Carbon Energy最新文献

Front cover image: Integrating automation and intelligence into battery sorting can decrease dependence on humans, minimize risk and cost, and enhance sorting speed while upholding competitive performance. In the image, the first robot is capable of extracting bolts and nuts, as well as unscrewing screws from the battery pack, using a camera equipped with vision technology. The second robot then picks up the cells and organizes them into clusters based on their remaining capacity. A third robot cuts the cell case and separates the cathode and anode components from the polymer separator. In article cey2.492, Roy et al. provide a comprehensive overview of the progress made in direct recycling LIBs and discuss several aspects of the recycling process, such as battery sorting, pre-treatment methods, the separation of cathode and anode materials, and the regeneration and quality enhancement of electrode materials.

Embedding a third and/or fourth component into a binary blend active layer of organic photovoltaics (OPVs) is a promising approach to achieve high-performance photovoltaic cells and modules. This multicomponent strategy favors absorption broadening via additional components. Quaternary OPV (QOPV) blends have four components in three possible configurations: (i) a donor and three acceptors, (ii) two donors and two acceptors, or (iii) three donors and an acceptor. Although quaternary systems have only been relatively recently studied compared to other systems in OPVs, leveraging the synergistic effects of the four components leads to record power conversion efficiencies, currently approaching 20%. QOPVs provide ample material choices for compatibility and channels for charge transfer mechanisms, possibly leading to optimized morphology and orientation. Reviewing recent progress in advancing QOPVs is essential for understanding their contribution to the OPV field. The review mainly discusses research progress in QOPVs with a keen interest in their various configurations, semitransparency, and outdoor and indoor applications. It describes the not-well-understood QOPV's general working mechanism. This review explores high-performance QOPVs based on the fourth component's contribution as a donor, acceptor, or dye molecule and beyond in photovoltaic applications. Finally, there is a discussion around QOPV's outlook and projected future research directions in this field. This review intends to provide an overview of the quaternary systems approach to OPVs and inform current and future researchers on investigating the full spectrum of OPVs.

Back cover image: Despite the huge potential of lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries due to the high energy density and energy-to-price ratio, the commercial survival of this promising energy storage device is plagued by the polysulfide shuttling and sluggish redox reactions. In the article number cey2.450, Xiang and co-works report a series of novel carbon nanofibers (CNFs) interlayers that are composed of CNFs substrate, Cu nanoparticles decorations, and TiN coatings. Systematic control experiments confirm that lowcrystalline TiN coating exhibits stronger chemical adsorption toward polysulfides than its highly-crystalline counterpart, contributing to enhanced reaction kinetics and electrochemical performance.

Developing high-capacity and high-rate anodes is significant to engineering sodium-ion batteries with high energy density and high power density. Layered Na₂Ti₃O₇ (NTO), with an open crystal structure, large theoretical capacity, and low working potential, is recognized as one of the prospective anodes for sodium storage. Nevertheless, it suffers from sluggish sodiation kinetics and low (micro)structure stability triggered by a high Na⁺ diffusion barrier and weak adhesion of [Ti₃O₇] slabs. Herein, the interlayered local structure of NTO is regulated to solve the above issues, in which parts of interlayered Na⁺ sites are substituted by H⁺ (Na_2−xH_xTi₃O₇ [NHTO]). Theoretical calculations prove that the NHTO offers lower activation energy for Na⁺ transports and low interlayer spacings with alleviated Na–Na repulsion and relatively flexible [Ti₃O₇] slabs to reduce fractural stress. In situ and ex situ characterizations of (micro)structure evolution reveal that NHTO goes through transformation between H-rich and Na-rich phases, resulting in high structure stability and microstructure integrity. The optimal NHTO anode delivers a high capacity of 190.6 mA h g⁻¹ at 0.5 C after 300 cycles and a superior high-rate stability of 90.6 mA h g⁻¹ at 50 C over 10,000 cycles at room temperature. Besides, it offers a capacity of 50.3 mA h g⁻¹ after 1800 cycles at a low temperature of −20°C and 195.7 mA h g⁻¹ after 500 cycles at a high temperature of 40°C at 0.5 C. The developed topologically interlayered local structure regulation strategy would raise the prospect of designing high-performance layered anodes.

The threat to information security from electromagnetic pollution has sparked widespread interest in the development of microwave absorption materials (MAMs). Although considerable progress has been made in high-performance MAMs, little attention was paid to their absorption frequency regulation to respond to variable input frequencies and their stability and durability to cope with complex environments. Here, a highly compressible polyimide-packaging carbon nanocoils/carbon foam (PI@CNCs/CF) fabricated by a facile vacuum impregnation method is reported to be used as a dynamically frequency-tunable and environmentally stable microwave absorber. PI@CNCs/CF exhibits good structural stability and mechanical properties, which allows precise absorption frequency tuning by simply changing its compression ratio. For the first time, the tunable effective absorption bandwidth can cover the whole test frequency band (2−18 GHz) with the broadest effective absorption bandwidth of 10.8 GHz and the minimum reflection loss of −60.5 dB. Moreover, PI@CNCs/CF possesses excellent heat insulation, infrared stealth, self-cleaning, flame retardant, and acid-alkali corrosion resistance, which endows it high reliability even under various harsh environments and repeated compression testing. The frequency-tunable mechanism is elucidated by combining experiment and simulation results, possibly guiding in designing dynamically frequency-tunable MAMs with good environmental stability in the future.

Lithium–gas batteries (LGBs) have garnered significant attention due to their impressive high-energy densities and unique gas conversion capability. Nevertheless, the practical application of LGBs faces substantial challenges, including sluggish gas conversion kinetics inducing in low-rate performance and high overpotential, along with limited electrochemical reversibility leading to poor cycle life. The imperative task is to develop gas electrodes with remarkable catalytic activity, abundant active sites, and exceptional electrochemical stability. Electrospinning, a versatile and well-established technique for fabricating fibrous nanomaterials, has been extensively explored in LGB applications. In this work, we emphasize the critical structure–property for ideal gas electrodes and summarize the advancement of employing electrospun nanofibers (NFs) for performance enhancement in LGBs. Beyond elucidating the fundamental principles of LGBs and the electrospinning technique, we focus on the systematic design of electrospun NF-based gas electrodes regarding optimal structural fabrication, catalyst handling and activation, and catalytic site optimization, as well as considerations for large-scale implementation. The demonstrated principles and regulations for electrode design are expected to inspire broad applications in catalyst-based energy applications.

Remarkable progress has characterized the field of electrocatalysis in recent decades, driven in part by an enhanced comprehension of catalyst structures and mechanisms at the nanoscale. Atomically precise metal nanoclusters, serving as exemplary models, significantly expand the range of accessible structures through diverse cores and ligands, creating an exceptional platform for the investigation of catalytic reactions. Notably, ligand-protected Au nanoclusters (NCs) with precisely defined core numbers offer a distinct advantage in elucidating the correlation between their specific structures and the reaction mechanisms in electrocatalysis. The strategic modulation of the fine microstructures of Au NCs presents crucial opportunities for tailoring their electrocatalytic performance across various reactions. This review delves into the profound structural effects of Au NC cores and ligands in electrocatalysis, elucidating their underlying mechanisms. A detailed exploration of the fundamentals of Au NCs, considering core and ligand structures, follows. Subsequently, the interaction between the core and ligand structures of Au NCs and their impact on electrocatalytic performance in diverse reactions are examined. Concluding the discourse, challenges and personal prospects are presented to guide the rational design of efficient electrocatalysts and advance electrocatalytic reactions.

Interfacial electronic structure modulation of nickel-based electrocatalysts is significant in boosting energy-conversion-relevant urea oxidation reaction (UOR). Herein, porous carbon nanofibers confined mixed Ni-based crystal phases of Ni₂P and NiF₂ are developed via fluorination and phosphorization of Ni coated carbon nanofiber (Ni₂P/NiF₂/PCNF), which possess sufficient mesoporous and optimized Gibbs adsorption free energy by mixed phase-induced charge redistribution. This novel system further reduces the reaction energy barrier and improves the reaction activity by addressing the challenges of low intrinsic activity, difficulty in active site formation, and insufficient synergism. A considerably high current density of 254.29 mA cm⁻² is reached at 1.54 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode on a glass carbon electrode, and the cell voltage requires 1.39 V to get 10 mA cm⁻² in hydrogen generation, with very good stability, about 190 mV less than that of the traditional water electrolysis. The facile active phase formation and high charge transfer ability induced by asymmetric charge redistribution are found in the interface, where the urea molecules tend to bond with Ni atoms on the surface of heterojunction, and the rate-determining step is changed from CO₂ desorption to the fourth H-atom deprotonation. The work reveals a novel catalyst system by interfacial charge redistribution induced by high bond polarity for energy-relevant catalysis reactions.