiency (EQE) measurements. By incorporating at 5% Ag and at 20% Ge double cations into the CZTSe film, the device demonstrated the highest efficiency of 10.12%.In addition, the open circuit voltage (V_OC) of 503.57 mV, the short circuit current density (J_SC) of 31.36 mA/cm², and the fill factor (FF) of 64.1% were obtained.

The defects and mismatched energy-level at interfaces of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) can weaken their performance and stability. In this paper, we introduce 3,8-dibromo-1,10-phenanthroline-5,6-dione (BPO) into PSCs to align perovskite energy levels and passivate defects. The theoretical and experimental results indicate that BPO molecules with zwitterionic resonance structure can accept electrons and change the charge state of perovskite surface to modify the energy-level. In addition, the multi-group passivation of BPO molecules which contain “bipyridyl nitrogen” and bicarbonyl groups, can chelate the Pb defects such as Pb-I antisite (Pb_I) and iodine vacancy (V_I). Notably, the BPO-doped PSCs achieve a power conversion efficiency of 23.18% with enhanced efficiency retention ratio of 85% (55% for control sample) after 1,000 hours test at 65% relative humidity. This study provides an effective choice for the exploration of novel additives for device performance improvement.

Aqueous Zn-based flow batteries receive tremendous attention toward future grid-scale energy storage, but the uncontrollable dendrite growth and limited plating current density at the Zn anode severely hinder their application prospects. Herein, we realize non-dendritic Zn growth at an ultrahigh current density of 100 mA cm^-2 via the application of an external magnetic field. Through in-situ observation, morphology characterization, and electrochemical performance explorations, we find that the magnetic field can effectively inhibit the savage growth of dendrites. We believe this work can provide new inspiration for high-rate Zn metal anode research and promote the future applications of Zn-based flow batteries.

In recent years, magnesium (Mg) ion batteries (MIBs) have gained increasing interest as an alternative to LIBs because they have excellent volumetric capacity and are less prone to dendrite generation. However, the development of MIBs has been limited due to the large polarization of Mg²⁺ cations and their strong interactions with cathode host materials. On this basis, the exploration of high-performance cathodes has become the top priority for the development of MIBs. This review will focus on the development status of transition metal oxides (TMOs) and transition metal sulfides (TMSs) as cathodes for MIBs from the perspectives of mechanism, performance, and modification strategies and summarize the path for future development.

The lowest electrode potential and remarkable theoretical specific capacity of lithium (Li) metal make it a promising choice for next-generation high energy density batteries. However, the practical application of Lithium metal anodes (LMAs) faces several significant challenges due to their unwanted reactions with the electrolyte to continuously form Li dendrites. These issues significantly hinder both electrochemical performance and safety. To overcome these challenges, fluorinated organic materials (FOMs), with their unique chemical and physical properties, offer an exciting avenue for enhancing cycle stability and energy density of batteries. This is attributed to their higher electrolytic window and chemical stability. This review would provide a comprehensive overview of the crucial role played by FOMs in safeguarding LMAs, such as F-containing electrolyte engineering, separator modification, and artificial SEI. Additionally, it intends to explore the challenges and latest advances in this domain, with the ultimate objective of offering insights and forward-looking perspectives for future research initiatives in related areas.

Exploiting materials with effective heat dissipation and electromagnetic shielding performance is highly desirable for high integration and high-power density electronic devices. Herein, we introduce a flexible carbon/ferroelectric/thermoelectric (i.e., C/FE/TE) hybrid film with layer-by-layered carbon, PZT/PVDF-TrFE, and bismuth telluride alloys (p-type Bi_0.5Sb_1.5Te₃ or n-type Bi₂Te_2.5Se_0.5), it enables us to achieve thermoelectric cooling and electromagnetic shielding concurrently. More importantly, the electrical performance of the thermoelectric layer can be tuned by the polarization of the ferroelectric layer, and the maximum power factors of 12.7 μW cm^-1 K^-2 and 5.3 μW cm^-1 K^-2 are obtained for Bi_0.5Sb_1.5Te₃ and Bi₂Te_2.5Se_0.5, respectively. Using these C/FE/TE hybrid films, we fabricated a radial-shaped flexible thermoelectric cooling device, which showed a net cooling temperature difference of 1.08 K at 300 K. In addition, the impedance mismatch between free space and C/FE/TE induces reflection loss, the bismuth telluride alloys and carbon layers cause conduction loss, while the polarized PZT/PVDF-TrFE, as well as the interfacial polarization between bismuth telluride alloys and PZT/PVDF-TrFE layers leads to polarization loss. Thus, a high electromagnetic shielding performance with a maximum average shielding efficiency of 32.0 dB in the frequency range of 8.2 ∼ 12.4 GHz (i.e., X-band) was also achieved in the C/FE/TE hybrid film.

Over the last three decades, there has been a tremendous amount of research interest around the world in developing sophisticated technologies that may enable the domestic hydrogen economy. If the cost of producing hydrogen falls far below that of fossil fuels, it will be able to run the transportation, construction, and energy sectors. The vision of a decarbonized future in which hydrogen is used as a common fuel will be realized soon through infrastructural developments. Aluminium (Al) and water react to produce hydrogen on-site, which is a simple and affordable process. Two benefits come from this: first, it eliminates the need for additional logistics for the storage and shipping of hydrogen; second, water is easily accessible in the field and Al is safer to use. Although this technique appears intriguing, a major barrier to its wide-spread applications is the development of a passive oxide layer on the Al surface. The advantages and disadvantages of various Al activation techniques are covered in this review article. In addition to analyzing the effectiveness and technical issues of the Al-water reaction techniques used to power on-site hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles, it gives a critical examination of key parameters that derive the Al-water reaction mechanism.

The mass transport is a crucial issue of proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). Here, with a limiting current test and distribution of relaxation times (DRT) approach, the controllably synthesized PtCu electrocatalysts composition and size effect on mass transport of PEMFCs have been systematically investigated. The results reveal more metal doping and larger size result in a significantly negative effect on proton transport and oxygen transport in catalyst layers (CLs), respectively. Here, the proposed strategy to enhance this aspect involves using smaller-sized Pt-electrocatalysts with reduced 3d transition metal content. As a result of this strategy, the electrocatalyst demonstrated up to 16.06% and 62.13% higher efficiency at 1.3 A cm^-2 compared to its larger and richer Cu-doped counterparts, respectively. These results will inspire future Pt-based electrocatalyst development, aiming to achieve higher power densities, enhanced efficiencies, and cost-effective PEMFCs.

Vacuum deposition is promising for large-area, high-throughput production of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). However, the strict low humidity control increases the costs for manufacturing facilities and hinders the large-scale production of PSCs. In this work, a sequential deposition method was used to prepare the perovskite intermediate phase, and the impact of ambient humidity was studied during the annealing process. It is shown that proper humidity has a positive effect on the perovskite layer, which is conducive to accelerate the reaction between organic salts and PbI₂ and improve the surface morphology of the film. The perovskite annealing under 55% relative humidity exhibits fewer defects and faster carrier transport kinetics. The resulting PSCs, with all layers fabricated adopting vapor deposition, yield a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 15.01% for the large area modules of 100 cm² (active area 64.8 cm²). More impressively, the PCE of the unpackaged cell modules remained above 80% after being placed in ambient air for 1200 h. The results open a promising way for scalable fabrication of humidity-tolerant large-area perovskite solar cell modules and shed light on the industrial production of PSCs.