Jun Xiao, Yang Xiao, Jiayi Li, Cheng Gong, Xinming Nie, Hong Gao, Bing Sun, Hao Liu, Guoxiu Wang
Considering the abundance and low price of sodium, sodium‐ion batteries (SIBs) have shown great potential as an alternative to existing lithium‐based batteries in large‐scale energy storage systems, including electric automobiles and smart grids. Cathode materials, which largely decide the cost and the electrochemical performance of the full SIBs, have been extensively studied. Among the reported cathodes, layered transition‐metal oxides (LTMOs) are regarded as the most extremely promising candidates for the commercial application of the SIBs owing to their high specific capacity, superior redox potential, and suitable scalable preparation. Nevertheless, irreversible structural evolution, sluggish kinetics, and water sensitivity are still the critical bottlenecks for their practical utilization. Nanoengineering may offer an opportunity to address the above issues by increasing reactivity, shortening diffusion pathways, and strengthening structural stability. Herein, a comprehensive summary of the modification strategies for LTMOs is presented, emphasizing optimizing the structure, restraining detrimental phase transition, and promoting diffusion kinetics. This review intends to facilitate an in‐depth understanding of structure–composition–property correlation and offer guidance to the further development of the LTMO cathodes for next‐generation energy storage systems.
{"title":"Advanced nanoengineering strategies endow high‐performance layered transition‐metal oxide cathodes for sodium‐ion batteries","authors":"Jun Xiao, Yang Xiao, Jiayi Li, Cheng Gong, Xinming Nie, Hong Gao, Bing Sun, Hao Liu, Guoxiu Wang","doi":"10.1002/smm2.1211","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/smm2.1211","url":null,"abstract":"Considering the abundance and low price of sodium, sodium‐ion batteries (SIBs) have shown great potential as an alternative to existing lithium‐based batteries in large‐scale energy storage systems, including electric automobiles and smart grids. Cathode materials, which largely decide the cost and the electrochemical performance of the full SIBs, have been extensively studied. Among the reported cathodes, layered transition‐metal oxides (LTMOs) are regarded as the most extremely promising candidates for the commercial application of the SIBs owing to their high specific capacity, superior redox potential, and suitable scalable preparation. Nevertheless, irreversible structural evolution, sluggish kinetics, and water sensitivity are still the critical bottlenecks for their practical utilization. Nanoengineering may offer an opportunity to address the above issues by increasing reactivity, shortening diffusion pathways, and strengthening structural stability. Herein, a comprehensive summary of the modification strategies for LTMOs is presented, emphasizing optimizing the structure, restraining detrimental phase transition, and promoting diffusion kinetics. This review intends to facilitate an in‐depth understanding of structure–composition–property correlation and offer guidance to the further development of the LTMO cathodes for next‐generation energy storage systems.","PeriodicalId":21794,"journal":{"name":"SmartMat","volume":"603 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"77393300","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jiawei Liu, Carmen Lee, Y. Hu, Zhishan Liang, R. Ji, X. Y. D. Soo, Qiang Zhu, Q. Yan
Developing sustainable and clean energy‐conversion techniques is one of the strategies to simultaneously meet the global energy demand, save fossil fuels and protect the environment, in which nanocatalysts with high activity, selectivity and durability are of great importance. Intermetallic nanocrystals, featuring their ordered atomic arrangements and predictable electronic structures, have been recognized as a type of active and durable catalysts in energy‐related applications. In this minireview, the very recent progress in the syntheses and electrocatalytic applications of noble metal‐based intermetallic nanocrystals is summarized. Various synthetic strategies, including the conventional thermal annealing approach and its diverse modifications, as well as the wet‐chemical synthesis, for the construction of binary, ternary and high‐entropy intermetallic nanocrystals have been discussed with representative examples, highlighting their strengths and limitations. Then, their electrocatalytic applications toward oxygen reduction reaction, small molecule oxidation reactions, hydrogen evolution reaction, CO2/CO reduction reactions, and nitrogen reduction reaction are discussed, with the emphasis on how the ordered intermetallic structures contribute to the enhanced performance. We conclude the minireview by addressing the current challenges and opportunities of intermetallic nanocrystals in terms of syntheses and electrocatalytic applications.
{"title":"Recent progress in intermetallic nanocrystals for electrocatalysis: From binary to ternary to high‐entropy intermetallics","authors":"Jiawei Liu, Carmen Lee, Y. Hu, Zhishan Liang, R. Ji, X. Y. D. Soo, Qiang Zhu, Q. Yan","doi":"10.1002/smm2.1210","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/smm2.1210","url":null,"abstract":"Developing sustainable and clean energy‐conversion techniques is one of the strategies to simultaneously meet the global energy demand, save fossil fuels and protect the environment, in which nanocatalysts with high activity, selectivity and durability are of great importance. Intermetallic nanocrystals, featuring their ordered atomic arrangements and predictable electronic structures, have been recognized as a type of active and durable catalysts in energy‐related applications. In this minireview, the very recent progress in the syntheses and electrocatalytic applications of noble metal‐based intermetallic nanocrystals is summarized. Various synthetic strategies, including the conventional thermal annealing approach and its diverse modifications, as well as the wet‐chemical synthesis, for the construction of binary, ternary and high‐entropy intermetallic nanocrystals have been discussed with representative examples, highlighting their strengths and limitations. Then, their electrocatalytic applications toward oxygen reduction reaction, small molecule oxidation reactions, hydrogen evolution reaction, CO2/CO reduction reactions, and nitrogen reduction reaction are discussed, with the emphasis on how the ordered intermetallic structures contribute to the enhanced performance. We conclude the minireview by addressing the current challenges and opportunities of intermetallic nanocrystals in terms of syntheses and electrocatalytic applications.","PeriodicalId":21794,"journal":{"name":"SmartMat","volume":"22 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84314057","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Revealing active Cu nanograins for electrocatalytic CO\u0000 2\u0000 reduction through operando studies","authors":"Junjun Li, Yajing Sun, Zhicheng Zhang","doi":"10.1002/smm2.1209","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/smm2.1209","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":21794,"journal":{"name":"SmartMat","volume":"31 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-04-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75296381","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}